In Good Taste

Crunchy Red Quinoa Salad with Chai Tea Vinaigrette (and a delicious giveaway!)

During my sophomore year in college I started just about every day with a Chai tea latte. Unfazed by the calories that my daily drink was racking up, I couldn't get enough of the warm, spicy flavor underneath the smooth ribbons of foam.

When I eventually came to my senses and moved on to Starbucks Tazo Chai Filterbags (actually I developed a wicked coffee habit but this is neither the time or place for that discussion).

Summer Bounty: Cowboy Corn Caviar

I talk about food a lot here, but it's time that I reveal a little personal tidbit about myself: I like country music. I went to college in central Pennsylvania and that's where it all started. At first it was a little Tim McGraw, the occasional Leanne Womack song on the radio.

Then, like a gateway drug, Tim McGraw gave way to Brad Paisely and Toby Keith and before I knew it, I was driving home for holidays with Rascal Flatts playing on a loop for three hours straight.

An Ironic Bread Salad: Summer Panzanella Recipe

Sometimes when I cook, the recipe turns out exactly like I'd imagined it. Other times, not so much. One Christmas I tried to make peppermint stick sugar cookies and instead, they turned out looking more like misshapen lumps of pepto-bismol tinted dough sticks, better suited for the bottom of the trash bin than for a festive dessert platter.

Another time, I attempted key lime bars and the color that the neon lime zest produced when I whipped it with egg yolks and condensed milk can only be described as...well, I would rather not describe it. I'm trying to be appetizing here.

A Love Affair, Explained: Sesame Kale Recipe

My love affair with kale may be young, but it runs deep. You've seen kale here frequently lately - from shrimp kale and avocado quesadillas to baked rigtoni with kale. It's nutritional properties are vast and it's actually quite tasty.

You see, the affair began at Whole Foods. Sometimes, I'll go blocks out of my way after a class at the gym to grab dinner from the salad bar. It's healthy, it's quick, it's a vice. During one of those trips, I discovered an awesome sesame kale salad.

Fresh Corn Muffins (And a few fun facts)

For some reason, Southern-style country cooking sounds more appealing in the summer. Maybe it's the fresh produce, the leafy greens and ripe tomatoes, the pert asparagus and plump yellow onions. 

Even though I'm no stranger to simple cornbread and cornbread with caramelized onions, I can't remember the last time I made corn muffins with real corn, fat yellow kernels that promise summer just around the corner.

But I can't pretend that the idea for baking corn muffins came to me naturally.