She’s shared with us her recipe for the delectable Molten Lava Muffin Cakes you see above, along with more than 60 other recipes in here. She’s also a generous soul who shares her love far beyond her family circle. Everybody, say hello to Katie, known to us here as dishinanddishes.

Katie works in Information Technology for her local school administration, and her greatest passions are writing and cooking, which she combines beautifully in her blog, Dishin and Dishes. And oh, the dishes you’ll find in there. The 60-plus recipes that she shares with us here in her Tasty Kitchen recipe box are just a sampling of the goodies she creates in her kitchen. For one, remember Jaden’s recent post about her Cinco de Mayo party menu? Katie’s got a few recipes that you might want to include in yours, including a 5-minute salsa that she’s trained her 16-year-old to make.

Clockwise from top left: Unforgettable Salsa, Grilled Corn with Cilantro Lime Butter, Mexican Coffee, Poblano Spoonbread, and Spicy Southwest Soup.

 
 
 
Speaking of teens in the kitchen, Katie and her husband (she calls him Mr. Wonderful in her blog) truly love working with teenagers, and they host more than 30 teens in their home (yes, you heard me—more than thirty) for a small group discussion and mentorship program every Monday. She cooks for all of them every week. Now that’s some serious love and dedication. It’s also good to know that they’re getting not just tasty but also healthy, good-for-you food. Katie has quite a number of yummy salads in her repertoire, as you can see below.

Clockwise from top left: Pancetta Tomato Bibb Lettuce with Homemade Blue Cheese Dressing, Orzo Pasta Salad with Wild Rice and Cranberries, Bay Scallop Ceviche Avocado Salad, and Roasted Red Onion Panzanella.

 
 
 
She’s got great sides and appetizers too, so they’ll always get some veggies with their meal.

Clockwise from top left: Oven “Fried” Parmesan Zucchini Squash, Roasted Butternut Squash Bisque with Sage Cream, Cauliflower Gratin, Gyoza or Potstickers Baby!, Tomato, Fresh Mozzarella and Roasted Garlic Tarts, and Roasted Asparagus with Ginger Soy Sesame Dressing.

 
 
 
Katie’s favorite ingredients or food pairings cover a the wide range of flavors, from basil pesto, mushrooms and cream sauce of any kind, to Thai food ingredients. The meal that she prepares when she has only 3 minutes to get it ready? Sliced French bread with pesto, turkey, provolone and red onions, grilled on her George Foreman. But my favorites among her main course dishes are her seafood recipes, which may not be the first thing that comes to you mind when you think of teen-friendly food.

Clockwise from top left: Honey and Lime Grilled Salmon, Mussels In White Wine Garlic-Butter Sauce, and Lemony Ricotta Shrimp Fusilli Pasta.

(Every time I look at that salmon, it makes me want to march outside and fire up the grill.)

 
Now comes the part I like the most about these features: the part where we ask our guest of honor some questions. Maybe we’ll find out if there’s anything at all that gives this superwoman in the kitchen (yes, I’m still thinking about the weekly hosting of more than 30 teens) any trouble. Take it away, Katie!

 
 
Q: What do you enjoy most about cooking?
A: Getting my family together in the kitchen. Our kitchen is the social hub of our home.

 
Q: Any favorite chefs or food celebrities?
A: Jamie Oliver. I love his home grown concoctions.

 
Q: What is your go-to dish or meal?
A: Grilled chicken with some sort of roasted vegetable. I haven’t met a vegetable I dislike yet. I’ll toss broccoli, Brussels sprouts, sweet potatoes or a combination of several veggies on a sheet pan with some olive oil and chopped rosemary, sea salt and pepper and roast them until they’ve caramelized. Super easy and effortless.

 
Q: Is there a strange food or food combo that you really, really enjoy?
A: Whole green onions dipped in sea salt. My Grandpa Alex taught me to do that straight out of the garden. However, it makes for really regrettable breath later on.

 
Q: Do you have a most memorable kitchen flop ever?
A: Just one? I once put a soup pot on with a whole chicken it it to boil for chicken and dumplings and forgot about it and left for work. When I got home that afternoon, the house was full of smoke. I think it took about a month to get the smell out of the house!

 
Q: What gives you the most trouble in the kitchen?
A: No doubt, poaching eggs! I can’t do it. I bought one of those pan molds. I just can’t do it. I end up with egg-drop-soup.

 
Q: Give us one of your favorite kitchen tips that you wish you’d always known.
A: If you need to slice garlic and need the pesky paper peel to come off easily, instead of buying one of those $15 rubber tubes, use a jar opener. Place the clove on the rubber jar opener and fold the top over and roll with the palm of your hands. Voila! The peel comes right off, leaving your garlic clove intact.

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Thanks for answering our questions, Katie!

 
Katie’s recipe box here at Tasty Kitchen is bulging with more than 60 delicious dishes. To see more of her recipes and learn more about her, head to her blog Dishin and Dishes, where you’ll find other posts about gardening, teens, home and family, Oklahoma, and various cool little household tips and tricks. Oh, and if you poke around a bit, you just might find a link to a video of her Mr. Wonderful proposing to her. Such a sweet moment, and the shocked look on her face is priceless.

 
Her recipes are inspired, and her photography is clean and classic, as seen in her Butter Cookies, Classic Napoleons, and Pumpkin Cranberry Oatmeal Cookies seen above. If you’ve been wondering who’s behind that cute little wedding cake avatar, here’s our chance to get to know her better. Everyone, say hello to Tracy!

Tracy (sugarcrafter), as she’s known here at Tasty Kitchen, lives in upstate New York with her husband of almost 5 years (they have an anniversary coming up this summer!). The “totally geeky” couple met in college, where they earned their engineering degrees. She’s a technical writer who loves her job, but fortunately for us, she loves baking, cooking, and blogging even more. (She says that she even enjoys cleaning, calling it “oddly relaxing.” I’m hoping she’ll come over to my house and oddly relax here a bit.)

Tracy calls her blog Sugarcrafter because she loves baking sweet stuff and cake decorating. So you know this post will be showing off some of the amazing delights in her Tasty Kitchen recipe box, like the lovely dishes below that feature chocolate and berries. Chocolate because maybe—just maybe—it’s a Tasty Kitchen favorite item, and berries because in the summer, Tracy can’t get enough of them.

Clockwise from top left: Cannoli Cupcakes, a decadent Chocolate Pomegranate Mousse, a summery Very Berry Pie, classic Chocolate Crinkles, a wonderfully refreshing Strawberry Sorbet, and a rich Dark Chocolate Zucchini Cake.

 
 
 
But there’s more to Tracy’s repertoire than desserts. She admits that she knew nothing about cooking, and when she was first starting to learn, she was terrible at it. She may have gotten by without it in college, where she relied on ramen and the dining hall for meals. But marriage changed all that. So she started with some of the basics armed with the Betty Crocker Bridal Edition cookbook, which was a wedding gift. Before long, she realized that she liked cooking and loved baking. For someone who confesses to once setting spaghetti on fire (we’ll get the scoop on this later), she certainly has come a long way. Just look at some of her main course recipes below.

Clockwise from top left: Szechwan Shrimp, Rosemary Tomato Artichoke Tart, Sesame Chicken that looks so much better than anything delivered, Eggplant Parmigiana, and cute little breakfast Quiche Lorraine Tartlets.

 
 
 
Another thing that she never dreamed she’d be able to do is make her own bread. And yet, not only is she a regular artisan bread maker, but it sure looks like she’s got a handle on all the other kinds of breads too, from sandwich loaves (like the Honey Oatmeal Bread below on the left), to Pumpkin Muffins, or the fall favorite quick bread Classic Pumpkin Bread.

 
 
 
Tracy has some delicious side dishes as well, although they look so good that they just might upstage the main course. She uses sweet potatoes to make her Roasted Sweet Potato Fries seen below, as well as a Sweet Potato Gnocchi with Brown Butter Sauce. She gets creative and makes pumpkin the star of her Pumpkin Bisque, but is also quite comfortable with a straightforward Southern classic below: Hushpuppies. And her Tortellini Antipasto is just the right grilling or summer outing companion.

 
 
 
Of course, true to her blog name, her artistry really shines when it comes to the sweet stuff. She does, after all, consider herself mostly a baker. Which is why it’s no surprise that her favorite kitchen tool is her KitchenAid mixer, used for baking cakes and cheesecakes and kneading breads. Or that she panics when she realizes she’s out of flour. I’d panic, too, if I knew how to make some of the goodies that she makes but had no flour with which to make them. Here are just a few more of her stunning desserts, including a few that don’t require flour. (Tracy sure knows how to do contingency planning.)

Clockwise from top left: Espresso Ice Cream, Rhubarb Crumble (Tracy loves rhubarb in the summer), Cranberry Sandies, Pumpkin Spice Latte and Pumpkin Blondies (can you tell she loves pumpkin when it’s in season?), and simple, delicious Candy Corn Kisses.

 
Are you getting hungry looking at her recipes? I know I am!

I’d show you even more of her recipes, but we might run out of space. And I really want to get to that story about that time you set spaghetti on fire. So I’ll step aside for a while and let Tracy answer some of our questions. Take it away, Tracy!

 
 
Q: What do you enjoy most about cooking?
A: I enjoy the creative outlet it gives me, but most of all, I like to bake and cook for others. A table full of people engaged in enjoying the food and having great conversation is one of the things I love most.

 
Q: Any favorite chefs or food celebrities?
A: I’ve always loved Paula Deen. She’s such a sweet and welcoming lady; watching her on TV instantly makes me feel comfortable and like I can absolutely tackle whatever dish she’s making. I love it when celebrities are down to earth like that.

 
Q: What is your go-to dish or meal?
A: Pizza. Since I always have homemade dough on hand, it’s easy to throw on some toppings and have dinner ready in about a half hour.

 
Q: Do you have a most memorable kitchen flop ever?
A: When I was first learning to cook in college, I had an incident with spaghetti. Having always watched my mom just throw it into the pot, I did the same, not realizing at the time that her pot was a lot bigger than mine. A bunch of spaghetti spilled out into the burner and caught on fire, and I panicked! Fortunately, my roommate was there, and she helped me put out the fire. Still, it was really embarrassing.

 
Q: What gives you the most trouble in the kitchen?
A: Basically, any recipe that requires peanuts/nuts, such as macarons—although I have made my own version with ground sunflower seeds. I’m severely allergic, so I’m always on the lookout for nut-free alternatives.

 
Q: What food item do you always make at home and never buy at the store anymore?
A: Bread. I just love having fresh bread around the house, both artisan loaves and regular sandwich loaves, which are easily frozen for later use!

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Thanks for answering our questions, Tracy! I’m sure everyone will agree that you’ve come a long way from burnt spaghetti.

 
If you want to see Tracy’s recipes here at Tasty Kitchen in all their glory, head over to her recipe box and be prepared to start getting hungry all over again. And visit her blog, Sugarcrafter, where she gets to merge her three favorite hobbies: baking, writing, and photography. In it, she shares both her successes and her flops, and hopes that it will benefit bakers and cooks of all skill levels and help you believe that you can conquer any recipe.

 
This week, our featured member is Rebecca, who not only is a food blogger but also a part-time cooking teacher, occasional caterer, a writer of a food and family column for the Traverse City Record-Eagle, an avid do-it-yourselfer in the kitchen (as evidenced by her Homemade Cultured Buttermilk seen above), and a homeschooler of her five children, all of whom are boys.

I’ll pause a moment and let that sink in for a while.

Rebecca Lindamood, known here simply as Rebecca, refers to herself as a former full-time cook. With five perpetually hungry boys, she can probably drop that “former” tag. In her blog Foodie with Family, she shares that her first venture into “experimental cuisine” involved serving her parents Cocoa Krispies in orange juice, reasoning that orange and chocolate pair well together. That she was inspired to serve her parents what she believed to be a “gourmet snack” is testament to the fact that they were the ones who, as she says, “ignited her passion for adventuring with her food.”

That passion can be seen in her list of favorite ingredients, a list that includes garlic, onions, basil, thyme, habaneros, jalapenos, cilantro, dark chocolate, yeast, flour, and anything sweet that she can hide in her apron pockets to eat while the kids aren’t looking. Given that she refers to herself as a self-employed baker and cheesecake artist, I’m trying hard not to envy those apron pockets if they get to hold some of the sweet delights below.

Clockwise from top left: Hot Chocolate on a Stick, Baby Grand Marnier Cheesecakes (talk about cheesecake artistry!), Pumpkin Pots de Creme, and an incredible-looking Blueberry Tiramisu.

 
 
 
Rebecca takes it as a personal challenge to replicate store-bought items, and make them better. Some of the items that she never purchases anymore are pickles, jam, buttermilk, barbecue sauce, ricotta cheese, beer, and bread.

Given that she lists yeast and flour as some of her favorite ingredients and bread as one of her always-homemade items, it’s interesting to note that making quickbreads (like banana bread and zucchini bread) is what gives her the most trouble in the kitchen. She calls it her “eternal shame,” confessing that she simply cannot master them. “I think my trouble is that I overthink them. Or overmix them. Or over-something them.” But one look at her non-quickbread recipes below, and it’s clear that when it comes to yeast breads, this part-time bread baking instructor is in her element.

On the left: Garlic Butter Crusty Bubble Bread. On the right, from top to bottom: Asiago Herb and Garlic Bread, Spicy Chicken and Extra Sharp Cheddar Calzones, and Bread: Fully Loaded.

 
 
 
You might wonder what a busy mother of five boys likes to make as a go-to dish, and for Rebecca, it’s either Cuban Pork made in the slow cooker (paired with mango salsa), or homemade pizza. And if you might assume that cooking for a household of guys means that her Tasty Kitchen recipe box is filled with mostly man-food, you’d be pleasantly surprised. Check out some of the wonderful appetizers that you can find in her recipe box.

Clockwise from top left: Mediterranean Hummus Pizza, Recession Caviar, cute little Spanakopita Dip and Mini Spanakopita Phyllo Cups, Chicken and Pork Potstickers, and South Carolina Barbecue Sauce, Kansas City Sauce and Pulled Pork Sliders. Okay, that last one can pass as man-food, too.

Getting hungry yet?

 
 
 
Outside the kitchen, Rebecca says that she spends her spare time “reading, running (slowly), playing piano (badly), and figuring out ways to avoid doing anything resembling housework.” Yep, she’s funny, too.

So now it’s time for us to turn things over to Rebecca, and have her answer some questions. (Maybe we’ll find out if there’s something that’ll trump that Cocoa Krispies with orange juice incident.)

 
 
Q: What do you enjoy most about cooking?
A: I love that my grand obsession allows me to be both precise and artistic at the same time that I’m nourishing my family. Talk about multi-tasking. You can’t beat that with a stick.

 
Q: Any favorite chefs or food celebrities? Who inspires you?
A: I learned to cook by hanging out with my grandma, mom, dad and aunties in the kitchen. My parents ran a Christian camp where we cooked three meals a day (and snacks) for about 150 campers all summer long. It was a fantastic education and my culinary teachers were the best. As for celebrity chefs, I might just have a little food nerd crush on Alton Brown.

 
Q: What is the strangest food or food combo that you really, really enjoy?
A: Gorgonzola cheese and chopped black seedless grapes on hamburgers. I’ve been banging the drum on this for ages. It is my all-time favorite burger combination. Don’t laugh! Just try it once and you’ll be convinced.

 
Q: And what if you had to eat something RIGHT NOW, and had only 3 minutes to get it ready? What would it be?
A: Sourdough pretzels dipped in cream cheese. I’m easy.

 
Q: Do you have a most memorable kitchen flop ever?
A: In a word: durians. We bought a durian for my mother as a 50th birthday gift. (My mom likes food adventures and it was a fruit none of us had seen before.) We broke it open in the middle of the party and passed pieces around to anyone who stayed after smelling it. I think I was the only one who actually swallowed a bite of it. It remains the only food about which I’ve ever had nightmares.

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Thanks for answering our questions, Rebecca!

 
You can browse Rebecca’s recipe box here at Tasty Kitchen to see more of her delicious recipes. And although getting warmer outside, don’t miss her Loaded Baked Potato Soup or Taco Soup if an unexpectedly chilly day comes upon you. Those soups are hearty, filling, and warm you inside out. While you’re at it, check out her food blog as well, Foodie with Family, which is packed with great recipes and some interesting stories behind those wonderful dishes.

 
Today we’ll meet a lovely young lady with a desire to cook quality food (like the Rosemary Thyme Spread in the photo above) for her family of seven: her dad, mom, three sisters, one brother, and herself. She’s not only multi-talented and generous with those talents, but as a bonus, she also has quite the lovely name. Everyone, meet Erica.

Erica Lea Berge, or simply ericalea here at Tasty Kitchen, describes herself as “a twenty-year-old Christian home school graduate with a love for cooking and photographing food.” She’s being modest. One look at her blogs—her cooking blog at Cooking For Seven and her personal blog at Erica Lea—and you’ll see just how varied her skills are. She has posts about crafts, including knitting, sewing, and patterns. As someone who still can’t wrap her brain around the fact that two needles, some yarn, and time spent sitting on a comfy chair can produce a nice sweater or scarf, I was duly impressed.

Erica lives in Northern Minnesota, and loves very part of it, bitterly cold winters and all. She credits both her parents for influencing her in the kitchen. From her mother, she learned how to cook simple, comforting food without using a recipe. And her father helped instill in her a love for different, interesting flavors and the willingness to try something new. As you can see from her recipes, like the various soups and sides that she’s shared with us, the combination of simple and interesting is really a defining feature of her dishes.

Center photo: Sausage Potato Soup. Clockwise from top left: Maple Cornbread, Coconut Oil Potatoes, Thai Coconut Rice, and Creamy Butternut Squash Soup.

 
 
 
Erica insists that quality not only means that a dish is delicious, but it should also be nourishing as well. She says: “It is my belief that irresistibly scrumptious and healthy are not mutually exclusive.” (To see that belief in action, just look at the Whole Wheat Banana Nut Bread in the top left below, and the Maple Pecan Banana Cake below it, both made with whole wheat pastry flour.) That said, she is the also first to admit that she does also occasionally splurge and eat or cook something completely unhealthy. But for the most part, she tries to keep things natural and use whole foods as much as possible without obsessing about it, which is something she learned from her dad. Just look at her gorgeous Chocolate Almond Biscotti and Macadamia Nut Brownies below.

 
 
 
She and her younger sister run a small-scale cleaning service for individuals (mostly elderly, she adds) who live on their lake. When she’s not in the kitchen, she loves to read, ski, play the piano, talk with her sisters, and watch a good movie. Her photography, which is gorgeous, has slowly started bringing in some remuneration as well. (By the way, “remuneration” was her word, which scored major points with the hack writer putting this post together). Her creativity really shines through, I think, when you look at the different homemade ingredients and condiments in her recipe box.

Clockwise from top left: Homemade Pizza Sauce (which she never purchases from the store anymore), Pizza Dough (made from 100% whole wheat!), Smoky BBQ Sauce, Breakfast Sausage Spice Blend (she has a sweet version as well), and Whole Wheat Pasta.

 
 
 
In addition to seasoning blends to make your own breakfast sausage, Erica also has quite the healthy collection of breakfast recipes. From homemade granola to whole wheat muffins and baked oatmeal, her repertoire truly shows the care that she puts into preparing nutritious meals for the family.

Clockwise from top left: Surprise Muffins (use your favorite jam for the surprise!), Homemade Granola, Whole Wheat Apple Muffins, and a nice warm, hearty bowl of Fruit on the Bottom Baked Oatmeal.

 
 
Now let’s learn even more about this inspiring young lady, and ask Erica a few more questions.

 
 
Q: What do you enjoy most about cooking?
A: I love it when I change a recipe to make it healthier and nobody notices.

 
Q: Any favorite chefs or food celebrities? Who inspires you?
A: My grandma is the best cook I know. But my dad inspires me to try harder. He is my greatest critic.

 
Q: Complete the sentence: “I panic when I realize that I’m out of …”
A: Whole wheat flour or butter.

 
Q: Do you have a most memorable kitchen flop ever?
A: One Sunday, when company was over, we decided to make a quadruple batch of pudding. I inadvertently substituted baking powder for cornstarch and the result was absolutely disgusting. Not only did it smell terrible, it curdled into tiny yellow balls.

 
Q: What ingredient or technique/method gives you the most trouble?
A: Making pie. How does Grandma do it?

 
Q: What is your favorite kitchen tool?
A: Our new Henckels bread knife. It cuts like a dream. But the santoku is a close second.

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Thanks for answering our questions, Erica! You are quite the inspiring young lady. It’s such a joy to have you here!

 
To see more of Erica’s amazing recipes here at Tasty Kitchen, check out her recipe box. Maybe ogle the photos a bit. Then head on over to her blogs Cooking for Seven and Erica Lea for even more recipes, beautiful photographs, crafts, and everything else that she generously shares with everyone.

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