Sparkle Kitchen
Explore a world of culinary delight with our Sparkle Kitchen category. Discover mouthwatering recipes, cooking tips, and kitchen adventures to satisfy your appetite and spark your creativity in the kitchen.
Sparkle Kitchen: April Fool's Day Food Pranks
If you and yours would like to engage in some April Fool’s Day hijinks, here are a few funny food jokes to get you started.
Sparkle Kitchen: Dirt Dessert
Whether you’re celebrating the beginning of gardening season or just trying to keep the floor clean, “Dirt Dessert” is a whimsical nod to the March mud.
Sparkle Kitchen: Cashew Chicken
Created by David Leong, a Chinese immigrant to Springfield, Missouri in the 1950’s, Springfield cashew chicken is a fusion of Leong’s native Chinese food and the fried chicken and mashed potatoes that he discovered Southerners loved.
Sparkle Kitchen: Ladybugs
If the ladybugs are starting to arrive in your part of the world, here’s a fun snack to celebrate. This recipe will make very minimalist “ladybugs”, but if you want more literal ones feel free to use your imagination.
Sparkle Kitchen: Stovetop Hot Chocolate
While you can buy all sorts of mixes and powders, of course, I’ve found that the simplest way of making hot chocolate is to melt dark chocolate chips with warm milk.
Sparkle Kitchen: Road Trip Granola
Packed with nuts, dried fruit, and crispy rolled oats, one of our favorite go-to snacks is homemade granola. Here's an easy, kid-friendly recipe that you can make at home!
Sparkle Kitchen: Popcorn
No need to resort to the microwave stuff — stovetop popcorn takes about the same amount of time and tastes much better. And by popping popcorn on the stove you can also control exactly how much salt, butter, and other toppings you add.
Sparkle Kitchen: Swedish Meatballs
One of my favorite potluck recipes is my grandmother’s Swedish meatballs. Best served out of a warm crock-pot, they’ll continue to soak-in their own gravy as they sit on a buffet table. They only get more delicious as the night goes on!
Sparkle Kitchen: Arctic Cookout
Depending on where you live in the world, it may feel like you’ve been transplanted to the Arctic right now, so why not follow Martin and Sylvia’s lead and host an Arctic cookout?
Sparkle Kitchen: Broa
Broa is the Portuguese version of cornbread. Unlike American cornbread, flour and cornmeal are mixed together to give the bread a dense texture. Broa is also leavened with yeast instead of baking soda.
Sparkle Kitchen: Beaver Tails
Don’t worry—this isn’t a recipe for actual beaver! Beaver tails are a traditional Canadian fried pastry, which is made in the distinctive oblong shape of a beaver’s tail. Covered in cinnamon and sugar—or topped with honey, lemon, or jam—a batch of hot beaver tails makes a cozy winter treat.
Sparkle Kitchen: Winter Snow Cones
I glanced over at a bowl of leftover Christmas oranges and inspiration struck. I usually only have snow cones in July, but why not eat them when the snow is fresh?
Sparkle Kitchen: Wassail
The recipe below is enough to serve a party of revelers, but it can easily be halved or quartered. It’s also much more method than recipe, so feel free to modify it to suit your tastes or what you have on hand.
Sparkle Kitchen: Glass Star Cookies
They’re made with regular sugar cookie dough—there’s a recipe below, but feel free to substitute your own, or even store bought. To make the “glass” you crush hard candies, like Lifesavers, and spoon them into the middle about halfway through baking.
Sparkle Kitchen: Pumpkin Ginger Pancakes
This recipe is really easy – easier than you’d think, given it’s gourmet name. And easier still if you want to use pancake mix! Add the right spices and a little cooked pumpkin, and you have gourmet breakfast for all.
Sparkle Kitchen: Candied Orange Peels
Whether you’re a frost fairy or human being, another wonderful gift to give—or nibble on yourself!—on a frosty day is candied orange peels.
Sparkle Kitchen: Pickling the Extras
We got into the pickling mood in the Sparkle Kitchen and created some of our own pickled vegetables! These recipes are perfect for both leftover green beans and beets — particularly after Thanksgiving!
Sparkle Kitchen: Fairy Cookies
While spring fairies may be dainty and dine on polite, pastel tea cakes, we’ve always imagined that Halloween fairies are sassier stock. From the moment I first heard that line, I knew that—while the underlying treat might still be light and lemon-y—the frosting on those cookies had to be bright purple!
Sparkle Kitchen: Martin & Sylvia's Migas
Because Martin and Sylvia enjoy migas in the story "Butterflies", there’s a Mexican festival afoot and the whole family gets into it. We thought we’d share our recipe so that you can celebrate too!
Sparkle Kitchen: Chai Spiced Milk
“Chai” is the Hindi word for “tea”, so ordering a “chai tea” is technically redundant. Nonetheless, in America, the word “chai” is commonly associated with a blend of warm spices like cardamon, nutmeg, cloves, and cinnamon. A “chai tea”, as we call it, is a blend of those spices in a milky tea.
