Key Lime Cocoa Ice Cream Cupcakes~ Gluten Free

Not too often does life give us second chances.  So many nights I have spent replaying a conversation or interaction and wishing I could go back in time to change the outcome.  It drives Don nuts, listening to me process what could have been done differently or how to make those changes now.  In February 2012 I auditioned for the tv show Recipe to Riches.  Not long after that experience I started this blog.  It ignited a desire to communicate about my love of food and desire to share it with others.  Writing and maintaining this space is both fun and satisfying for me.  I am grateful to Recipe to Riches for sparking this journey and prompting me to explore my creativity both in writing and cooking.  My one regret since that audition?  Not being myself.  The hand pie I took was tasty, there is no doubt about that.  The problem was it never represented me or how I cook.  It was designed solely to be made into food in a box and to win a contest. It came dangerously close to being on supermarket shelves. I think I would have been apologizing for the rest of my life if that had happened.  That's not really how I cook.. read my blog for some great side salads to go with that...

Asian Pork Snack Wraps

I've written before about my audition for the Season 2 of the show Recipe to Riches.  In fact, participating in that process was the tipping point of me finally starting a blog.  The recipe I submitted was Hand Pies, in the category of Savoury Snacks.  Last winter, I was devastated when I learned I would not be on the show.  My recipe was in the top five, and out of that five, were the three chosen for TV.  To be so close to the action was tough to accept.  At the time I was desperate to know who they could have possibly selected instead of me and my hand pies.  I found solace in my family and friends who had cheered me along, sampled the multiple variations and developed my marketing plan.  And then, I turned to the web.  Lo and behold, there was this eloquent post from Lyndsey describing the same experience during season 1.  I was so comforted by her openness in sharing the hurt that accompanies being rejected when we put our dreams out for others to judge.  Of course then time passes by, summer comes and before you know it, Recipe to Riches is a distant memory.  The hurt fades and only the happy memories linger.

Hand Pies for Haiti

As word spread that my Recipe to Riches journey had landed me in the top 5 in my category, so did the requests to try the product.  Many offers were made from people to purchase the pies, but I really had no interest in making a profit from these.  Creating dishes has always been about the exploring and the first taste - not mass production!  For one time only, I decided to make the hand pies to give away, while asking friends to make a donation to a worthy cause.

Almost famous

It was only a matter of time I suppose.  All these years of blog reading would eventually lead to me writing my own.  I love going back to the very first post of my favourite blogs.  It's always awkward and not the least like their current writings.  So I suppose, that is how it will begin.  Clunky and awkward and perhaps move forward to something different.