The Walsh Cookbook

I love tea and own more teas and tea gear than anyone in their right mind should (I guess that really speaks to my state of mind huh?). Anytime I see a tea related recipe, I have to try it. When I saw this recipe on Pinterest, I was a goner. Earl Grey tea flavored chocolate chip cookies?!?! I never thought a chocolate chip cookie could be improved upon.  The dough keeps very well in the refrigerator or freezer. I made a batch of dough and stored it in the freezer to save it for a special occasion (or a late night craving). A very special occasion presented itself in early December with the arrival of a little puppy named Nigel. He came into our lives slightly unexpectedly, but he couldn't be cuter and he makes Brendan and I very happy (despite the fact that he chews on my hair and sometimes poops on the rug). I threw these cookies into the oven while my friends played with our little boy and they will always remind me of bringing home our little puppy.  This...

I know what you may be thinking; I know I have heard of rutabagas, but I wouldn't recognize one if it danced naked in front of me. Up until a couple of years ago, I felt the exact same way. But now that I am older and wiser, I have learned that a rutabaga is a really ugly root vegetable that makes a delicious mashed side dish for Thanksgiving. I would have never learned this important information about rutabagas and probably would have never tried one if it weren't for the Kestles. In Canada, Mashed Rutabaga Gratin is a common Thanksgiving side dish so Lynn would bring a dish to our Thanksgiving dinner. I always avoided the dish because a rutabaga sounds like a scary vegetable that a kid probably shouldn't eat. Then a couple of years ago, I finally decided to try this mysterious dish and I realized what I have been missing out on. Yum! I did a bit of light research about what exactly a rutabaga is and found it is a cross between a turnip and a cabbage. This would ex...

  This will be the first year I won't be spending Thanksgiving at home in Utah and I am a little bummed. I will miss being woken up early in the morning by Molly jumping on my bed and sitting on my chest, I will miss snacking on Sugared Cranberries while my mom and Lynn repeatedly tell everyone to get out of the kitchen, I will miss my mom sneakily calling me into the kitchen to taste the crispy, salty turkey skin without my dad knowing because if he knew he would tell us how much cholesterol and sodium we are consuming. Most of all I will miss sitting down around the gigantic makeshift table(s) with the Kestle family, enjoying the fantastic food and being together with my whole family.  And of course I will miss the point where Erin feeds Molly from her fork while Molly sits at the table!  But then I remember how lucky I am to have my Portland family and how blessed I am to have such wonderful people to celebrate with. This year, I am especially lucky becaus...

I am a Harry Potter fanatic. Now that that's out in the open, I can confess that for 13 years (since Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone came out) I've been dying to try pumpkin juice. Harry, Ron and Hermione were always quenching their thirst with a couple of bottles of ice cold pumpkin juice and I didn't want to be left out.  This year I reached a whole new level of Harry Potter obsession. I bought the "Unofficial Harry Potter Cookbook" and I've researched many Harry Potter inspired recipes on Pinterest. I've been waiting for Halloween to test out the pumpkin juice recipe I found on the "Babble" blog and I am happy to say it's great! It would be really fun to serve this out of a big pot with dry ice to make fog. Then again, what drink wouldn't be better with dry ice in it? Happy Halloween!  Serves 2 One year ago:  Pumpkin Spice Lattees ,  Bacon & Jalapeño Corn Chowder Two years ago:  Orzo with Parmesan and...

I heard an interesting segment on NPR the other day about the pumpkin craze that hits every October. Obviously I am one of the crazed victims ( Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Bread , Pumpkin Bread Pudding , Pumpkin Spice Creamer , Baked Pumpkin Oatmeal ) so I was immediately interested.  They talked about the fact that most pumpkin flavored things don't contain ANY pumpkin, they simply contain the spices that people associate with pumpkin like cinnamon and nutmeg. Even the famous Pumpkin Spice Latte from Starbucks contains "natural and artificial pumpkin spice flavoring". Therefore, I was determined to make a pumpkin syrup with REAL pumpkin.  I have made Pumpkin Spice Creamer for lattes before, but I wanted to test out pumpkin syrup since these days I use more flavored syrups in my coffee than creamers. Consider this a happy alternative as both are delicious!  This recipe is based on a recipe from the blog "Savvy Eats" with a few changes. Enjoy in a la...

Autumn means the grocery store has been flooded with a huge variety of tasty apples of all colors and sizes. The New Seasons by my apartment had a sampling table where you could sample a dozen different varieties to help you decide what to buy. It didn't help me much because I was convinced that every apple I tried was the best apple in the bunch. I ended up taking home about one of each. I'm starting to think that was their plan all along...  What do you do with twelve apples? Make applesauce of course! A few days ago, my mom had told me about some delicious applesauce she had made using the slow cooker and a splash of browned butter. She said the browned butter added a nice warm savory flavor to the sauce and combined with all the spices, it was a must make. Then she told me she served it warm for dessert with vanilla ice cream and crumbled gingersnap cookies. My mouth is watering just thinking about it. I also like to eat it cold from the fridge sprinkled with  Aun...

I was a lucky girl yesterday. I got to go to the DMV and hang out with all of the interesting people there while waiting to renew my tags. After 45 minutes of waiting and listening to the man sitting across from me tell me about how I shouldn't use my iPhone because the government was using it to spy on me, I was just a teensy bit grumpy and ready to go home. Also, it was getting close to lunch time and I was starving!  When I got home, I dug through the fridge looking for anything edible and non-moldy. Voila! Mushrooms on Toast! It's easy, filling and not too heavy. You can use any type of mushrooms you like: I happened to have button mushrooms and Chanterelle's on hand so that's what I used. It looks pretty to use a couple of different kinds, but tastes great with any type. I used sandwich bread but it would be especially tasty with fancy shmancy bread.  Serves 1 One year ago: Pumpkin Spice Lattees , Bacon & Jalapeño Corn Chowder Two years ...

Either you're a pumpkin-hater or a pumpkin-lover: I fall strongly in the latter group. The day the calendar switches from August to September, I eat anything and everything pumpkin flavored. I was so excited to get a pumpkin bagel after work the other day, I talked about it multiple times throughout the shift to my friend and co-worker, Emily. When we got to the bagel place, Emily told the cashier about how obsessed I am with pumpkin bagels and the cashier gave me a free pumpkin bagel. Being crazy pays off!!!  My mom sent me this recipe for Baked Pumpkin Oatmeal and I knew I had to try it ASAP. After a long night at the hospital (where they seem to be trying to freeze out all the employees by hiding the thermostats), a warm breakfast makes everything better (after a long, hot shower too of course). Usually, I am so tired after work I will eat the first thing I see (for example apple, chips, cookies, ice cream, etc.) which is another reason I really love this recipe. Sinc...

  Squash and zucchini are everywhere! Brendan and I were walking home from the grocery store the other day and someone had a box filled with different sized squash outside their garden with a sign that said "For our neighbors", which was very nice of them and a very Portland thing to do. They had all shapes and sizes including a pale green squash that was skinny and about 3 feet long. We picked out a couple of ones, including a baseball bat sized zucchini to make zucchini bread with and went home to enjoy our free treats.  Sautéed Summer Squash with Browned Butter and Thyme is one of my favorite late summer side dishes and we end up making it nearly every night. It's really easy to make so I can throw it together while I'm cooking the rest of dinner. It's a simple recipe that my mom described to me over the phone one day when I was looking for something a little different from what I usually make. She's so smart! I should mail her the skinny 3 foot ...

This "Greek" dip/spread is one of my latest addictions that I learned from my friend, Linda.  It is so fresh-tasting and wonderful and it's sooo easy, too! We were visiting our friends, Tom and Linda Huth outside of Boston for the second time in sixth or so months because of business trips--after not seeing them for eighteen or so years! They were kind enough to let us stay with (ahem, mooch off) them both times, and showed us around some beautiful areas of Martha's Vineyard, too.  They let us play with their ridiculously cute dog, Gilligan (who misses his Aunty Cathy very much, I just know--we even took a nap together, with him curled around the top of my head) and they were even  nice enough to feed us very, very well.   One night, as an appetizer Linda whipped up this amazing dip that is full of wonderful flavors and lots of chopped veggies and herbs.  She served it with freshly baked pita chips and it was oh, so delicious that we couldn't s...

One of my dearest friends from college, Marianna, is getting married this weekend! The ceremony is up on Mt. Hood and we get to take a chair lift to the ceremony (unless you're my friend Kelly's poor fiancé, who broke his pelvis 2 weeks ago and has to take a van with the elderly people). The actual wedding site is a little clearing with the peak of Mt Hood rising high in the background. Marianna is so kind and beautiful and has such a great sense of fun that it's sure to be a great wedding. I have been looking forward to this wedding for so long, I can't believe it's here already!  We celebrated her bridal shower this past weekend at her fiancé's parents home. The house was gorgeous and the party was a blast. We shared some of our favorite memories of Marianna. Her sister, Amelia, told a story about the time they were fishing and Marianna caught a fish hook in the back of her thigh while trying to cast off. Marianna panicked at the thought of having a f...

Nothing says "August" more than watermelon! Lately I swear I've been drinking more watermelon juice than water. It's so sweet and refreshing! Try making this for your next BBQ or dinner to celebrate the end of summer.  One year ago:  Baby Bok Choy and Snow Peas ,  Blueberry Banana Bread Two years ago:  Spicy Edamame , Chocolate Zucchini Cake

For me, summer doesn't feel like summer without eating some heirloom tomatoes from Farmer Kevin's (my dad) garden in Utah. I thought I was going to miss out this summer, but when my mom, Lynn and Wilson drove through Portland on the way to the Kestle's new house in Vancouver, B.C., they kindly imported some for me.  They stayed the night in town and we decided to go out to dinner at Ox, for some Argentinian inspired Portland food. It was well worth the 90 minute wait. We ate ourselves silly on house made chorizo, short ribs, steak, roasted cauliflower, mushroom risotto, salad and fried potatoes. Since they don't allow dogs in the restaurant, Wilson had to stay back in the apartment. Lynn gave him a tranquilizer before we left so he wouldn't be really anxious alone in a small apartment he's not used to. When we got back Wilson was a little loopy (he only got half a pill; talk about a lightweight!) and he entertained us by flopping around on the couch loo...

I still can't get over my summer produce/Farmer's Market high; I am happily snatching up all the ripe fruits and vegetables that Oregon summer has to offer! I decided to have a couple of college dance friends, Marianna, Amy and her husband Jered, over for dinner last week and I was very excited that I was able to get everything for dinner (except the farro and red pepper flakes) from the Wednesday Farmer's Market downtown.  I had a great time wandering through the market examining all the items that are different from the Utah Farmer's Market. I was excited to find fresh, locally grown onions, some that were bigger than a softball. I have never seen an onion that big! After deciding an onion that size would last me the better part of a month, I chose a smaller, more reasonably sized onion which I am happy to say was delicious!  The tomatoes were out in force and I picked up a couple pints of bright red cherry tomatoes intending on trying a recipe for "...

  I've been so obsessed with the Quick & Easy Strawberry Freezer Jam , I had to have more. I bought a few pints of organic Oregon blueberries from the farmer's market the other day and it made the most beautiful bright blue/purple jam.  I have been enjoying blueberry and strawberry jam (at least) twice a day since then; on toast, on English muffins, in sandwiches, in parfaits with Auntie O's Granola (yum!!!), straight out of the jar........  Makes 6 cups of jam  One year ago: Rice, Bean and Many Veggie Gratin , Baby Bok Choy and Snow Peas Two years ago: Panzanella , Grilled Salmon with Sundried Tomatoes

I love this time of year because the all the produce is so fresh and flavorful.  I went to the farmers market the other day and was annoyed I had only thought to bring one bag; I wanted everything! I also love this time of summer because of the sticky warm heat (my mom repeatedly tells me I can't possibly be her daughter because she hates this kind of weather). I like that you can go outside and grill something without having it dump rain on you; in Oregon that's a real treat!   Cornbread and panzanella are two things I really like so I can't believe it had never occurred to me to combine the two. This recipe comes from the website "The Kitchn" and allows for optional add-ins; you can add in whatever is ripe at the market like corn, zucchini, micro greens, etc. If you find you are just as in love with panzanella as I am, make sure you try our other favorite Panzanella recipe.  If you want to keep some for leftovers, separate the cornbread and ...

You know it's really summer when your zucchini and squash plants start going nuts.  After a while I can't think of anything else to do with them and end up letting them go bad, but now that I've got this delicious recipe that won't be happening again!  Lemony with delicious haloumi and fresh zucchini and squash from my garden, they're so good, especially with the sriracha aioli!  I even put a fried egg on top of a couple of them the day after I made them, and was very happy with the results! One year ago:  Rice, Bean and Many Veggie Gratin Two years ago:  Kevin's Italian Beef Sandwiches ,  Porch Swing ,  Pan Con Tomate/Tomato Bread

The thought of making jam or jelly has always intimidated me. I think it's the whole sealing the jars part. I'd have to buy all those cute matching mason jars and associated gear... meh. So I was excited when my mom told me there was a way to make jam sans sealing; freezer jam!  Basically you smash the fruit, boil water with the sugar and pectin, mix it all together and put it containers. The ones you put in the fridge you have to use within 3 weeks (not a problem when you eat jam as much as I have been lately!) otherwise throw it in the freezer for up to a year! This jam is so fresh tasting and it has nice big chunks of fruit in it.  I will warn you though, once you make this jam, you will find yourself eating more jam than you have ever eaten before. One day I had toast with jam for breakfast, a crumpet with jam for lunch then a PB&Jam sandwich for dinner. That's a lot of jam!!!!  This recipe comes from the insert inside the Sure Jell Low Sugar Pect...