Healthy and Quick White Bean Dip with Chives. Bohemian Cottage

White Bean Dip with Chive Blossoms

White Bean and Chive Blossom Dip. Bohemian Cottage

This is a simple, tasty and healthy recipe that worked well for a potluck dish.

I recently made this quick and healthy white bean dip with chive blossoms for the Rocky Mountain Gardening Forum’s spring plant exchange and potluck. You just never know at a potluck what kind of diet people have to adhere to, could be vegan, gluten free or vegetarian, you just never know! Not that I try to please everyone, but I do want as many people as possible to enjoy the food I make. So this dip with gluten free chips and veggies seemed like just the thing. Plus I found this cute basket and bowl set that was begging to go to a potluck. (read more)

Pork Chops with Maple Apple Cream Sauce

We had these roasted root veggies from the garden with our pork chops

We had these roasted root veggies from the garden with our pork chops

Fall is finally here in Colorado! That subtle shift in the air, that familiar crisp, coolness. I get fall fever pretty bad, wanting all that it brings, comfort food being at the top of the list. The garden is finally popping out the root vegetables that I planted from seed this spring. This was my first ever crop of carrots and beets! Very exciting for a nerdy gardener and cooking geek like myself.

I wanted to accompany our roasted root veggies with one of my sweetheart’s favorite foods, pork chops! Soon pork chops will be needing their own category on the blog! I did a twist on one of my old stand bys with the apples this time, creating an apple cream sauce. It is actually a pretty light sauce with the addition of apple juice to the cream, oh, and maple syrup of course! I found some fancy alder wood smoked sea salt at the grocery store that gives the most subtle, yet distinct smokiness. Here is what I did: (read more)

Parmesan Cheese Potato Stacks

Parmesan Cheese Potato StacksThese Parmesan Cheese Potato Stacks are delicate and rich at the same time. The addition of fresh thyme gives them an added zing. I used fresh thyme from our garden. Rosemary might be good too. They are not low cal, but with their petite size make them a moderate indulgence if you can limit yourself to just a couple.

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees and generously grease a muffin tin with butter

4 medium russet potatoes peeled and sliced into approximately 1/8 inch slices

1 cup milk

1 cup heavy cream (read more)

Beer Glazed Sausage, Apples, Cabbage and Beans

Beer Glazed Sausage, Apples, Cabbage and Green Beans

With fall in the air and the new October issue of Better Homes and Gardens magazine to peruse,  inspiration was struck. The Cooking with Beer feature was just the thing to help use up some of the last cold hearty veggies from the garden, and of course enjoy some of my favorite beer. I did of course take some liberties with the recipe, omitting the crushed red pepper (didn’t have any) and adding more veggies (had a ton of those) . I think the results were both pretty on the plate and lovely for the palate as well. The kids thought I was crazy cooking with beer, but they actually enjoyed this dish quite a bit. (read more)

Caprese Chicken with Herbed Zucchini Bake

Twist on the traditional caprese salad

This chicken dish gets a fresh spin with the use of yellow tomatoes. We used fresh basil leaves and mozzarella cheese to complete the caprese chicken. Caprese is from the Campania region of Italy and is usually served as an antipasto with the addition of the fresh mozzarella. This simple week night dish really impressed the girls.  We accompanied the dish with a baked herbed zucchini side. This dish could easily be made vegetarian with substituting the chicken for portobello mushrooms. Gonna have to try it that way! (read more)

Cabbage, Sausage and Potato Soup

Cabbage-Potato-and-Sausage-Soup1The quest continues in this warming and hearty soup. I am not much for cooking dishes that take forever to make, since time is a precious commodity when you are the cook, gardener, driver and maid….not to mention working a full 40 hours and week and taking care of my girls too. Simple and quick are my friends!