Welcome to Real Food Wednesday!

I posted a recipe for Homemade Cherry Pie With a Lattice Crust. I just made this pie for my family and it was a hit. Do yourself a favor and make a cherry pie while the cherries are in season — right now!

Early summer is cherry season. My favorite way to eat cherries is in a pie. Many people have negative associations with cherry pies — but that’s because they’ve only eaten storebought cherry pies. There is nothing like a homemade cherry pie. Especially with a crust made from scratch with lard and real butter and served with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. I made this pie for my extended family tonight in Ohio and everyone loved it. They ooohed and aaahed. Which is what you want when people are eating your pies.

I’m pleased to announce the winner of the Cultures For Health starter culture giveaway sponsored by Cultures for Health.

If you didn’t win this time, you can still save money on some starter cultures including kombucha, kefir grains, water kefir grains, sourdough and yogurt starters. Cultures For Health is offering a special discount to my readers for a limited time.

I’ve loved Julia Child for as long as I can remember. She’s always been an inspiration, and let’s be honest, a hero to me. Today I’m very proud to be featured as the official Blogger of the Day on the new Julie & Julia movie website. I’m very much looking forward to seeing the film, which premieres August 7th. Not only for my love of Julia Child, but also because it looks like a fun movie. Plus, Meryl Streep is one of my all-time favorite actresses. I am also a fan of Julie Powell’s wonderful book, Julie & Julia. Blogger Julie Powell ambitiously cooked and blogged her way through Mastering the Art of French Cooking in 365 days, and lived to write a book about it.

Good morning, readers! Happy Monday! It’s time to announce another giveaway. This week Cultures for Health is giving away 3 starter cultures. They have everything from sourdough to kombucha to kefir grains and yogurt starters. If you win, you can choose any 3 starter cultures.

ENTER TO WIN! Learn to cook healthier meals for your family! Click here to enter to win Real Food for Rookies, a new online class — retail value $120, plus over $60 worth of discount coupons. Don’t miss out! contest ends this SATURDAY Sept 4th at midnight Pacific. Welcome to Real Food Wednesday! I posted [...]

Japanese food is one of my favorite cuisines. Growing up in Texas, I also cultivated an appreciation for BBQ sauce. Today we’re doing a fusion dish. Call it New American meets Japanese: BBQ Natto with Shrimp.

BBQ sauce is kind of like bacon. Everything tastes better when you add it. But have you looked at the ingredients on a bottle of storebought BBQ sauce lately? High fructose corn syrup is usually the first or second ingredient listed.

Turns out it’s really easy to make barbecue sauce at home. It only takes a few minutes to whip up a batch. You can use it for all kinds of things — from BBQ ribs, BBQ shrimp or sausage, pulled pork sandwiches to BBQ chicken pizza.