Confession: This is definitely the week in the summer when everything goes downhill as far as planning, cooking, and general attitude. This is the week when I realize that I am accomplishing roughly half of what I intended, my garden is weedy again, and nobody knows any Spanish yet. This is the week when everyone […]
Summertime Cooking Swap – 2014 Read More »
Well, it’s been a quiet week in Lake Wobegon. We realized with a small shock we’re two-thirds of the way through summer vacation. How did that happen? Oh well. Pour out another round of iced coffee; we’ll need the boost before this is all over… Iced Coffee 2 cups water 1 cup sugar 1/4 to
I have a new favorite recipe for Friday night supper: Belizean Garnachios. You may ask why I consider myself authorized to share a Belizean recipe from my quiet corner of northwestern Pennsylvania. I’ll tell you. Actually I don’t know. I was to Belize once, but I never even smelled the garnachios—so–obviously not nearly long enough.
Belizean Garnachios Read More »
Ironically, the next things I want to share with you on this blog are fun ideas for working with kids on summer vacation. If you dare to take them as another list of things to do to be a Good Mom—well—don’t make me come back there! ***** Confession: I’m trying several new things this summer
Confession: I am a forager. I just realized this while rereading The Backyard Homestead. What fun! I now have a hip title for the otherwise hillbilly practice of scrounging iffy edibles from the wild. In my early years we went mushroom hunting—morel, fairy ring, meadow, puffball and shaggy mane. And berrying—blackberries, raspberries, and wild strawberries.
Mock endive supper Read More »
Confession: I love communion. I wish we had it every Sunday like Catholics. The Lord Jesus is everywhere in our world, and touches us in a million different ways; but I like to think there are a couple of places He will never miss, a couple of intimate graces that always lead straight into His
Confession: I am seriously in love with squash. This is a big change for me, since a year ago I didn’t have a clue what to do with it except boil it into mush. Here’s my recent favorite recipe–roasted acorn squash stuffed with sausage meatballs. My mom used to make this! I just added an ingredient
Stuffed acorn squash Read More »
Confession: I often wish I lived in a village by the sea, if for no other reason than that I could get fish and things so delightfully fresh and cheap. I love seafood. And though it’s extraordinarily nutritious, it’s hard finding economical ways to work it into our family’s menu. I like imitation crab for
My best recipes for tuna Read More »
Confession: I always start out the school year with grand ideas for great variety in my children’s packed lunches; and sometime near January I find I’ve fallen into a rut—a.k.a. “same-same every day, all along the way…” Would you help me prevent the slump by sharing some of your favorites? My tech support guy* created
Ideas for packed lunches Read More »
Confession: When it comes to desserts, I love the impractical. My favorite impractical ingredient right now is phyllo dough (pronounced fee’-lo or fie’-lo). It really looks like it shouldn’t be edible—it’s papery thin, crackly, and dry. It’s probably made of tree bark, I don’t know. It has no nutritional value at all,* and it has
How to work with phyllo Read More »