🍷 Glögg, My Christmas Tradition 🇸🇪

December 26, 2016 by Rickommended Eats

Merry belated Christmas and happy holidays to all those reading! It's been an enjoyable and relaxing holiday season so far (my Apple Watch kindly informed me that I completed one minute worth of exercise on Christmas Day yesterday)! Mulled wine has already been made and partially consumed (more will likely be made and consumed for the New Year), lots of food has been eaten, and friends and family have been visited. I'm on a Greyhound bus headed back to the city, as I write, after a slightly extended weekend in my hometown in Central New York. It was my first visit back during the holidays in two years... way too long! I wasn't able to see everyone while I was there, unfortunately, but I don't plan to go that long without a trip home for the holidays again. It's not easy taking time off work to travel home often (I don't have one of those cushy 9 to 5’s yet), but I think it definitely matters most around the holidays. From my family and friends to yours, I hope that your holidays have been and continue to be enjoyable and full of food and love!

Chicken Noodle Soup

November 26, 2016 by Rickommended Eats

This is just a simple, old-fashioned chicken noodle soup recipe that hits the spot when it's cold or when you've got a cold. Adapted from MyRecipe's old-fashioned chicken noodle soup recipe, I've made a few minor changes, including the use of boneless dark meat (for easier prep) and the addition of garlic for more flavor and cold fighting power. I made this after getting home from work late last night, so it's definitely a busy weeknight-compatible meal and is so much better than the canned soups you might be used to.

Origin Story, Part 2 (Coffee Edition)

August 19, 2016 by Rickommended Eats

This story starts off similar to my food origin story, with my earliest memories of coffee involving my mother. I have this vague memory from when I was around four or five years old of me asking my mom for my own cup of coffee. I really wanted to try it and drink coffee, just as she did. I apparently did this kind of thing a lot as a kid. My mother has always said that when my late grandmother injured her hip and walked around with a walker and a slight limp, two or three year old me walked around just like her. I’m told I wasn’t mocking her, rather I was just trying to relate to and empathize with her. She and I also shared a lot of common interests when it comes to food, at least what I can remember from then. She loved lemon desserts (especially lemon meringue pie), black coffee, and boiled red snapper hot dogs (Pilgrim brand, if I remember correctly). My mother admits to diluting my coffee with milk and sugar a bit, but I don’t really recall to what degree.

Origin Story, Part I

August 11, 2016 by Rickommended Eats

At the risk of sounding even more cliché, I believe it all began with my mother. When I was young, I looked up to her a lot more than I sometimes realized. I now credit her for my addiction and early introduction to coffee and my love of cooking shows, because those were the things she's always enjoyed as long as I can remember. To this day, we frequently talk about both when we're together or chatting over the phone. We both ogle over kitchen tools and food photos or recipes and ramble on about the characteristics of our dream kitchens full of bamboo, granite, and stainless steel. She and I are very alike when it comes to food and she's one of my biggest fans, even though she rarely gets to eat the food I cook.