Tag: stove

Blood Orange Syrup

Blood Orange Syrup

Action shot of pouring homemade blood orange syrup on Trader Joe’s frozen pancakes from side up close

I made my own blood orange syrup and you can too! All you need to make your own flavored syrup are two ingredients: sugar and flavoring, and you can make any custom syrup you want.

Creating your own syrup is simple and fun. The base of simple syrup is just sugar and water boiled together on a stovetop until the mixture reaches the desired syrup consistency.

Though it may seem more difficult, the process of making flavored syrup is just as easy as making simple syrup: boil together the flavoring, sugar, and water together, and voila! Flavored syrup!

This is where it gets fun.

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Hearty Black Bean Pasta with Marinara

Hearty Black Bean Pasta with Marinara

Hearty Black Bean Pasta with Marinara and Trader Joe’s Organic Black Bean Rotini from angle

Ye haw! I’ve jumped on the healthy pasta bandwagon—carrot spirals, lentil sedanini, tofu noodles, edamame spaghetti, zoodles, brown rice and millet ramen, spaghetti squash, and more.

Most recently, I tried Trader Joe’s Organic Black Bean Rotini. It’s like eating a bowl of beans (holy protein!), but it tastes like pasta!

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Caprese Bruschetta with Balsamic Reduction

Caprese Bruschetta with Balsamic Reduction

Finished caprese bruschetta with heirloom tomato, fresh basil, homemade mozzerella, and balsamic reduction up close

I distinctly remember the first time I heard of a balsamic reduction. It was years ago while watching Giada on the Food Network. It sounded so fancy and complicated, but I quickly learned that it was just fancy, not complicated.

Reduced balsamic vinegar or a balsamic glaze is one of my favorite sauces. It is the perfect versatile, tart and sweet topping. From adding a bit of sweetness to flatbreads to adding a hint of tart depth to strawberry ice cream, the possibilities are endless. On the savory side, balsamic reductions are great for topping off salads, tossing vegetables for roasting, glazing grilled tofu, or garnishing soups. On the sweet side, it works great with fruit, yogurt, and even ice cream.

The best part is how easy it is to reduce balsamic vinegar. It only requires only one ingredient and no special equipment, and the entire process takes less than 20 minutes!

Here I used my freshly reduced balsamic vinegar as a finishing touch to Caprese bruschetta made with homemade mozzarella cheese.

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Pea-Pesto Ricotta Ravioli

Pea-Pesto Ricotta Ravioli

Marjoram Pea Pesto Ricotta Ravioli on plate from angle

I know I just admitted that I try not to eat pasta, but every now and then I make exceptions, like this Pea-Pesto Ricotta Ravioli. I jazzed up some basic ravioli pasta and the result was delicious and easy.

In a few minutes with three basic components, ravioli, pesto, and cheese, I plated a nice-looking dinner.

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