It’s already the end of the year and 2011 seemed to fly by. This is the time of year to reflect on what’s happened in the past 12 months but to also look ahead to the future. I’ve been writing the Thoughtful Eats and Bites Nearby columns for nearly a year now and have had a blast. I hope you enjoyed reading my articles as much as I had researching (it involved a lot of eating!) and writing them. Looking back on Thoughtful Eats, I’m amazed to see how many different types of recipes I tackled. More than I would have done on my own. My favorites include the Wheat Nut pancakes, inspired by …

  December can be a really stressful month! There is so much going on with the holidays; shopping, decorating, wrapping presents, traveling to see family, planning for New Years, while trying to do everything else you normally do as well. Maybe you need a nice tall glass of something to unwind. I’ve got the perfect beverage for that! Try my simple Holiday Sparkling Sangria. It’s potent, festive and flavorful. The ingredient list is very simple and it doesn’t require any fancy ingredients. What makes it perfect for the season is the combination of cinnamon, pear, apple and orange! This recipe …

  It’s almost Christmas time and I don’t know about you but December has been flying by. I can’t believe how close we are to the end of the holiday season and New Year’s! While some of you bought all your Christmas presents at the stroke of midnight on the day after Thanksgiving, the rest of us are still scrambling for ideas. If you need a stand-out thoughtful Christmas present for someone with a sweet tooth, look no further than these homemade holiday barks. They are inexpensive to make, really impressive and a tasty holiday treat. You can pack them in inexpensive holiday tins and boxes. You…

  When the holiday season starts, it seems like everyone develops a sweet tooth.  With so many delicious dessert delicacies to indulge in, it’s difficult to resist. If you are looking for a good dessert recipe that is easy to make and will satisfy your sweet tooth, look no further than Hello Dolly Bars. These bars have various monikers including Seven Layer Bars (even though there are only 6 layers technically) and Magic Bars. Hello Dolly Bars is my favorite name of them all because as I make it I hum to the tune of Louis Armstrong’s rendition of the famous song “Hello, Dolly!” These bars are…

Don’t you hate it when your bananas go bad before you had a chance to eat them? Well, if you have at least two overripe ones, then have I got the recipe for you. My Chocolate Chip Banana Bread Muffins are heavenly! The secret is in the ingredients. Lusciously sweet bananas, sour cream, butter and good quality milk chocolate chips. These muffins are great for breakfast or as a snack with tea. Make sure you share them with friends and family so the love spreads all around. You can easily substitute the chocolate chips for chopped walnuts if you want to make these more traditional. Don’t care …

  Even though the media is constantly reminding us that Christmas is coming, let us not forget that it’s really the season for Thanksgiving. This holiday can be as joyous, as it is stressful. Getting everything prepared and everyone in one spot can be tricky. But once you sit down to eat and share stories and laughs with friends and family, all that hard work seems a thing of the past. Make this Thanksgiving a bit easier (and more fun!) with my Boozy Pumpkin Pie. It’s got a little something-something that will happily surprise your guests. Make this pie ahead, preferably 1 or 2 days before …

Once I poured a bottle of beer into my meat and bean chili, I knew I'd never go back. There is something about beer in chili that makes it so rich and tasty. The beer cuts the acidity of the tomatoes and adds a wonderful flavor that complements the beans and the meat. This recipe is simple and in less than an hour you'll have a hearty bowl of chili perfect for a "chilly" Autumn evening. One of the elements that makes this chili healthy to boot is all the vegetables. Freshly chopped peppers, carrots, onion and whole cloves of garlic boost the nutritional value of the dish. I recommend using a …

OK, so maybe last week’s Severed Finger Cookies were more than you can handle. Do you still need a homemade Halloween treat? How about my Worm and Mud cupcakes? Not as scary as the severed finger cookies but just as much Halloween fun. These cupcakes are really simple to make. I have never been the type of baker who could make elaborate desserts. I need something easy, unique that is both fun to make and fun to eat. These cupcakes are Devil’s Food chocolate cake that you can bake in fun Halloween cupcake liners if you have them. They are topped off with chocolate frosting and crumbled cake (…

It’s that time of year! Halloween is fast approaching and with the holiday comes lots of yummy treats. While most of these treats come wrapped and from the supermarket, why not make some of your own homemade ones? I have a ghoulish yet delicious dessert perfect for Halloween: Severed Finger Cookies! Complete with nail and fake blood. My friends had a Halloween party last year and had these cookies out for guests to eat. They were so much fun to look at. Some folks were grossed out, but I just kept eating them by the handful, pun intended.  You can make these with either red frosting or edible…

I love going apple picking in the fall. It's the perfect excuse to be outside on a glorious Autumn day, enjoy the crisp air and blue sky, hang out with friends and load up on some fresh apples. But everyone always seems to enjoy themeselves too much during apple picking. So much so, they come home with way too many apples! More than they can eat. I know I'm guilty of that and always end up baking lots of apple desserts. Instead of making your regular apple pie with some of your apple picking haul, why not try a Dutch Apple Pie? What makes this pie different is the cream sauce inside, as well …

Chicken Salad Served 3 Ways I really love a good homemade chicken salad. I want chunks of chicken, pieces of celery, halves of grapes and the perfect blend of mayonnaise, lemon juice and seasonings. None of that mushy stuff for me! All it takes is a little effort and you’ll have a bowl of delicious chicken salad in no time. But who wants to eat chicken salad on its own? Not me! Here is how to make your own basic chicken salad and how to serve it up in three delicious ways. Chicken Salad in an Avocado Bowl: Take an avocado half, with the pit removed, and scoop out some of the flesh. This is to…

It's officially fall! That means a lot of things. Crisp air, blue skies, falling leaves, trees exploding in different colors, pumpkins and apples. Yes! Apples. What's fall in New England without apples, apple pie, apple cider, caramel apples, apple cider donuts and various apple desserts to make use of our annual apple picking haul? How about baking some Apple Cinnamon Nut Muffins to celebrate autumn? These muffins are moist and delicious. Unlike some other dry muffins, this recipe calls for buttermilk and oil which gives these particular muffins their softness. Need a brunch idea? Make these…

I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but I tend to make meals that are easy and simple. I love coming home, whipping up something delicious and sitting down to a home-cooked meal. What I don’t like are recipes that involve too many ingredients and too many difficult steps. Easy-peasy, that’s how I like it! Over time I developed an easy homemade Lasagna recipe that satisfies me every time. Not to say I don’t try to change it up a bit. One of my favorite types of lasagna to make is a Portobello Lasagna Roll-Up with Arrabiata sauce. The assembly takes a while so it’s fine for when I have an afternoon…

While I try to make as much as possible from scratch, there are some things that are just better when you have a little (or a lot) of extra help. Cherry pie is one of those things. I take two cans of light cherry pie filling and my favorite frozen pie crust, put them together and in 30-40 minutes (plus some cooling time) I will have a dessert that is as delicious as it is easy to make. You may ask why I don’t just take a frozen cherry pie and stick it in the oven? I still haven’t found one whole pie with my favorite filling and my favorite crust. So for now, I’ll stick to my already-easy way …

I have to admit, the recent encounter with Hurricane/Tropical Storm Irene had me on edge. It’s not easy having to wonder if that big tree outside is going to come crashing down on your home or whether you’ll be without power for a while. During the storm, I thought about what comforts me during bad weather like this. Things like a warm blanket, a good book, a big hug from a loved one and a hot bowl of soup make me feel cozy and safe. One of my favorite soups to make is Minestrone. It’s hearty and filling without having any meat or cream. I love that it’s healthy too because of all the fresh …

Let's face two absolute facts: kids are picky and parents are busy. I know a lot of parents struggle with getting their kids to eat healthy food especially when there are so many temptations out there. And while I don't have the solution for this dilemma, I am able to say that it can be easy to create simple and healthy snacks for kids that are as interesting as they are tasty. You don't need to spend hours cutting fruit, veggies and sandwiches into intricate designs to do that! I have some easy-to-make and healthy snack ideas that you can easily whip up in the morning or when the kids come …

August has proved to be quite a temperate month. We haven't had as many scorching hot days as we did in July. However, even with the relatively mild weather, I've still been craving iced drinks. There is nothing quite like sipping an ice cold beverage on a sunny day. I even find myself drinking iced green tea, indoors, on a cold rainy day. Iced drinks are just a wonderful part of summer regardless of the weather. If you recall, I shared with you some recipes for making Strawberry Lemonade and Raspberry Limeade by the gallon. In experimenting with new flavors, I bring to you Dark Cherry …

August is the best time for peaches. Especially freestone ones! Freestone peaches (as opposed to cling peaches) have flesh that does not stick to the stone inside. This makes them easier to cut in slices or chunks. You're more apt to find ripe freestone peaches, perfect for Fresh Peach Pie, in August. So now is the time to make this recipe! Don't be tempted to make this pie with a bag of frozen peaches. It just won't be the same. There is something quite delicious about peaches at their peak. Soft, juicy, messy and glorious when baked in a pie. This pie is the perfect way to celebrate the …

One of the many reasons I love summer is that it's abundant with fresh and in season produce. Whether you get your produce from the Woburn Farmer's Market, your local grocery store or from your own backyard, so many in season fruits and vegetables are highly accessible that it behooves us to take advantage of this produce when it's at its peak of freshness and flavor. This is why I try to combine as many vegetables and fruits into my summer meals as I can. Every summer, I always make a black bean and corn salad. The black beans are the base, but the real showcase is all the fresh vegetables. …

I know, I know, I said I wasn't a salad person. But I'm really trying to change that. The way I've been changing my mind about salads is by making my own salads at home and loading them up with lots of fresh goodies. While I've had Caesar salad many times and have made it at home, I never thought to make my own Caesar salad dressing. So I thought I'd give it a try. But there were two things I really wanted to omit. Egg yolk and anchovies. Could I make a creamy and authentic tasting Caesar salad without these? I gave it a shot and the dressing came out with as much tang as any other Caesar …