The Heart of the Home
This is a blog about cooking from the heart. It is about creating meals that invoke feelings of excitement, serenity, and security, and bring laughter and a sense of community to the table. When you cook one of these recipes I hope that your family and friends will walk into your home, take in a deep breath of what you are cooking and uncontrollably smile. If you achieve that response then I have succeeded in sharing with you a piece of my heart.
The recipes I will be posting will vary depending on the seasons (or my compulsive whim of the day) but in general they will be meals to be shared, savored, and remembered. Below is a summary of the most recent posts. For a full list go to the Recipe Archive.
Lemongrass-Cilantro-Lime Marinade (for chicken or pork)
Over the years (decades really) I’ve experimented with various herbs. My first set of cooking explorations were with dried basil. Which evolved to other dried herbs like oregano, marjoram, thyme, rosemary, sage, etc. As my cooking skills improved I moved on to fresh herbs and even grew my own. I eventually moved on to experimenting with less common culinary flavorings like rose water, sumac, and galangal. With the melting pot of produce available these days I’ve been able to explore a whole new world with fresh ingredients. My latest…Lemongrass.
Nostalgia
When I started this blog it was all about creating new memories of warmth and familial bonds. Many of my recipes take time to prepare – time to infuse your passion into each herb you chop, each concoction of ingredients you stir, each pot of simmering elixir wafting through your home. Today I want to step back in time when something simple and obvious was exciting and new…
Beef Back Ribs with Herb Marinade
I’ve been rather lax on the blogging this Summer but not on the grilling! I’ve been experimenting with a variety of recipes but still working on ones that I deem “blog-worthy.” Here is one that I feel makes the cut.
Normally when I make ribs, either pork or beef, I automatically think “Barbeque Sauce” – tangy, orange-red, thick sticky sauce with a little kick. But with the abundance of fresh herbs bursting out of my garden I decided to do something different. The result was a refreshing change. Instead of the sauce being the highlighting flavor, the herbs enhanced the taste of the beef ribs.
Spring Lamb Stew
For the past six weeks I’ve been gloriously shopping at the local farm stands and I can’t wait for the open-air Farmer’s Market to start! I have been experimenting with various locally grown baby vegetables for weeks now and my favorite recipe so far is for Spring Lamb Stew.
Soft Shell Crab with Ginger, Scallions, and Cilantro
The first full moon of May has passed so that means it’s soft-shelled crab season! Yes, it really does have to do with the lunar cycle.
“GF” – “Good Food” oh, the other GF, Gluten Free…
Gluten allergy and intolerance has become increasingly common. I will not go into detail about the specific symptoms, causes, or differences but you can find a list of gluten free recipes by clicking on the “Gluten free recipe” category on the right side of the home page. Please note that although I have labeled these recipes to be gluten free you must do your due diligence to review ingredient labels of prepared products to verify that they are truly gluten free. Also consider the side you choose to serve. In some recipes I recommend pasta or bread, which in most cases are not gluten free.
Hestina's Kardia 