Seasoned Cooking: 15 June 2012 Announcements

When making sure everyone gets fed, there's something to be said for having items on hand that can serve multiple roles. This time around, I'm offering a muffin recipe that has a little bit of everything and holds its own as part of breakfast, brunch, snacktime, or even dessert!

Whether it's understanding how to use chorizo to add depth of flavor to a dish or which wine to drink straight from the bottle and which to use in sangria, Spanish cuisine offers us a blend of flavors, textures, aromas, and colors to delight you and your guests. Think it might be time to learn more? Find out how in this fun beginning to a Spanish adventure!

Blueberries are starting to come into season and, far from feeling blue, they bring great joy to me and my household. So it's with great pleasure and anticipation that we look forward to a simple cheesecake pie that's loaded with fresh blueberries and delicious blueberry syrup. Hooray for the season of fresh produce!

As Independence Day draws nearer and summer entertaining begins to become commonplace, it seems like a good time to look at ways to incorporate those patriotic colors of red, white, and blue into your menu without turning to desserts, where that color scheme is easily replicable. Instead, why not showcase them in a fun summer salad featuring incredibly fresh seasonal produce?

'Tis the season of mixed eating. Fresh vegetables and fruit abound, but so does greasy fried chicken and fatty hamburgers. Choose wisely, as heart disease is still the world's leading cause of death. In this interactive infographic, get an indepth look at the differences between healthy and unhealthy hearts. Also, get ideas about how to lower your risk of heart disease.

An upcoming move means working to be creative about using up as much from the pantry, refrigerator, and freezer as possible before packing up the remainder and carting it off. But when Mother Nature is tossing 90 degree days my way, what's a girl to do? Grab her trusty crockpot, that's what!

With summer eating heating up, having delicious watermelon on hand is a great way to cool down. Feel intimidated about slicing one up? Get insight into how to cut up an entire watermelon in about 5 minutes, without losing the fruit to the rind.