crispy broccoli with garlic & lemon

I have a confession to make. I've owned a lovely Canon 40D DSLR camera for seven years, and I still don't know how to really use it. If I take a good picture, it's thanks only to having a bit of talent at composing shots and a good camera and lens to take them. But I don't know how to use them, which is kind of pathetic. I shouldn't still be pushing buttons at random after all this time. But my friend Kevin -- who is a much more ambitious amateur photographer than I've turned out to be (because let's be real -- I haven't learned because I didn't make it a priority) -- was kind enough to give me a lesson in aperture, shutter speeds, ISO, and flash last week. And now I understand, at least enough to do purposeful trial and error with my camera settings. So I present to you:  Broccoli! Less crappily photographed than it would have been before.

pasta with mushrooms & goat cheese

I got a fun new kitchen toy. This doesn't happen often anymore because 1) I have a pretty solid arsenal of tools already and 2) I live in an exceptionally tiny house. While the kitchen is actually pretty roomy, it is nearly devoid of useful storage. Therefore, any tools I'm not using on a weekly basis are kept in clear plastic storage bins in the basement. And to get to the basement, you either have to go outside (great, it's definitely raining again), or crawl through a trap door in the floor of the closet and shimmy down a ladder. That's not an exaggeration. So I'm pretty selective about acquiring new things, and pretty darn good at donating or selling old ones.

roasted vegetables with pomegranate vinaigrette

Ahem. Hello? *Cough* Hmm...I'm pretty sure today's post will fall on empty ears, which is entirely deserved. I have been absent for, well, quite a while. I had a small group of loyal readers last year, and falling off the face of the blogging earth was not a very nice thing for me to do to them. I'm sorry. Let me tell you what 2009 held for me, and then about a terrific and simple vegetable recipe that that might come in handy for your holiday cooking.

roasted root vegetables with rosemary

Happy Birthday, Blog! One year ago today I made my debut in the blogging world with a recipe for Red Wine Cupcakes. Lots of cupcakes and 68 posts later, I still really love putting figurative pen to electronic paper and tracking my successes and failures in the kitchen. Since I started Dulcedo for a mostly self-serving purpose (no more of those "Did I make this recipe already?" moments), I am continually surprised by all the people who write in to say they like it too. Your comments and emails always make my day - thank you!

swordfish with braised endive

I have apparently reached another milestone in life where something I once found mundane now holds a great deal of interest for me. Yes, once upon a time, things like bed linens, kitchen equipment, and -- gasp! -- antiques bored me to tears. Now, however, I take delight in coordinating my sheets with my duvet cover, in the usefulness of my kitchenware, and in discovering a well-preserved Shiny Brite ornament in an out-of-the-way antique store. Signs of adulthood? Yes, probably. And now I can add one more thing to that list: vehicle maintenance, or, more specifically, vehicle beautification. On Saturday I had my car detailed from top to bottom. I tend to be a bit of a penny-pincher when it comes to things like this, but much to my surprise, I found myself looking forward to the appointment with a great deal of anticipation. And I would be lying if I said I was anything but gleeful when DANA ND2* was returned to me on Saturday afternoon, all shiny and clean and just for me! I can even pretend that the whole package was free...until I get next month's credit card bill, of course.

greek-style braised green beans

Hi, Grandma -- how are you?

My grandma reads my blog. Isn't that nice? Not on the Internet, though -- she doesn't want anything to do with newfangled technology. Dad prints out all of my posts and puts them into a binder for her. Grandma has been doing a lot of cooking ever since we began remodeling our kitchen two years ago. However, to my knowledge, she has never made anything from my blog. Sometimes it's because the recipe is complicated or requires ingredients that aren't available in small-town grocery stores. Not this recipe, though, I promise.