Sparkle Stories Blog

“Hmmmm, what’s Nutty Popcorn?” I wondered when I read the first draft of the story. I asked David, and he said, “Well...think healthy Cracker Jacks!” He listed the ingredients: honey, almonds, butter... “Uh, YUM!” I thought. “All of the Sparkle Families must have this too!” So I set straight to work figuring out a recipe to share.

If you’ve ever grown a vegetable garden or if you’re a member of a local CSA, I know at some point you’ve had this question: What do I do with all these vegetables?

This week’s recipe comes right out of an upcoming free "Martin & Sylvia" story on the Sparkle iTunes Podcast! It’s called “Old Apple Tree and the Lamb’s Wool Blessing” – and it’s a celebration of Autumn and all the goodness of apples!

One of the easiest ways to hunt for and cook your own food in real life is to go fishing.

So that our canine friends have a little Halloween goodie of their own, I decided to try my hand at dog treats. And my concoction: a simple flour and oat based biscuit that combines pumpkin and bacon fat!

Though it seems as if it might be an odd combination, bacon and apples are actually quite delicious together. The saltiness of the bacon combined with the sweetness of the apples makes Martin’s idea a brilliant one. Add in a flaky, orange zest spiked crust and you’ve a pie that would win a blue ribbon at any contest.

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!

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!

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!

In Southeast Asia, marinated meats are served on skewer sticks to make a dish called “satay." Satay was supposedly invented by street vendors in Indonesia as an imitation of the Indian kebabs brought to the area by migration in the early 19th century.