Lemon and Goat Cheese Pasta

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Here is last night’s dinner — an adaptation of the easiest recipe imaginable penned by friend Erika of In Erika’s Kitchen. Her Meyer Lemon Spaghetti with Goat Cheese spoke to me. And I hadn’t planned on photographing the meal; I was just interested in eating it. But Larry said, “no, shoot it.”  Wayadaminnit, that’s strange… [...]

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Corn & Cheddar Chowder

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It may be summer weather where you are, but it’s still June Gloom here in Los Angeles. Soup is fine. This one of corn and potatoes, seasoned with Mexican spices and topped with cheese is only 233 calories and 3 grams of fat per serving, according to Martha. I tore the recipe out of a [...]

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Camp GetAway is for Mothers – AND Others, Like Me

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Circa 2001. Somewhere in this happy crowd was me. Mountains. Cabins. Hikes. Arts & crafts. Sing-a-longs. Dance class. Water aerobics. Skits. Archery. Canoeing. Sounds like good times for the kiddies, except that THIS was camp for grownup women.

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How to Fold A Napkin Into An Ostrich

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Tablescaping at the Lianshulu Lodge in Namibia was fanciful. Each meal was decorated with fresh-cut branches, intriguing little pods, local craft art such as warthogs and dragonflies. One evening, the napkins were folded as ostriches, and later we were taught the technique. I was EXCITED for the demo, don’t laugh.

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Guest Post by Carly Wray of Snooth ~ 7 Wine Emergencies & How to Fix Them in a Pinch

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Carly Wray from Snooth here.  Patti asked me to provide you with my top tips to help get you through a summertime of wine emergencies! You can’t tell by looking at it that your favorite wine is about to betray you. You didn’t do anything wrong. You fought your way through rush hour crowds to [...]

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Namibia Sunset Orange Blossom Cake

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African sunsets go on forever; the sun drops behind the horizon quickly, then melts the sky into a full hour of magnificence. Considering there are no buildings to block the view, hundreds of miles of horizon can (and do) glow every night.

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Eating on an African Safari

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When you travel 30+ hours to get home from Southern Africa, jet lag can be a whopper. But a great use of time at 4 AM is photo management. African light is naturally stunning. Morning light differed from mid-day, and sundown yet again different. It was easy for my little Canon G-10 to document how [...]

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Guest Post by Erika at In Erika’s Kitchen: Savory Cheese Biscuits with Yogurt

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My friend, Erika, writes heartfelt posts on her food-and-family blog, In Erika’s Kitchen. She’s a supercharged, busy woman; her “other blog life” is filling the LA Cooking Examiner with recipes destined to be treasures. I asked her if we could share one such gem here. Erika writes: Every recipe on Worth the Whisk has a [...]

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How to Bake A Restaurant-Perfect Potato – Guest Post with Dr. Potato

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This guest post is via my longtime foodservice friend, Dr. Potato (AKA Don Odiorne).  Don spent 40 years in corporate foodservice marketing and operations, owned his own restaurant and three pizza franchises. He supervises a web site and foodservice at the Idaho Potato Commission. Hey Don… How do you make a baked potato at home [...]

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Guest Post by Erika at In Erika’s Kitchen: Scrambled Eggs with Kale and Provolone

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It sure is nice to have food friends with great recipes to guest post for me. Meet Erika who not only works a crazy full-time schedule but is mom to 2 boys, wife to Mr., blogs at In Erika’s Kitchen and columnist at LA Cooking Examiner.  Erika writes: When Patti was looking for guest recipes to [...]

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Guest Post by Jen at Domestic Divas – "White Trash" Bacon & Egg Salad Sandwiches

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From Jen: This year, I had the pleasure of volunteering with Patti at the Stir It 28 Fundraiser for Haiti, where I provided two dishes, one of which was my “White Trash” Bacon & Egg Salad Sandwiches.  I created this recipe specially for Stir It 28, and Patti loved it so much, she asked me [...]

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Guest Post by Lynne at Cook And Be Merry

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Lynne Says: Patti has been so kind to share her knowledge about blogging with me. At her class, “How to Become a Serious Food Blogger,” I took TEN pages of notes and felt like I had struck gold. Patti thought her readers would like this recipe from my blog Cook And Be Merry for Shrimp [...]

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Guest Post by Rachael at La Fuji Mama: Warm Beet Salad

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From Rachael: Hello friends of Patti! When Patti asked if I would be willing to help keep you all entertained while she was away, how could I say no? I’ve found that I’m a total sucker when it comes to beets. It’s especially bad when the beets are looking good at my local farmer’s market. [...]

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How To Stay Married For 99 Years

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Thirty-two years ago this week, as my dad walked me down the aisle to marry Larry, I remember noticing how “sparse” 150 people seemed (discovering later that our map drove friends straight through the path of an Armed Forces Day parade). Oh well… Larry and I giggled through the entire ceremony. And that was an [...]

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Just Returned from Foodie Bootcamp

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This past weekend, I produced an event called Camp Blogaway Bootcamp for Food & Recipe Bloggers in our local mountains. Yes, a real camp. With dirt and trees and a squirrel who made his way into our lodge. We had 48 hours of seminars, sharing, eating, contests, goodies and more. Today, I am tired but [...]

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Red Lentils and Sausage

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This is a simple post. When our pantry is looking pretty empty, there’s always lentils. Make some. Include sausage. Spoon hot over cooked brown rice. Sprinkle with fresh-snipped chives from a pot on the patio (this is making me sound hippie-ish. COOL). Yes, I could write about their nutrition. Or how cheap they are. Or [...]

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Fee, Fie, Fiddlehead Ferns

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Los Angeles has a long list of farmers markets, but the better ones aren’t the closest to us in Westwood. Our two (one in the village, the other on the VA property) are small, with common offerings. Probably why fiddlehead ferns have eluded me. *sigh* I had never tasted them.

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Tasting Wine for Larry’s Top Charity

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If you are in marketing, advertising or media and live in Southern California, you should (a) know about the Advertising Industry Emergency Fund (AIEF) and (b) get on their email list. This week, Larry and I sipped and supped at the group’s wine tasting fundraiser sponsored by Sales Athlete (nobody needs to twist my arm [...]

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Apple Cinnamon Brunch Braid

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What to do with the second half of my dessert dough from the King Arthur Flour baking demo? I did what they said, I froze it. And then I wanted to eat it. They taught us how to do this at the demo, too, so I made an apple filled braid. First, GO HERE for [...]

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Happy Birthday to my Dad

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This is me with my dad, the handsomest man I know (sorry, Larry, you are a close second). Today is Dad’s 86th birthday! We all grew up knowing that mom married the hottest guy in Kewaunee, a source of pride to us. Dad was born in Suring, a small town in northern Wisconsin, and moved [...]

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