Orange Cranberries Rolled Oats Ricotta Muffins

This post is pretty simple and entirely silly. Read at your own risk. If you wish for more substantive writing refer to my previous post Sfinge – A Moroccan Vegan Doughnut.

Sfinge – A Moroccan Vegan Doughnut

A small, humble, working class neighborhood in Ashdod along the Mediterranean Sea in Southern Israel I called home ever since I was in third grade. Ashdod was known to be the second largest seaport in Israel, after Haifa, with many white weeping broom** adorned sand dunes now gone, remains a distant, nostalgic memory of mine. The sea, a deep blue and glistening turquoise as ever, breathtaking as you drive, and it suddenly appears just around the bend, as you pass the mall, built over my childhood soft sand dunes. The sight of the Mediterranean appearing in its full splendor always makes me gasp in delightful surprise, the beauty indescribable. I am weary of the sea but awe inspired at its powerful beauty.

Coconut Macaron with Lime and White Chocolate Ganache - Guest Post by Gourmeted

When Joy of Gourmeted, without a shred of hesitation, agreed to guest in my Tree Nut Macaron series, I was beside myself. Joy, is a burst of energy and has a large personality. She strikes me as a successful entrepeneur who is an exceptional role model. This is what she tweeted (@gourmeted) on Twitter the other day 'A little kindness goes a long way. :-)'. Joy, a web designer by day, also blogs out of Fwoosh.com for food and travel and Kinkish.org for arts, crafts, and pretty things. Her writing, as you will find below is captivating as I gasped and then laughed while reading her engaging post. LOVE the creativity in this nut free macaron.

True story: I once whisked my way through 23 egg whites in one day to conquer these delicate French cookies called macarons. And then I took a break from it not only because of exhaustion and hair pulling, but due to sugar high as well. I couldn't eat them anymore. However, in all of my macaron experimentations and permutations, I've never considered preparing them nut-free. When Shulie asked me if I was interested in contributing a nut-, kiwi-, and artificial food coloring-free version, I asked out loud, "Now why didn't I think of that before?" The answer was a quick Yes and the wheels started turning. I love a good challenge, especially one that would allow other people to enjoy food that they normally couldn't.

Egg Roll – A “Wrap” around the streets of Kolkata a Guest Post by eCurry

eCurry's (off the bat, how brilliant, right?!) Soma is one friend I can rely on when I am out and about and have a question that demands an undelayed, urgent answer. Such an urgency came up when I was roaming around the Indian grocer's and asked Soma which bean were we discussing the other day? The entire conversation via twitter mind you (@Soma_R), is strewn with much silliness and laughter, but Soma answered, yellow hulled mung beans, as I was only familiar with the green ones. She further suggested I roast the hulled yellow mung beans prior to cooking to bring out their full bodied flavor. What I love about Soma is not only the light hearted spirit and happiness she projects but also her meticulous suggestions and techniques and uncompromising high standards she shows throughout her site, whether in her cooking, photography or raising her two daughters so beautifully.

When you think of Soma you immediately think of her native Indian cuisine, but while she perfected Naan, she simultaneously perfected Asian Pancakes and Middle Eastern Homemade Pitas. Speaking of techniques, I was mesmerized by a couple she presented here in this post but please make sure to take every word she has written in as Soma has a knack for storytelling!

Please make sure to follow eCurry on Facebook as well as on Twitter and check out  the posts of the four ladies who preceded Soma in the India Series.

Egg Roll – A “Wrap” around the streets of Kolkata
Sharing a laughter, being kind and making each other happy are some integral characteristics of friendship, and that is what I share with Shulie. I met her in Twitter-land less than a year ago and we share conversation and laughs as we would do if we were sitting on a couch and chatting like old friends do. Doing a guest post for her wonderful blog is exciting and I am truly honored that she cared to ask me.

Quince Honey Challah Knots (Step by Step Featured at the Washington Post Food) & My 7 Links

Before I go on to My 7 Links please find my step by step Quince Honey Challah Knots recipe and photographs appearing in today's Washington Post Food All We Can eat. Needless to say I am super excited!! The rest of the photographs in the Quince Honey Challah Knots series will be uploaded to Food Wanderings Facebook page soon!

Silent Sunday - A Sneak Peak into Wine Country, VA

A spread of photo journal of our trip to Wine Country, Va is now available here.