Roasted Shrimp

Roasted Shrimp

Roasting shrimp is super easy. This is great served with couscous, rice, or (if you want to get a little more complicated) risotto. Recipe below.

Fish Tacos

These are super simple and take about a half hour after you’ve made them a few times. My philosophy on cooking for a family is this: cook what the adults like, but make things that the kids can eat their version of. Fish tacos are a perfect example of this type of meal. My daughter used to eat everything separately. I made her a very mild version of the spicy mayonnaise sauce and she was very happy to dip the fish and cabbage in it. Now she loves these tacos.

Turkey Tacos

The Best Everyday Taco

Delicious! 20 minutes, maybe? So good, and easy to keep turkey in the freezer for any time a meal is needed. These could be made of ground beef if you like. I make them out of ground turkey thigh meat. It has the right fat content and has the added bonus of being pretty inexpensive. 

Julia's Banana Bread

Julia’s Banana Bread

(with a little tinkering)

If you’ve ever been to Maui, then you know that banana bread is to Maui what pizza is to NY, kind of. Banana bread is sold everywhere and many say they have the best on the island. Julia’s is in a remote corner of the island, but getting there is half the fun. I can’t say that I had the good luck of eating

Easy Broccoli

Easy Broccoli

Serves 4

There are so many ways to cook green vegetables-braise, sauté, blanch, steam... I’ve tried them all. Steaming is supposed to be the method that retains the most nutrients-no dunking in boiling water. This apparently robs fresh green vegetables of their nutrition (or some of it). But I find that 

Perfect Cubed Tofu

Cubed Tofu

This recipe is so simple and versatile, my daughter loves it plain and I love it on salads. Put it in a tortilla with veggies and salsa and call it a burrito. Or, serve it on rice with broccoli. The possibilities are endless…

Sauteed Kale

Sauteed Kale

I’ve always had a hit or miss relationship with kale. I could never cook kale as good as my mother, and sometimes, it just wouldn’t cook no matter what I did, and I was left with tasteless green stuff. Recently I’ve realized that it

Roasted Cauliflower

Roasted Cauliflower                                                 

Who knew cauliflower had protein? I didn’t. It is also a good source of Thiamin, Riboflavin, Phosphorus and Potassium, as well as Dietary Fiber, Vitamin C, Vitamin K, Vitamin B6, Folate, Pantothenic Acid and

Poached Eggs

Poached Eggs

These are so easy, and are the best! I love, love, love poached eggs. We mostly eat them on buttered English muffins, but this seed bread made for a lovely backdrop. You can fuss a lot with poached eggs, swirling the water just so, boiling them just perfectly, etc, etc. Or you can do it my way, which is to just cook the damn things and get on with it. Sometimes maybe they are not perfect, but most of the time, it all works out very nice.

The Best Buttermilk Pancakes

The Best Buttermilk Pancakes

If you are feeling like some really simple delicious pancakes, skip to the white flour recipe at the bottom of this page. I like to add some whole grains to almost everything I cook, but I also don't like to sacrifice texture or taste. These are a perfect balance.  Make your own mix! See note below.

Simple Green Beans

There are so many ways to cook green vegetables-braise, sauté, blanch, steam... I’ve tried them all. Steaming is supposed to be the method that retains the most nutrients-no dunking in boiling water. This apparently robs fresh green vegetables of their nutrition (or some of it). But I find that steaming doesn’t always make such an appealing vegetable, something is lost, a tad ironic. Blanching is the best way to cook vegetables for taste and

Salmon Burgers

Salmon Burgers

These are super good, and are a perfect meal to make if you've been out all day, say, flying a kite, and haven't thought twice about what's for dinner. I keep burger buns in the freezer, the rest of the ingredients are staples, and the salmon, well, it's in a can.

Pizza Dough

The Best Pizza Dough

I think cooking really great basics, like pizza, is far more rewarding than cooking a really complicated meal. I've tried dough recipes that require kneading and rising, but never got as good of a texture or flavor as with this recipe. Simple and delicious, win-win...

Time Saving Equipment and Recommendations

Braun Chopper

This little chopper, along with the immersion blender I use almost every day. I chop onion or garlic in this thing almost every meal and it's a huge time saver. I should have added a rubber spatula here because that's very helpful for getting what ever has been chopped out, quickly and easily.

ABOUT

I’m a food and lifestyle photographer and also a parent. I cook for my family everyday and this blog is about everyday cooking. I like to cook very simple meals that also have lots of flavor. One of my hobbies is reading through cookbook and magazine recipes. I look for recipes that are made with fresh ingredients and aren't super complicated. My standard for a good recipe is that it is made of whole foods-foods that are as close to the grown plant or animal as possible, but not take a lot of time to make, and of course, taste great. I want to eat good, fresh food, but not spend all day in the kitchen!

A lot of recipes on this blog are so simple they are hardly recipes. If you are already a very experienced cook, this may not be your blog. If you are searching for simple recipes for your family, this is the place. If you are looking for inspiration on what to cook tonight and do not see it here, check these out: 

http://dashandbella.blogspot.com/

http://www.dinneralovestory.com

http://smittenkitchen.com/

There are tons of others, but these are a good place to start.