January 20, 2017

Peanut Butter Reese's Ice Cream

January 20, 2017/ Victoria DiBarto

This past Christmas was quieter than usual as my husband and I celebrated with just the two of us here in our tiny apartment. Not only was it the first time that we weren’t with family for the holidays, but also it was our first married Christmas (eeep!) and our first white Christmas. Well technically it was a white Christmas as there was snow on the ground outside, but the rainstorm that came through that day tried hard to melt all of the snow! We cuddled together with...

January 10, 2017

Greek Stuffed Bell Peppers

January 10, 2017/ Victoria DiBarto

These past couple weeks have been filled with weather in the single digits and sub zero wind chill. Ice covers the ground, and we haven’t gone outside without being bundled up in our down coats. The frozen tundra that we live in inspired me to create a dish that tasted fresh and deviated from the not-so-healthy comfort food that we all crave...

January 06, 2017

Vanilla Scones with Salted Caramel Whisky Glaze

January 06, 2017/ Victoria DiBarto

I am currently sitting in the Minneapolis/St. Paul airport, awaiting my flight to LA. I am so excited I think I’m going to burst. Why you ask? Well, my college roommate who now lives in Hawaii (rough life, I know) is flying out to Cali for the weekend for a wedding, which prompted the rest of my college roommates who are still in Cali to organize a little reunion for the weekend! The 7 of us have not all been together since we graduated college, two and a half YEARS ago! The best part...

December 30, 2016

Gingerbread Meringue Pie

December 30, 2016/ Victoria DiBarto

My affinity towards ginger has continued to evolve over the years, but in a rollercoaster fashion. I grew up loving my mom’s ginger molasses cookies that she would make during her holiday baking every year, making sure to stash a couple extra before she gave them away to friends and family. But a couple years ago I tried a tiny portion of store bought candy crystallized ginger from a friend, and it took me half an hour to eat that thing simply because I was trying to...

December 05, 2016

Brown Buttered Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

December 05, 2016/ Victoria DiBarto

Years ago my now husband and I traveled to Ecuador to volunteer at a mobile medical clinic. We spent the week traveling to villages in the Amazon shadowing physicians, distributing medications, and playing with the children. While we were not able to provide much direct medical help to those in need at the time, the experience impacted our journey to our own healthcare professions. To help raise funds to cover some of our travel expenses I put on an online bake sale for a couple months. My most popular item...

November 22, 2016

Lemon Raspberry Monkey Bread

November 22, 2016/ Victoria DiBarto

Monkey bread, an item that has been a family tradition in my family for as long as I can remember. It was the breakfast item that my friends and I from elementary school to high school would quickly dig into after a sleepover. It was the dessert after a team dinner with my high school tennis team. It was the breakfast that my entire family would enjoy while opening presents on Christmas morning. And it was the breakfast that my mother would make for me when I came home during school breaks. While I love...

November 21, 2016

Banana Chocolate Chip Bread

November 21, 2016/ Victoria DiBarto

One of my favorite things about bananas, besides the delicious texture they add to smoothies, is that unlike most foods, when bananas start to go bad all hope is not lost. Rather, you can revitalize those “these are so soft they are gross”, brown bananas into delicious...

November 14, 2016

Orange Lavender Cinnamon Rolls

November 14, 2016/ Victoria DiBarto

My husband and I rang in his birthday (he’s a quarter of a century old, people!) the best way we know how, with food! I would have loved to take him on an adventure on that beautiful Midwest autumn day, but seeing as he is a medical student and spends the majority of his time studying at his desk, I instead decided to make that day special with some specially crafted foods. He loves “fun” food, which allows me to frequently create new flavor combinations. Since the day would...

October 19, 2016

Pumpkin Chai Ice Cream

October 19, 2016/ Victoria DiBarto

I don’t know about you but I love eating ice cream, no matter the time of year, and I live in Minne-snow-ta, so that should tell you something about my deep affinity towards the cold dessert. However it wasn’t until my years in Portland and my first experience with Salt & Straw ice cream that I realized that ice cream was no longer reserved for the classic flavors, but rather was an avenue for creativity and imagination. It was with that spirit that I purchased our first Cuisinart ice cream maker. Thankfully my...

October 10, 2016

Gluten Free Apple Crisp

October 10, 2016/ Victoria DiBarto

Autumn is hands-down my favorite season, which is why I was so excited to experience my first REAL autumn here in Minnesota. I could spend hours just sitting outside, staring at the beautiful changing leaves as the cool breeze blew across my face. I read a quote once that said, "Fall is the beautiful moment between sweating and hypothermia." I couldn't agree more! The summers here...