Author: Beth

I am a mother of four from Southern California currently living in Manhattan. I have one son left at home who also loves to cook as much as me. He is the inspiration for me to start this blog. I also want to preserve all the fun and memories our family has in the kitchen!

Best Banana Bread Ever!

I am always searching for a great banana bread and I think this one was my best ever!  I had so many ripe bananas today I had no choice.  These bananas were begging to be made into bread and it was a good thing I listened!  So good!  This is how I made it: I lined my loaf pans with…

Grandma Grace’s Chocolate Torte Royale

This is a TOP SECRET RECIPE!!!  I feel anxious even posting this on the internet as this recipe is sacred to our family!  But apparently this recipe is already on the internet and is equally special to a couple other families out there.  This is a special dessert that my Grandma Grace discovered.  She was a fabulous cook and I…

Best Buttermilk Pancake Recipe

I have been experimenting with buttermilk pancake recipes lately.  What I realized it that most recipes don’t call for enough buttermilk.  At least for me.  This recipe turned out great! 1 cup flour 2 tsp baking powder 1 tsp baking soda 2 Tbs sugar 1/2 tsp salt 1 egg 2 cups buttermilk 1 tsp vanilla I mix the dry ingredients…

Oatmeal…Variations on a theme!

In these pictures I used the Swiss Muesli cereal cooked in milk.  I can eat almost any variation of oatmeal!  The Muesli makes a rich oatmeal.  Below are other ideas and variations.  I don’t know if cooked Grape Nuts cereal belongs in this post but we love that, too! This is one of my favorite breakfasts! – creamy cinnamon spiced…

Leftover Pasticada Barbecue Beef Sandwiches

After the Pasticada sat in the refrigerator for a day, the meat absorbed a lot of the sauce.  It started to taste like a pulled pork or barbecue beef flavor with the sweet and sour nature of it.  So I took what was left at that point and cooked it and shredded it into a barbecue beef mixture.  It tasted…

Butternut Squash Soup with Cider Cream

This is a recipe I have made a few times.  It makes the house smell like Thanksgiving!  Although lately I can’t seem to recreate the soup I made the first time.  I don’t know what I did differently about the recipe.  I have a feeling it has to do with the quality of the chicken stock.  I bought a brand…

Hamburgers at home

For my sons 16th birthday a few years ago I tried to recreate an In N Out burger for him from home.  It turned out really good but tasted more like a 5 Guys burger.  I also love Shake Shack burgers.  This version is not the In N Out version because I was working with what I had.  To make…

Blueberry Buttermilk Tart

I had a bunch of blueberries and buttermilk and found this recipe on epicurious that had really good reviews.  It is a great recipe!  I would make it again.  The tart is very lemony and reminds me of a lemon bar sort of but more custardy.  Two lemons barely gave me a tablespoon of lemon zest but it was enough. …