If you are looking for a great chocolate sauce, then here is one that is awesome and easy.  This sauce is amazing over ice cream, glaze for brownies, over petifaroles, banana splits  or whatever your heart desires. I used mini semi-sweet chocolate chips for the chocolate for quick dissolving smooth chocolate  and kaluha to give it that rich taste. Give it a a try.

I enjoy cooking healthy and light.  A favorite place for me to try recipes is Cooking Light. I even try to go lighter then their light. In this recipe I substituted most the sugar for Splenda Sugar Blend and used Land O Lakes Light Butter. I simply left out the almonds in the crust because of family preference.

So check out my version of  Strawberry Cream Tart recipe from Cooking Light’s Strawberry Almond Cream Tart May 2010 issue. If you are a diabetic, my site will give you hope that you can make desserts that are low in sugar and high in taste. Let me know what you think and enjoy the season of strawberries.

Monk's Farmers Market

I do some writing for a hyper local site in my community. One of the recent posts I wrote was about taking the opportunity to buy from local farmers and farmer markets.  This year I am fortunate enough to have a garden, but I can’t say many years has been that season in my life. Even with a garden, I am not growing everything fresh I would like to eat this spring and summer.

So may I ask WHERE does your garden grow? Mine grows at several of my favorite roadside farmer trailer and markets in my community. I also frequent a “pick your own” berry farm. How about you? I know it takes an extra trip outside of grocery shopping, but can I say it is just worth it. I love the fresh taste of spring and summer. I eat the local honey because it builds immunity to local allergens so I can enjoy the great outdoors. I especially love the fact that at Bill’s Honey Farm  you just go in his small building get your honey and leave your money in the bowl on an honor system. I call that a pretty sweet community.

So whether your garden grows in your back yard or a roadside farmers market; enjoy the great tastes of the season. Seek out great recipes that have what is in season like this Corn and Black Bean Salad/Salsa and don’t forget to support your locals. Take the kids along and have them pick out the reddest tomato they can find. Stop at roadside stands along your vacation drive and look up recipes to make something with your fresh buy.

If you are traveling or want to support your local farmers, try visiting www.localharvest.org.

If you live in Huntsville AL, check you this Hyper-Local Site: www.DiscoveringHuntsville.com