When Juliet {Kiera Knightley} pleads with Mark {Andrew Lincoln} at his doorstep in Love Actually, for video footage from her wedding day, she bribes him with a box of banoffee pie. The moment she uttered the words, “banoffee pie,” I knew I wanted to try it. You see, I have an affinity for words and banoffee is one that strikes me. It rolls off the tongue in a playful manner and it’s a made up word, stemming from banana and toffee. Cheers to the British for bringing banoffee to our language and dessert to our bellies.
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Category: Recipes
A Childhood Classic, Grown Up
Grilled Cheese. Buttery toast and tangy melted cheese fused together to create the ultimate sandwich. The sandwich of childhood memories with pairings of tomato soup. The go-to for comfort and warmth. Step away from the Kraft Singles and spin this versatile classic into your own creation!
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Cuban Tempeh
Tempeh is a protein packed cake of partially fermented soy beans. Nutty in taste and characteristically versatile, tempeh takes on the flavor of whatever it’s cooked in. Additionally, the flavor and texture are enhanced by; steaming, marinating, blackening, slicing or crumbling into soups and stews. The following recipe was developed by a friend at the Sweet Life and is inspired by a Grand Rapids vegetarian namesake, Gaia. Cuban Tempeh is a great way to enjoy a lingering weekend brunch:
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We eat what we are or perhaps what we want to be.
In discussion with friends the topic of guilt and food choice has arisen on occasion. Notably, the mutual experience of remorse that transcends us as grocery shopping onlookers, judge, based on the items in your shopping basket.
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Pimp my Ramen!
Already hungry with nothing prepared for dinner, and unmotivated to make a trip to the grocery store because it’s close to Thanksgiving and they are filled with frantic shoppers wheeling carts around in a hectic fashion. I turned to my cupboards, freezer and fridge, which had the possibility of leading to goodness or grossness.
Chocolate Tofu Pudding
Trying new things. Being different. It’s not for everyone but for those who dabble in the unexpected, magical things can happen. Tonight, in my kitchen, I did something out of the ordinary and discovered the wondrousness of a simple, chocolate pudding. Afresh to the exploration with tofu, I chanced upon a recipe that piqued my curiosity.
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Hostess with the Mostess
When Hostess invited the Twinkie to the party guests were entertained! More people were introduced to the Twinkie and it became an icon, filling the mouths of happy customers and the pockets of a profitable organization for 82 years.
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Too Many Cooks Spoil the Broth?!
As a creative, envisioning a brilliant idea and then discovering that someone has already found a solution ensues a self-thought bubble of, why didn’t I DO that?! Jealousy aside, for those critical-solvers innovating their ideas into action, the following is an AWESOME social experiment turned tangible.
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Saburba
I’ve read about it, thought about it and finally visited it. A new chef-driven eat-in or carry out restaurant becomes refreshment to the suburbian panorama of Ada, MI. Using the words quaint, charming, foodista, local, and superfreakingdelish, Saburba is a sense of commonplace in what was once familiar.
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Yes, I dredged and fried my tofu
A new sushi place opened near my house, Maru, extending a modernized, chicness to the neighborhood. A friend suggested that I revel in a “pillow of goodness,” aka tofu from the vegetarian hibachi grill and well, it was clearly, quite good! The first bite presented a crisp, golden texture on the outside, followed by a fluffy center that melted in my mouth. The tofu was drizzled in a sweet sauce, brandished with sesame seeds. It was a dish that had me asking, how? What made the tofu so perfect! Crisp and springy?!!!
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Crisp Leaves, Blustery Winds and Apple Cider Pancakes!
What cries out fall more than a chilled, windy day, stirring up colorful leaves in your path? Well, coming home to a piping, hot stack of Apple Cider Pancakes of course!
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Rustic Cabbage Salad Scented with Orange Peel
I recently acquired a green cabbage which could quite easily be the same size as my very own head. Thinking about what to do with a cabbage of this stature, my thoughts processed, cabbage rolls, stew, slaw….and then I remembered a fabulously, simple salad that a dear friend had made for me years ago. I believe it is Italian in origin with rustic roots and a taste that hits home.
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Lemper: Indonesian Sticky Rice Rolls
Parcels of goodness.
Found in all corners of the world, in different forms, tastes, and textures: Latin America boasts empanadas, Eastern Europe takes pride in pierogis, China devotes itself to dumplings and Indonesia likens their lemper or sticky rice rolls.
I tasted my first lemper over one year ago and it would not be my last, at first bite I needed to get my hands on a recipe.
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Mash it up!
It rained the other day, and the smell of fall-dampened leaves was poignant. To me, this weather calls for comfort food, a warm kitchen and soul-satisfying eats. I turned to some pantry staples: potatoes, kale, butter = mashed potatoes, by no means ascetic but fun to cook and good to eat! I’m sure kale does not cancel out butter but it is an added nutrient!
Kombucha Homebrew Update
To follow-up on my first attempt on brewing kombucha, IT WAS A SUCCESS!
I allowed the tea to ferment for 1 week and then removed the mother/scoby (which now, there were 2!) I had my dear friend Ruth come over for moral support as I peeled away the mothers/scobys from one another, thankfully it was not nearly as bad as I had envisioned, (I do have a sense of dramatization.) The texture of the pancake-like mother/scoby was firmer than I anticipated, I was suspecting it to be ooey, gooey and slimetastic!
Kombucha Homebrew
Via Facebook I acquired my first mother/scoby and am on my way to creating my very first batch of home-brewed Kombucha! A scoby is actually an acronym for, Symbiotic Colony of Bacteria and Yeast (sounds pleasant, yeah!) The scoby/mother looks like a beige or white rubbery pancake. It is placed in sweetened black or green tea and turns a bowl full of sweet tea into a biochemical powerhouse, brimming with vitamins, minerals, enzymes and health-giving organic acids!
Table Without Borders 
