Giuseppepaolo

Where to start with this one (besides with a fork). Sometimes one random ingredient can be the catapult to multiple delicious results. That was the case when I received a bottle of Mandarano Balsamic Glaze & Sauce , I love balsamic vinegar. Having a whole bottle of the glaze on hand? Oh yes....I was in a little bit of heaven. The tangy sweetness beckoned to me on so many levels. From sweet to savory and somewhere in between. The first thing I did when I got home from work and opened the box was to make a drink. Not just any drink...I mean...a real drink. And yes, I used the  Mandarano Balsamic Glaze & Sauce  in it. Think...Arnold Palmer gone wild. Grab a shaker, filled almost to the top with ice. Fill half way with some good limoncello. Add a teaspoon or two (depending on your preference) of  Mandarano Balsamic Glaze & Sauce . Shake vigorously. Strain into a cocktail glass and top off with some club soda. (If I had had a lemon on hand, I would've garnished my cocktail w

When my Food & Wine magazine arrived, boasting 25 vegetable dishes, my daughter was on it like bees on honey. "Mom, we should go through this magazine and make all of the recipes!" Thank God she didn't mean, all of them on the same day. I mean, I like my vegetables and all, but for some reason they're kinda high maintenance. Lots of prep work. All that washing, drying, cutting. I know...I am  can be very lazy sometimes. I try not to be. But I can't help it . This recipe does have quite a bit of prep work. Of course I did increase that a little by grilling the corn before using it. I figured since there was so much corn in these cakes, that the flavor would be a plus. Which it was. And I can say that the added step was worth it. I didn't fire up the grill or anything. I just took a gas grill grate that I bought from the hardware store and plopped it on the stove top, over the flame...and grilled away. (works great for grilling peppers and such indoors as we

Apparently I exceeded my allotted bandwidth with PhotoBucket. The pictures will return in 3 days. I apologize for any inconvenience this might cause anyone. In the feature, I will be removing the photos of my most popular posts from PhotoBucket to another source to hopefully prevent this from happening again. My other option is to upgrade my account, which I'm not too keen on doing (cuz I'm too cheap). Please feel free to contact me in the meantime at peacefulcooking@gmail(dot)com For now....Cheers!

Whether you're growing zucchini in your own garden or buying them at markets, you've no doubt come across the beautiful big yellow blooms of a zucchini plant. They may not be fragrant but they sure do taste good. I had heard of people eating zucchini blossoms several years ago but I wasn't in a hurry to give them a try. It takes me a while to warm up to a new idea. Even in fashion (and I am by no means a fashionista), I'm just beginning to like a style as its on its way out. The other day I was walking through the farmers market and saw some blossoms. Apparently both the male and the female blossoms are edible. I don't know why I'd think otherwise but this was the first time I'd seen them with baby zucchinis still attached....a.k.a. female blossoms. I usually just see the males (fruitless blossoms). The above female blossoms were $1.25 for the 6 of them. I then learned from a chef on Facebook that if you are growing your own zucchini, you can pick all but on