Celebrating Diversity with Latkes

Here at Not Dabbling in Normal we love to celebrate diversity. After all, we’d all be normal if we weren’t different. So today we have a guest post from a friend that celebrates the holidays differently than those of us here at NDIN. Oh, did I mention she brings a recipe? Probably one of the [...]

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Elderflowers

The end of cool, spring days are long gone here in the southeast (and most of the Midwest for that matter), and we’re working our way into a hot and dry summer. Though the days may be thick with heat, we’re fortunate that the fragrance in the air is sweet, making odoriferous (read: sweaty) outdoor [...]

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Pear Spice Scones

One of the hardest meals for me to get motivated to prepare is breakfast. I’m not one of those people who wakes up hungry, and I don’t enjoy sweet things on my belly first thing in the morning. These scones, on the other hand, are a treat I could manage every now and then if [...]

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Chicken Pie

One meal that The Kid, Hubby, and I can agree upon is roasted chicken. It’s one of my favorite meals because it’s easy to prepare, the flavor is great, and I can make several meals out of one bird. The first meal we make is usually served hot out of the oven with carrots and [...]

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Meyer Lemons

  If there’s one thing I relish this time of year it’s Meyer Lemons. While 99 percent of our citrus comes from Florida, Meyer lemons are my one of my few exceptions to my California produce avoidance. Florida is so much closer to us, but the flavor and the … MMMmmm … SMELL … of Meyer [...]

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Pear Harvests

A few weeks ago we were elbows deep in fresh pears. Over a period of a week I prepared pear sauce, pear preserves, and canned pears. The nicest ones were kept for eating fresh, but I saved a few to poach for a simple seasonal dessert. 4 fresh pears, peeled with stem on. 1/4 cup [...]

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Winemaking and Jelly: Possum Grapes

And just like that Elderberry season is gone! It’s time to move onward in our winemaking extravaganza, for it’s now the season for Possum Grapes. These tiny, buckshot-sized, purple grapes are mostly seed. They grow wild and can engulf entire trees in a season. Most people will cut them back before they have the chance [...]

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Recipe Swap! Squash ‘n’ Blog

This time of year many of us have squash coming out our ears. Have you been bombed with bags of zucchini yet? Are you wondering just what to do with all those crooknecks? Did you pick up too many of these cucurbits because they were on sale? If you have a favorite recipe or advice [...]

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Ode to a Pizza

Dear Grilled Pizza, Oh! How I love you so! You’re the perfect combination of char marks and melty cheese oozing between slices of vegetable and sometimes meat. I love to share my leftovers with you, especially if it’s barbeque. Chicken, zucchini, onions, ground meat (even salami!), they do compliment you so. You pair just as [...]

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Saturday Recipes Whole Grain Sandwich Bread

With all the cooking that has been going on around here there is one thing that is a constant in my kitchen. No matter what else I’m cooking,  I bake bread twice a week, rain, shine, or otherwise.  And although I experiment with different types of artisan breads my sandwich bread recipe has remained fairly constant [...]

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