tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-85167196536067341862024-08-29T08:43:13.688-04:00Unknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger73125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8516719653606734186.post-14971518333161173892014-04-08T14:06:00.002-04:002014-04-08T14:07:53.401-04:00

Brunch is often the highlight of my weekend. I don't know if it's the idea of combining two meals into one, or the fact that drinking is encouraged before noon, but I love it. When cooking at home, I always try to whip up something based on what I have on hand. Sometimes it works and sometimes it flops. My system goes something like this: 1) Find ingredients, 2) Combine ingredients that work

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8516719653606734186.post-5676152009624940482014-01-16T16:04:00.000-05:002014-01-16T16:04:45.617-05:00

The holidays have come and gone. Now I'm just freezing, broke, and a few pounds heavier. Luckily, soups are part of my ultimate post-holiday rescue plan. Soups are warm, yummy, hearty, healthy and cheap. This recipe is one of my favorites made with kale, white beans and bacon.  The homemade croutons add the perfect crunch to a soup that is filling and easy to make. You can pretty much add

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8516719653606734186.post-29988022807738029332013-12-01T13:42:00.001-05:002014-01-16T16:05:26.200-05:00

Who doesn't like pizza? No one fun, that's for sure.  I love making pizza, not only because it's a crowd pleasing comfort food but also because it's an easy way to use up ingredients in the fridge. Here's a simple, delicious idea for this weekend's menu. I used to make my own homemade pizza dough. Though those pizza making parties resulted in great stories (one instance involved me

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8516719653606734186.post-30502570388250327332013-09-06T10:19:00.000-04:002013-09-06T10:19:54.518-04:00

(a favorite, reposted from August 2011) Everyone loves to hate New Jersey.  The state proudly boasts ownership of The Jersey Shore (which you know is your guilty pleasure), Newark Airport and plenty of nuclear power plants and oil refineries.  But there are some things you don't know about New Jersey.  I bet you didn't know that New Jersey is the blueberry capital of the world?!

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8516719653606734186.post-76135316085001482782013-07-12T15:46:00.000-04:002013-07-12T15:46:13.759-04:00

One of my culinary flaws is that I really do not like raw tomatoes.  I know, I know.  Considering how beautiful and tasty they are-it's shocking.  My mom and sister eat them with salt like they are peaches.  Not me.  I love tomatoes that are cooked, or thoughtfully integrated into dishes and salads.  But on their own, there is only one way I will eat them-in

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8516719653606734186.post-19406229442818689062013-06-14T15:23:00.000-04:002013-06-14T18:07:16.182-04:00

Photo Credit My Dad, like most dads, is simply awesome.  In honor of our favorite cool, calm hero we never go out or plan a busy day; we grill and chill. Last year for Father's day I made burgers from scratch and rocked my Dad's world.  This year, sadly, I can't be with him so I'm reposting this idea for all those lucky folks who get to see their Dads this weekend.  Make the

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8516719653606734186.post-33876933562576137552013-05-24T15:34:00.000-04:002013-05-24T16:45:42.831-04:00

Happy Friday of Memorial Day weekend!  Not only does Memorial Day officially kick off summer but it marks the start of all the great things that come with it- grilling, swimming, traveling and finding any reason to spend more time outside.  As far as summer cooking goes, I love grilling! It makes for the most delicious meals and preparation couldn't be any easier.  However, I

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8516719653606734186.post-37749605320119228932013-05-20T13:14:00.001-04:002013-05-20T13:14:52.440-04:00

I can gauge how good a recipe is based on the reactions of my friends and family. My first batch of granola is still sitting in a plastic bag on my boyfriend's kitchen counter, slowly being incorporated into yogurt.  The second batch, given to my parents, yielded the response "this is better than anything I could make!," a humble lie from my mom who is a very talented cook.  

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8516719653606734186.post-24387463652704328172013-05-14T19:34:00.000-04:002013-05-14T23:24:31.692-04:00

I was beginning to write a post to share my granola recipe, which I have finally perfected, when I realized I probably owe you an explanation.  A Better Bite has been on hiatus for some time now and despite my efforts to capture and post my new favorite recipes, time has gotten the best of me.  Over the past year I made the transition from New York City, my home for almost ten years, to

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8516719653606734186.post-10159473974880334202012-12-04T22:56:00.002-05:002014-01-16T16:06:08.422-05:00

One of the things I have come to cherish most, living in my new town in North Carolina, is my weekly trip to the farmer's market.  Every Saturday, I manage to drag myself out of bed before noon to indulge in my favorite coffee (and a pastry that catches my eye) while I circle around the tiny market to find fresh, local ingredients for the week.  One of my favorite vendors, Heeks

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8516719653606734186.post-39636949124789331922012-08-06T17:14:00.000-04:002012-08-06T17:14:32.547-04:00

When I first started cooking, I wanted to create and execute dishes top chef style.  I was always trying to think of intricate recipes with lots of ingredients that would result in some mouth explosion of culinary genius.  That's all good and great, but I'm not a top chef nor am I on a television show.  I'm just trying to cook food that tastes great and is healthy.  My

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8516719653606734186.post-14965371928755264532012-08-02T14:25:00.000-04:002012-08-03T12:51:24.941-04:00

When planning a menu for a summer gathering, there are a few variables that must be taken into consideration.  Easy preparation should be a priority.  Most, if not all of the meal needs to be prepared in advance.  No one likes to spend their time in the kitchen while entertaining, especially during the summer.  In addition, it is impossible to anticipate everyone's

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8516719653606734186.post-8438885004180737372012-07-31T12:29:00.000-04:002012-08-01T17:06:05.126-04:00

On rare occasions when I was little we would have "breakfast for dinner."  Looking back, the idea seems simple enough and makes complete sense. When there is no time to assemble an entire dinner, you reach for the ingredients you always have on hand-bread, eggs etc.  However, when I was little this seemed so exciting and completely out of the ordinary.  This makes me think about

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8516719653606734186.post-66623104530121476422012-04-04T15:30:00.001-04:002012-04-04T17:07:08.052-04:00

Whenever people try to restructure their eating habits, the hardest hurdle to overcome is convenience.  Rightfully so- everyone wants what is easiest, quickest and cheapest.  However, that usually is not what is best for us.  Adopting and maintaining a healthier diet requires the perfect combination of nutritional quality and ease.   I am always looking for new ways to

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8516719653606734186.post-52017763399251354042012-01-22T09:35:00.002-05:002012-02-01T23:26:43.775-05:00

We have reached the most critical time of year when those of us who have made New Year's resolutions will decide whether or not we are actually going to keep them.  Most resolutions are prompted by the guilty behaviors of the holiday season- save money, lose five pounds, make more of an effort to keep in touch with friends and family.  However, once the holidays are far enough behind

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8516719653606734186.post-11612791732975151442011-12-19T17:24:00.000-05:002012-12-03T13:03:03.302-05:00

Tis the season to bake cookies and boy, do I bake some cookies.  Holiday baking has been an obsessive hobby of mine since I was very, very little.  I take pride in accurately measuring each ingredient and decorating every single cookie to perfection.  Ironically, this only pertains to holiday baking.  Any other time of the year, I have no patience for the precision that is

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8516719653606734186.post-75736618668089607632011-11-30T16:58:00.002-05:002011-12-01T11:41:07.193-05:00

Thanksgiving this year, as in every year past, was fantastic.  It was filled with family, friends, laughs and of course, too much food.  When the preparation responsibilities were divvied up,  I was assigned the obligatory task of preparing "healthy" sides. I was determined to prepare vegetables that upstaged even those dishes covered in cream sauce and marshmallows.  I wanted

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8516719653606734186.post-72384004642236496802011-11-20T17:12:00.002-05:002011-11-20T17:52:44.031-05:00

In order get in the spirit of fall, my best friend Kate and I went to a farm in upstate New York to drink apple cider, sample local wine and pick all the apples we could carry.  We lugged home bags upon bags of apples.  While pies and crumbles were on our list of treats to make, we just did not have enough time or enough recipes to make use of all our apples.  Making apple chips

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8516719653606734186.post-89684642356371508432011-10-17T18:14:00.003-04:002011-10-18T16:41:39.546-04:00

They say it takes 7 to 10 exposures of a new food to acquire a taste for it.  There is some validity to the statement based on the fact that I have integrated previously despised foods into my diet through repeated encounters: olives, beets, peppers, spicy foods, cabbage- the list goes on.  Despite that, I have eaten raw tomatoes hundreds of times and I just can't seem to develop a

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8516719653606734186.post-43298421532691330132011-10-04T18:27:00.003-04:002011-10-05T09:54:22.891-04:00

I am not a morning person.  I snooze my alarm at least 4 times before I get out of bed and that's on a good day.  Needless to say, I don't leave myself a lot of time in the morning to get out the door, let alone to make a healthy breakfast.  However, I have also found that breakfast is the most difficult meal to eat on the run.  Some of the easy choices are just not healthy-

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8516719653606734186.post-58923923559830577882011-07-29T16:33:00.000-04:002011-07-29T16:33:19.799-04:00

I have pretty much spent the summer wandering from place to place.  Luckily for me, my travels have landed me at the beach with my best friend.  Feeling settled for the first time in a while, I was able to visit a local seafood vendor and a farmer's market and finally got back into the kitchen.  In the mood for some fresh summer fare, I made fish tacos with peach salsa for dinner.

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8516719653606734186.post-69877390532732752192011-06-20T01:19:00.002-04:002011-06-20T01:59:41.610-04:00

I'm not the kind of gal who gives up things I like.  And I love a good burger.  Embarrassingly enough, I actually ate two burgers on Saturday after not having had a burger for months.  After scratching my itch, I think it's safe to say that I have had enough meat to hold me off for a few days.  I will definitely be joining the meatless monday trend this week, and it might

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8516719653606734186.post-83785722803670966052011-06-14T16:37:00.000-04:002011-06-14T16:37:47.299-04:00

I love going to the Union Square Greenmarket.  It's truly one of my favorite places in the world.  Whether I am searching for new finds, stocking up on basics or just wandering, I always find myself enamored.  The other day, I was just moseying along, excited by all the new signs of summer I noticed popping up, when one stand shook me from my daze.  This one stand always

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8516719653606734186.post-58328861361344065902011-06-01T13:26:00.000-04:002011-06-01T13:26:13.850-04:00

I can not say I am sad to see May go and June arrive.  May was one of the craziest, yet fun filled, months! Celebrating birthdays and weddings made studying for finals quite a challenge, and moving out of my apartment was icing on the cake.  However, Memorial Day came and went, marking the official start of summer.  And the weather has confirmed it-summer is here!  Now it's

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8516719653606734186.post-62450707651588375542011-05-05T16:41:00.000-04:002011-05-05T16:41:13.206-04:00

The other day, my sister sent me a text message requesting suggestions for lunch.  Sick of salads and trying to avoid bread, she was at a loss for how she could construct a healthy lunch.  This dish is one of my solutions.  When bored of redundant lunch options, people often forget about healthy grains.  Barley, brown rice, quinoa and the like can all provide the base for

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1