Vanilla Black Tea Rice Pilaf

I tend to go through phases...phases where I can't get enough of eating a certain dish, sipping a certain drink, or using a certain ingredient. Lately, I've had tea on the brain. But when I say tea, I mean tea as a whole (as opposed to one certain variety), so that actually opens up a whole world of possibilities.

Wild Blueberry and Thyme Breakfast Sausage | #BonneMaman #SayItWithHomemade

This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of Bonne Maman. All opinions are my own.

Well, I think that spring has finally sprung in northwestern Indiana. There are tiny green buds on the trees and birds in all shapes and sizes are raising a ruckus outside of windows that have thrown open to air out a house desperately trying to shake off winter. Along with signs of rebirth and revitalization comes the time we celebrate and honor the women who (sometimes) birth, nurture, and raise us—otherwise known as mom!

Slow Roasted Yellow Cherry Tomatoes w/ Garlic & Marjoram

Tomatoes in March you ask? Why yes...tomatoes in March. Not something usually associated with the midwest in wintertime, I know. Well, unless you count the rows of jarred, canned, and dried tomatoes in many forms that line many a pantry. Like mine. I'm really not willing to go without tomatoes half of the year. Sure, I can be found breaking down and buying some Roma's from the market from time to time, as well.

Green Goddess Fish Burgers | #FishFridayFoodies

Yesterday I mentioned that I recently took the Healthy Heart Pledge, promising to add seafood to our menu at least two times per week. Today I'm back to share a delicious dish that fits beautifully into our new routine. This recipe is also part of this month's #FishFridayFoodies theme, chosen by yours truly since I'm hosting this month - fish and seafood burgers!

Here's the scenario: it's summer, the grill has been fired up over and over again, and more often than not, you wind up throwing some burgers over the flame. That's fine and dandy, but a girl's gotta have options. Maybe you're tired of regular burgers. Maybe you have a guest who doesn't eat red meat. Maybe you recently committed to a challenge that encourages you to use fish and seafood two times a week in new and exciting ways.

Herbes de Provence Roasted Chicken and Potatoes + an Amélie Inspired Menu

Although I can't recall the exact date (or even year) that I first watched Amélie, it seems like it's been one of my favorites for years. Originally released in 2001, this French film is about a young girl raised and schooled at home by parents who were trying to protect her since they mistakenly thought she had a heart defect. Since Amélie is without playmates, she develops a world of magic and mischief inside her head.

She loses her mother young and watches her father become more reclusive as the years go by. When she is old enough to venture out on her own, she moves to an apartment in Montmartre and works as a waitress at the Café des 2 Moulins (Two Windmills Cafe). Her wonderfully quirky apartment shows the imagination that she had a child still lives openly within her as a young adult.

Whole Roasted Duck

Aside from my love of cooking, do you want to know two things that inspire me in the kitchen? Beautiful ingredients and beautiful cookware. Today I'm sharing a recipe that is special enough to grace any holiday table, yet simple enough to prepare on any given Sunday. Plus, when it's in the oven, it fills your house with scents of warmth and comfort. I had to run to the store while it was in the oven and opening the door to the scent of this and freshly cut pine was intoxicating.

Let's start with the ingredients. I've been in the mood for duck lately. I used some duck sausage to make sausage rolls a few days ago, but I had a Maple Leaf Farms All-Natural duck raised without antibiotics just calling to me from the fridge. The duck, some sunny orange clementines and some fresh green herbs were just the ingredients that I needed to inspire me.

Savory Tomato and Zucchini Pie

It's the last Friday of the month, and you know what that means - Friday Pie Day! But really, where did July go? I blinked and somehow here we are. Summer "vacation" seemed so much longer when I was a kid. Now we're just a few weeks away from my own kids heading back for another school year.

But aside from that pending doom, what other two things can you count on when the last day of July is staring you in the face? Tomatoes and zucchini, that's what! It's funny, because I've gotten pretty lazy (busy really, but I could have carved out some time somewhere...) and haven't planted a garden in about 4 years. Yet, my kitchen is still overrun with zucchini thanks to my neighbors. And personally, I don't think one could ever have to many fresh from the backyard tomatoes.

So, I thought this would be a good time to combine the two and make one savory pie. I also added basil, another thing that just screams summer. I should have just called it Summer Pie!

Peach-Rosemary Shrub Syrup

I've been meaning to try making (and drinking) a shrub for at least 3 or 4 years now. I'm not really sure why I've waited so long, seeing as they couldn't be any easier to make. So, when you think shrub, does your mind automatically go to the bushes outside your childhood home? Or, if you're like me, a little TLC song might start playing on a constant loop in your head. (Yes, I know it's scrub, not shrub. I can't help the way my mind works.) What I'm really referring to are the shrubs that are also known as "drinking vinegars".

Basically, you macerate fresh fruit or berries with sugar until the fruit is soft and the sugar is dissolved, then you add vinegar and allow the mixture to infuse for several days. You can add fresh herbs or spices for different flavors. Once the mixture has infused, you strain out the solids and use the resulting sweet and tangy syrup to flavor things, usually drinks (though you could use it in vinaigrettes or sauces, as well).

Roast Crispy-Skin Turkey (w/ Citrus Herb Brine)

Fourteen years ago, I was in charge of the Thanksgiving turkey for the first time. I was 25 and finally ready to join the ranks of my grandmas, mom, and aunts; I was finally going to be hosting the meal that I look forward to for an entire year. I'd been training for that day my whole life by helping choose how we were going to flavor the bird when my mom hosted...by researching the pros and cons of brining...by reading up on wild vs frozen. I was a master baster. Go ahead, snicker. I was ready.

So, I set about my normal routine of figuring out how I could make the best turkey my family had ever eaten. Visions of breast meat so juicy that it garnered involuntary whimpers from the hungry mouths of my guests. Skin so burnished and crispy that I'd have to fend off sneaky fingers with the tines of my carving fork. Turkey that elicited a satisfied smile when looked back on throughout the year.

You know, a turkey that was no less than amazing—an A++++++++.....