pasta carbonara {my obsessions}

pasta carbonara is one of my very favourite dishes of all time, and one that i love to prepare.  pancetta, butter, olive oil, cream, eggs, parmigiano-reggiano, peas and pasta...you really can't go wrong with these ingredients! if it weren't such a heart-attack-on-a-plate, it would absolutely be a part of my weekly menu.

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pork + veggie fried rice {my obsessions}

yes, i am actually admitting that i'm obsessed with pork + veggie fried rice...it's delicious and i love it.  i started making this my sophomore year in college (a former housemate actually called just a few years ago to get the recipe), and i have continually tweaked the technique and ingredients since.  a couple of weeks ago, i made what both my husband and myself agreed was the best batch to date, so i have finally found a comfortable resting point for this recipe!

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tacos. tacos. tacos. {my obsessions}

tacos. i love them. i love to eat them winter, spring, summer and fall. grilled chicken, fried fish, sautéed steak...it's all good!  tonight i had a hankering for chicken tacos, but didn't have all the ingredients so i'll have to make over the weekend.  these particular, fire grilled marinated chicken tacos, are a favourite in my home and prepared often regardless of the weather.  i love to cook and i love to come up with my own creations, but i must give credit where credit is due, as the original inspiration for this meal came from my friend, sam, who created such a yummy meal for us over the summer that i ran straight home to recreate and tweak.

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{i can never get enough cilantro}

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{i'm obsessed with these white corn tortillas}

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{cotija cheese}

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{sautéed corn with jalapeños, serranos + cilantro}

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{yummy!}

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i  pair these tacos with my coconut + cilantro brown rice, and of course, you must have plenty of roasted peppers, limes, tomatoes + melinda's xxxtra hot sauce.

makes my heart smile {baking with my boys}

if you live to be a hundred, i want to live to be a hundred minus one day so i never have to live without you.

-a. a. milne

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it is no secret that cooking and eating are two of the most favoured activities in my home.  as of late, we've had many rainy weekend days in the napa valley, and these rainy days are always filled with endless hours of baking, cooking and noshing.  two sundays ago, what started out as my cookie craving, turned into a total family activity...and i couldn't have been happier.  my boys were so deliciously adorable as they worked together to unwrap the hershey's kisses and roll the dough into balls.  as my son says, my heart was smiling as i watched how similar father and and son were in their technique and manner, both with that slight lip bite as they ever so carefully placed each chocolate kiss atop the hot cookies.  later that day as we three sat by the fire nibbling on our peanut butter blossoms, i thought to myself that i had never tasted such a delicious cookie...and my heart was smiling.