Apples & Thyme - Round Up #5 - An Addition

Marla at Bella Baita View has added an addition to the Apples & Thyme round up. It was an entry from Equal Opportunity Kitchen whose wonderful post came to us on time, but fell through the cracks. Our apologies to Giz and Psychgrad.

Apples & Thyme - Round Up #5

The April Apples & Thyme Round Up is here...well, thanks to Marla, it's been here and I'm just late letting everyone know. My apologies.

The Magnificent Marla of Bella Baita View posted the round up of this months memories and recipes. Please pop on over to her site to read all the delicious and heartfelt posts.

This will be our last Apples & Thyme event for the time being, given that Inge and I have very full lives at the moment. We thank all of you who have participated. You may see the event return in the future at some point.

A big thank you, Marla for your excellent effort. Actually, that reminds me...

Chris at Mele Cotte awarded me with an Award of Excellence that I haven't

yet acknowledged nor passed on. Thank you so much, Chris, for thinking so

highly of my blog! I think this is an opportune moment to pass it on to

Marla for her continued excellence in the blogging. I would also like to pass it to along to my wonderful partner in Apples & Thyme - Inge at Vanielje Kitchen. If you both already have the award, then consider yourself doubly blessed. You both have not only excellent content, creativity, stories, writing but excellent attitudes.

Lastly, I will post more soon about why I have been so absent lately. I have much to share and have missed the wonderful exchanges with all of you out there.

Apples and Thyme - Round Up #4

The February Apples & Thyme round-up is here! The memories of mothers, grandmothers and others and our time spent in the kitchen with them are endless. I love how others' memories spark my own and inspire me to write them down. Thank you all for your heartfelt entries.

Before I launch into the round-up, my lovely partner in this event, Inge at Vanielje Kitchen, and I have decided to have a guest host next month. Chris over at Mele Cotte has happily agreed to be March's host. So, please watch for her announcement and send all entries to her by March 20. Her email is melecotte AT gmail DOT com.

On the 14th anniversary of her mother's death, Ivy at Kopiaste...to Greek Hospitality, shares memories of her strong, generous and hard-working mother with us. Ivy created this very unique dish of Halloumi and dried fruit and honey using her mom's favorite cheese.

Jeanne at Cooksister made me wish she lived next door so that I could walk over with my coffee in hand to share in these delicious looking "no recipe" biscuits. I cried as I read her words about longing for her mom's arms around her or the sound of her voice. I know that pain well.

Maria Gay at A Scientist in the Kitchen gives us a birthday tribute to her dad - a fabulous and inspirational cook. I love to read stories of men who have influenced us in the kitchen. Check out the spread of dishes they created in his honor!

My Apples & Thyme event partner, the incredibly talented Inge, presents The Delectable, Unforgettable Valerie Crunchie Recipe along with her memories of childhood friends in South Africa. Who couldn't love these treats?

Next month's Apples & Thyme host, Chris, over at Mele Cotte created her first successful and very decadent looking lasagne in honor of her mother - very cleverly representing layers of their relationship!

Speaking of layers of relationship, I allude to that in my post "Cooking With Mom". According to the comments I got back already, I think that all mothers and daughters have a sometimes intense and definitely layered relationships. Oh, yes, my recipe is one that my mom and I passed back and forth - a very simple and delicious Penne with Prosciutto and Radicchio.

Thank you all for sharing your beautiful memories and tempting recipes with us. I look forward to seeing what memories inspire us next month!

Apples & Thyme - Round Up #2 - An Addition

Just a quick addition to our Apples & Thyme #2 Round Up...

My partner in this event, Inge at Vanielje Kitchen, just posted the most amazing photos of The Truly Remarkable Once a Year Cake, along with her memories of her mother at Christmas, and the joy of finding her Christmas spirit. Please hop on over and see her amazing creations!

Apples and Thyme - Round Up #2

The holidays are upon us and as expected, they flood us with memories - memories of growing up, traditions, food and family. We started Apples & Thyme for exactly those reasons, so that we could have a forum for sharing those types of memories and thereby record and remember our cherished traditions.

These December entries are full of wonderful and warm sentiments honoring each person's heritage. Apart from the touching stories and histories in these entries, there, of course, are some great recipes. Grab a cup of glogg, tea, coffee, wine or your choice of beverage and settle in for some good reading!

Ann at Redacted Recipes writes about her Mom's Constant Kitchen and the joy of learning confidence in the kitchen at a young age thanks to her mother's guidance. She leaves us with an easy, but delicious looking, recipe for pork loin and potatoes - a perfect quick meal for this busy season.

Paul, our down-under friend at Eat Me, brings us memories of time in the kitchen with his Argentinian grandmother and the cooking secrets she passed on to him. Check out the delicious looking Tallarines con Tuco de Carne.



Laurie from Tastes Like Home in Alaska shares with us the Greek tradition of Hilopites and Trahanas, types of special pasta only made at certain times of the year. Her stories are always full of incredible detail and tradition.

Tamara our Rocky Mountain writer recently lost her mother, but is having no problem calling up many happy memories of her mother's holiday cooking - especially the cookies. She shares with us her mom's special Lebkuchen cookie recipe.

Chris from Mele Cotte, who is on a cookie-baking roll at the moment, stops to share her favorite holiday cookie recipe with us - Tarralflucci. Don't try to pronounce it, but do try to bake them...they look delicious!

Marla, all the way up in the Alps of Piedmont Italy at Bella Baita View, shares with us her mother-in-law Elge's recipe for a dessert named after the nearby mountain - Monte Bianco. If this isn't decadence, I don't know what is.

Mrs. W of Mrs. W's Kitchen, like Tamara above and myself, are trying to focus on the memories from our mothers' healthy years (before illness) and celebrate those cherished times. She shares with us her Christmas childhood memories and the time-honored recipe of Ambrosia Salad.

...and there was one - me! My post on my mother's Biscotti - or Biscotti a la Mamma - was the first one I could write about my mother's love of cooking since her passing. I love these cookies and hope you do, too!

Vanielje Kitchen and I look forward to seeing your entries for our our January Apples & Thyme event. Click here for entry dates and rules.

Happy Holidays one and all!

Apples and Thyme - Round Up #1

The first Apples and Thyme round-up is here and at Vanielje Kitchen here.

Inge of African Vanielje and I have been writing back and forth to each other these last few weeks about how this event really touched and moved people. Remembering our mothers and grandmothers (and others) and the time spent in the kitchen with them calls to each of us, across cultures, genders, races, and ages. One can see from all of these entries that we all have strong memories associated with food and kitchens and our experiences with them.

There were many common threads and similar stories. I think my favorite repeated theme is that of amazingly strong women. I don't know that our predecessors had more difficult lives than we do, ours are just difficult in different ways. However when it came to having enough food, growing food, and making it, our predecessors did have a much more challenging time. They did not have the modern conveniences nor the easy access to commodities that we do today. These women managed to not only feed empty stomachs and usually with really tasty food, but survive wars, raise children, often without a man's help and work all while creating wonderful memories that we all carry within us. I read a quote from Maria Shriver yesterday that something like "A woman's real power is taking what we know and passing it on." Isn't this what our mothers and grandmothers (and others) did for us? And isn't that what we are now doing?

Please read these stories for they are all heart-warming and inspirational.

Elle at Confessions of a Novice tells of us of her Italian mother who cooked all kinds of food - not just Italian - in order to please her fussy family. It seems like one of everybody's favorites was these Pumpkin Donuts.

Valerie of 2 Baci in a Pinon Tree in Italy gives us a beautifully written account of her grandmother's cooking traditions and generous spirit, as well as a recipe for her Grandma Betty's Granola Fudgies.

Dolores at Chronicles in Culinary Curiosity shows us that we can have many cooking influences in our lives, not the least of which was her father. The recipe she shares is from her Italian side of her family, but its origins and even its name are a mystery -Touvlach or Toothlach. Can anyone help her figure it out?

Gay from A Scientist in the Kitchen brings us her Filipino childhood recollections of a scrumptious looking Pork & Beans from her talented aunt who spent a lot of valuable time with her in the kitchen and in the market.

Julie at One Wall Kitchen takes us on an intimate journey inside her family's lumpia traditions, and making a party out of it with some friends.

Tina at Sweet Designs shares the story of her great-grandmother who was a big influence on her love of baking. Her snickerdoodle cookie recipe is full of good memories.

Rokh of Tham Jiak shares many details of the life and traditions in Malaysia and her grandmother's cooking talents. Her favorite dish - ho lan shu chu yok (stir fry potato and pork in dark soy sauce) - sounds delicious!

Susan of The Well Seasoned Cook brings us tales of her Italian cousin's grandmother who taught her many Italian specialties, including these perfect-looking gnocchi.

Sarah at What Smells So Good was one of the few entries to offer up memories of time spent in the kitchen with a male - her Dad. He sounds like a great father, and one who makes fool-proof pancakes.

Lynnylu at Cafe Lynnylu recalls how her mother taught them how to live the "slow life" while living off their farm. My heart goes out to her as her mom has Alzheimer's just like my mother did. Like me, Lynn is full of happy memories of her mom and her recipes, like the one for 24 Hour Salad (a dessert!)




From the South of France, Riana of Garlic Breath, brings us a classic Tarte Tatin recipe which came from her adopted grandmother who also taught her valuable skills in living off the land.

Cakelaw at Laws of the Kitchen brings us her mum's super comforting Rice Pudding along with recollections of growing up on a farm.

Jenn, the Leftover Queen, pays a lovely tribute to her mom and her cooking talents. This is another entry which included a birthday treat for a mother, this one for Chocolate Volcano Cake that looks "explosively" divine!






Chris from Mele Cotte brings us two of her favorite comfort foods from her mom's repertoire, along with a poem, photos and a wonderful description of a beautiful mother-daughter relationship.

Angel of Angel's Bento Blog openly shares the trials and challenges her mother had in raising her children in very tough circumstances, but somehow still cooking memorable dishes such as Pumpkin Pie.

Merav at A Tasteful Journey writes a glowing tribute to her grandmother and gives us her recipe for her grandmother's K'Zitzot, a meatball made with chicken and turkey that looks very yummy.

Marla of Bella Baita View in Italy goes back to her Illinois Irish roots and recounts the memories of her mother's home-cooking, and her much-sought-after Sour Cream Apple Pie.

Simona at Briciole offers up beautiful memories of her childhood in Italy and the time spent in the kitchen with her aunt who always made Simona's favorite afternoon snack of crema pasticcera for her.

Anne, our Foodie Froggy in Paris, presents a story and recipe for Tea-Biscuit Chocolate Cake that has been passed down in her family for three generations, but yet no one knows its origins.

Don't forget to head over to Vanielje Kitchen to see the rest of the round up.

Thank you all for participating!