Ramadan recipes at the ready

April 12, 2021 by
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Tonight marks the start of Ramadan, which runs through May 12 this year. During this month of spiritual reflection and self-improvement, Muslims will abstain from both food and drink from dawn to sunset. As with most religious holidays, traditional foods play an important role, both for pre-dawn meal (suhoor) and the meal consumed after sunset (iftar). There are a variety… read more

‘Fooling’ around with food

April 1, 2021 by
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Normally we would feature a blog post for April Fools' Day that shared the funniest or most clever pranks that food websites or celebrities pulled on their fans. It seems that there are far fewer of these in 2021, perhaps because it seems wrong to try to fool us after everything we have been through in the past year. Instead,… read more

Foods to celebrate Nowruz

March 18, 2021 by
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March 20 marks the beginning of Nowruz, the traditional Persian New Year festival celebrated in Iran, Afghanistan, and the Kurdish regions of Iraq, Turkey and Syria, throughout Central Asia, and by members of the diaspora worldwide. Coinciding with the spring equinox in the Northern Hemisphere, Nowruz is a two-week celebration that centers on visiting relatives, picnicking, travelling, and eating traditional… read more

Mother’s Day recipe ideas

March 10, 2021 by
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Mother's Day is this Sunday in the UK (it's May 9 in the U.S., Australia, and New Zealand). A great way to honor the person who likely did most of the cooking for you during your childhood is to make a special treat for her on this special occasion. Whether that means a full meal (if you are able to… read more

Celebrate Welsh food on St. David’s Day

March 1, 2021 by
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March 1 is St. David's Day, which celebrates the 6th century patron saint of Wales. This holiday may not have the strongest food tradition, but it does offer an opportunity to explore Welsh food. Traditional festivities for the day, also known as The Feast of St. David, include wearing daffodils and leeks, both symbols of Wales. The leek is associated with the… read more

Celebrating National Pancake Day

February 15, 2021 by
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February 16 (Shrove Tuesday) is National Pancake Day. The Tuesday before Lent begins is a traditional day for eating pancakes, hearkening back to a time when any remaining rich foods were eaten prior to fasting. Traditions aside, this food 'holiday' is a perfect excuse to make breakfast for dinner. Jenny has previously posted all about the best pancake recipes, including Ebelskivers… read more

Celebrating the year of the ox

February 10, 2021 by
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February 12 marks the beginning of a very special time for the Chinese and several other cultures, as it is the beginning of the lunar new year. This year ushers in the Year of the Ox, but there is more than just the return of this second animal zodiac symbol at play, as CNN explains. In addition to the 12-year… read more

Celebrating Mardi Gras at home

February 6, 2021 by
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Every February, hundreds of thousands of people make the trek to New Orleans to celebrate Mardi Gras, the festival that begins at Epiphany and culminates on the day before Ash Wednesday, which is known as Shrove Tuesday. The festival includes parades, copious amounts of eating and drinking, and general revelry 24 hours a day. But not in 2021 - the… read more

Valentine’s Gift Guide for the Cookbook Lover

February 1, 2021 by
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I'm a bit of a practical person - if practical is defined as owning 5,000 cookbooks, never saying no to a piece of cookware and having more baking tins/gadgets than a full fledged bakery. Yes, my practicality runs in the form of enjoying practical things - I am not a flowers, chocolate or expensive dinner out type of person. Yes,… read more

It’s not too late to celebrate National Pie Day!

January 23, 2021 by
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Once again, National Pie Day has snuck up on me. This 'official' national food holiday allows me to celebrate Pie Day twice each year, because I will always believe the logical choice for the day is 3.14. Although the day is touted as a 'national' event in the US, I have noticed that people from around the world have joined in… read more

Lucky foods for the new year

December 31, 2020 by
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Eating traditional foods that are thought to bring good luck seems more necessary than ever today as the world rings in 2021. Which foods are considered lucky varies from country to country and even from region to region. Grapes play an important role in Spain, where revelers consume 12 grapes just as the clock strikes midnight, each grape representing a… read more

More gingerbread house eye candy

December 19, 2020 by
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I just can't resist posting one last item about gingerbread houses. This one comes from an annual contest hosted by The Omni Grove Park Inn in Asheville, North Carolina (incidentally, one of my all-time favorite cities in the US). This year the contest was virtual, like so many others, but that did not limit the creativity or excellence of the… read more

Cookies from around the world or around the block

December 15, 2020 by
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For a few years, the term procrastibaking has been employed to describe any time someone bakes when they should be doing something else such as working or doing the laundry. Today, I've been working on promotions and end of the month posts and my thoughts kept wandering to other fun things I want to do such as decorate the tree… read more

Hanukkah recipes at hand

December 10, 2020 by
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Hanukkah begins this evening and will end on the evening of December 18. If you are looking for different recipes to celebrate in this year that has us all scrambling to meet new challenges, head over to our Hanukkah Pinterest Board, which has been recently updated with new Pins. There are a slew of novel recipes for latkes - Food… read more

Homemade for the holidays

December 9, 2020 by
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On Monday we supplied links to great online resources to purchase holiday hampers and other food gifts. Sometimes you might want something more personal, or perhaps something less expensive - let's face it, this year not all of us can afford to spend a lot on presents. In either of these situations, homemade gifts fit the bill. We tend to… read more

Holiday gifts from your favorite authors

December 7, 2020 by
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Yikes! The holidays are almost here and you haven't even begun purchasing gifts (or is that just me?)! If you have a food lover on your list - or maybe someone who is just tired of cooking - you might want to get them a gift from one of your favorite cookbook authors. Most of the companies below offer expedited… read more

Christmas with Kim-Joy Cookbook Giveaway

December 1, 2020 by
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Enter our US/UK/AU/NZ giveaway to win one of three copies of Christmas with Kim-Joy: A Festive Collection of Edible Cuteness by Kim-Joy. My husband has described me as "crusty" with a good heart. I think that means that I would do almost anything for people but I really don't want to spend time with them. My tolerance level has gone… read more

What single dish defines your holiday?

November 14, 2020 by
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US Thanksgiving is less than two weeks away, but this year it is going to be celebrated much differently than usual. Extended family gatherings will be supplanted by more intimate dinners. Our usual crowd of 8 to 10 will only be two this year, because none of our usual dining companions is in our 'bubble'. Even though we cannot be… read more

2020 Gift Guide for the cookbook lover and cook & an Emile Henry tagine holiday giveaway

November 12, 2020 by
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Several times a year, I put together a gift guide of great products and cookbooks that would make a special gift for the cook/cookbook lover in your life. My 2020 gift guide for the baker can be found here. For sake of brevity, I will refer you to my Best Books of Fall/Autumn 2020 and Best Books of Spring 2020 for cookbook… read more

Diwali’s sweet delights

November 5, 2020 by
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Diwali, a five-day festival of lights celebrated by Hindus, Sikhs, and Jains across the world, celebrates new beginnings and the triumph of good over evil and light over darkness. This year the holiday lands on November 14. Diwali celebrations frequently include fireworks, candles, and other forms of light displays. Additionally, as with many holidays around the world, food plays an important role, especially sweets.… read more

2020 Gift Guide for the Baker

November 2, 2020 by
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Several times a year, I put together a gift guide of great products and cookbooks that would make a special gift for the baker or cook in your life. My cookbook lovers/guide for the cook is coming soon. Today is all about the baker. First, let's talk about baking all-star titles from 2020: Baking at the 20th Century Cafe: Iconic… read more

The foods of Día de Muertos

October 31, 2020 by
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On the heels of Halloween is the Mexican celebration Día de Muertos or Day of the Dead, celebrated November 1-2 each year. Day of the Dead celebrations can be traced to the ancient Aztecs, who felt that instead of mourning the deceased, people should celebrate their lives and welcome their spirits back to the land of the living once a year. Spanish… read more

Downsizing the holiday meal

October 29, 2020 by
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For many of us, the holidays are not going to be the same this year. Diwali and US Thanksgiving are just a few weeks away, with Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa following soon after. Instead of large feasts and gatherings we will likely be preparing smaller meals for fewer people. For those who have lost their jobs or have reduced income due… read more

It’s the most wonderful time of the year – cookie time!

October 24, 2020 by
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'Tis a bit early to start the holiday baking posts but I needed a wee break from the October new cookbook review. (I have no idea where the 'tis and wee came from, I blame it on Cookbooktober). As I was clearing my head in preparation for returning tonight to finish the epically long review, I glanced at the small… read more

Thanksgiving, virtually

October 9, 2020 by
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One of the most important food holidays in the US and Canada is coming up, but it will look a lot different than it has in years past. Monday marks Canadian Thanksgiving, and the US holiday follows on November 26th. Usually, we would be talking about how people would be gathering around the table in large groups, debating perennial topics… read more
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