There was a period of my life — which may or may not have been only six months ago — when I meticulously searched for, and wrote down, food holidays every month to celebrate and, perhaps, provide a little culinary inspiration for my blog.

Do a little web-searching and you’ll discover a food-related holiday or celebration for nearly every day and month of the year. While I’m not sure “National Eat What You Want Day” (May 11th) is anything more than a restricted dieters excuse to have a cookie, there are some celebrations that are more nationally recognized than others. By “nationally recognized” I do, in fact, mean “taken up by a food or beverage council as an effective PR campaign for its product.”

May, for example, is National Strawberry Month. (If Foodbuzz says it, it has to be true.) And while I would always recommend celebrating by simply eating as many fresh strawberries as you can get your hands on, there is something fun about a whimsical strawberry dessert to celebrate either the fruit itself, or the joy of looming summer sweetness at the farmers market.

The best thing about this Strawberries ‘n’ Cream Puff Cake is that it’s a lazy baker’s dream come true, by taking the idea of a cream puff and eliminating the need for hot ovens and pastry bags.
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This is probably one of the brightest, most colorful salads I’ve eaten. I love how the vivid orange, red and green make this salad seem so cheery. I also love how this salad gives me tons of energy and really fills me up, though it’s super light.

My sister says I can’t call it a salad …

This cake one of my favorites. It’s delicious for breakfast or a snack. It’s also perfect for commuting and road trips. You can eat it with your fingers or a fork. It’s decently healthy, almost vegan (if there is such a thing), and my husband, who is not a fan of whole wheat baked goods, loves it. I know that cooking with whole wheat flour can be daunting, but I hope you’ll give this recipe a try. …

Fresh fronds of leafy herbs are starting to appear in small containers in front of every grocery store and seed packets are stocking the shelves at every garden center and discount store. All this herbacious bounty inspires visions of frolicking through the farmers’ market field of greens that starts to spring up around the time of year. (Is that why they call it spring?)

Whether you have the type of thumb that lends itself to planting your own seasonal herb garden, purchase herbs from the produce department in tiny plastic clamshells (not the most cost effective, but efficient), or the only herbs you’ve ever added to your foods are the dried variety mixed into your Montreal Steak Seasoning, there’s alway something new to learn, and a new twist on the traditional to try.

Here’s a quick primer on my favorite herbs for the season. …

The practice of serving wedding cake dates back to Roman weddings, where bread was broken over the head of the bride to bring good fortune to the couple. Throughout the centuries, different customs evolved and Western culture came to embrace the standard tiered cake, cut and shared among guests during the reception.

If the thought of wedding cake conjures up images of a bland, dry vanilla sponge wrapped in nearly inedible layers of fondant, you aren’t the only one. If cake isn’t your thing, or if you’d like to add other dessert choices to the table, have no fear. Here are some alternative sweets, ranging from the traditional to the slightly out there. Many of these options allow for additional unique touches to your wedding and can be made to accommodate vegan and gluten-free diets. …

With guacamole I have found that less is more. I have seen people add tomatoes, garlic — all sorts of crazy things to guac — taking away from the awesomeness of the avocado. My guac recipe, found through much trial and error, highlights the smoothness of avocado with a little sour cream, while adding a kick of flavor with lime and jalapeño. It’s the perfect snack, complete with a Modelo or marg and blue corn tortilla chips. Or slather it on your burrito or fajitas at your next dinner fiesta. Cinco de Mayo is around the corner, after all.

This is one of my favorite go-to recipes. Should I tell you that for most of 2007 I ate these pizzas nearly every single day? It’s embarrassing, but true. And 2008 and 2009. Often for lunch and maybe dinner and sometimes both! And then, somehow, I forgot about them. Like a best friend who moves away. I don’t know quite how it happened, but I haven’t thought of them in years.

Now that I have the ingredients on hand once again and have rediscovered my love of the Greek pita pizza, I will resume habitual, perpetual eating of said pizza. I’ve listed the ingredients for you to build your own pizza below. Note that I did not provide precise measurements for a couple of reasons: 1) freedom to make your pizza with as much of these ingredients as you can cram onto each pita and; 2) encouragement to stock up on these ingredients so that you to eat pita pizza as often as you like. …

If you haven’t heard, after years of waffling back and forth on whether or not eggs are “good” or “bad” for you, and the powers that be (of which one, I’m sure, is Dr. Oz) have declared that an egg a day will not lead you on a path to cholesterol-induced heart failure as long as you are living a generally healthy and balanced lifestyle.

Eggs evoke thoughts of spring, newness, rebirth — and they pretty much serve as the perfect spring brunch food. I’m definitely not here to tell y’all that you shouldn’t eat eggs on Easter. After all, something has to be done with all of those pink and blue vinegar-dyed beauties.

But maybe you are vegan (or vegan “with benefits” like me) or have an egg allergy. Maybe you have high cholesterol and need to stay away from eggs. Whatever your reasoning, I have an eggless recipe for those of you who have an eggless diet. You’ll be surprised at how much this “egg” salad tastes like the real thing, and how easy it is to customize for your own taste. Love dill pickles? Chop some of those up and throw them in. Prefer your egg salad to have paprika? Sprinkle it on. Heck, if you diced up bacon and tossed that in there I promise I won’t tell. But you might want to warn the vegetarians. …

These skillet potato cakes are similar to latkes, with the addition of parsnips. What is a parsnip, you ask? It’s basically a white carrot, milder in flavor than their orange cousins.

I made these beauties on St. Patty’s Day. They were gorgeous with spicy Coleman’s mustard and a pint of Guinness. I bet they’d be even better at brunch with a bloody or a mimosa. …

If you’ve ever even glanced at a healthy cooking or women’s health and fitness magazine, you know that one of the best ways to maximize flavor without adding fat is to boost your use of fresh herbs and spices. Talk of the green and herbacious will have to wait until warmer weather helps Contrary Mary’s garden grow, but spices can be addressed all year round…