Everyone has their favorite holiday dish. The dressing has always been a favorite of mine. My mother made dressing from bread cubes. And my first experience with cornbread dressing had been at someone else’s house. The cornbread was an orangish color (too much soda) and burnt. Ugh. You can imagine my alarm when Tom declared …
Historically Interesting Times…
Historically, interesting times are not unique to this time in history. “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was …
Dogs Can Teach Us Tricks
Since 2005 we’ve had German Shepherds trained for the personal protection of our family. The training requires their obedience which results in their devotion to our family. Our first German Shepherd, Schatzi, had an excellent nose. The kids would put her on a stay command, and then run and hide. Once hidden they would shout …
Spiced Cider
Fall is one of my favorite times of the year. I love changing decorations around the home to reflect the season that embrace us with a warm welcome as the crisp, chilly air sends us indoors. Although it may not be cool enough for a warming fire yet, warm drinks are welcome. Which makes me …
Roasted Root Vegetables
My grandma was born in Tomah, Wisconsin. I inherited her mother’s cookbook, The Tomah Cook Book, second edition, 1914. Under Vegetables, it says, “We now come to the root of matters.” Cute. Then it goes on, “The rule for vegetables is always the same. Wash in cold water, cook in boiling water.” What a hoot! …
Summer Activities for Kids
Hopefully, you’ve made your home environment to nurture your children’s minds and creativity. Varied real life experiences provide your children with subject matter to contemplate and play. Let your children participate in what you enjoy and you will teach your children to enjoy those things. Besides real-life experiences, books are also great resources for active …
Polynesian SpareRibs
My mother came away with a variation of this recipe from her high school home economics class. It was one of my favorites, even a birthday request. Making this recipe for my family has brought some additional sweet memories. Such as Jesse, at age 3, asking if we could have some more of that black …
Marshmallows
I love working in the kitchen, and I’ve passed that interest on to my kids. At young ages they worked beside me, perched on a kitchen chair. Gradually they learn to cook on their own…complete with bloopers along the way. They graduate to more adventurous enterprises, exploring un-chartered territory in our kitchen. That’s what Steven …
Dinner Salads
Whether you’re harvesting veggies from your garden, the farmer’s market or the produce section of your local grocery store, there are abundant options for making a variety of summer salads. There are themed favorites, like Taco Salad, with crunchy iceberg lettuce, pinto or black beans, seasoned meat, shredded cheese, cucumbers, tomato, avocado, peppers, olives, salsa …
Musings from Quarantine
These times are bringing about changes, to be sure. While some of the changes seem to “happen to us”, there are many changes that we can, do and will make for ourselves. Good can come from adverse circumstances. You know, the proverbial “make lemons into lemonade”. That’s exactly what many people are choosing to do. …
Picante Sauce
While we love fresh, homemade salsas there’s nothing like a handy jar of ready-to-use picante sauce. It’s a must have in our refrigerator and pantry. I’m very selective about prepared foods and the ingredients they contain, so there was one particular store brand that was our go-to. That is, until one day when Jesse decided …
April Fools Day Joke
Article by Anna McFie April starts out ahem… shall we say rather foolishly? Fortunately, after everyone exhibits a little (or sometimes a lot🤭) of their inner fool, bouncing back to normal seems to come naturally to the sane. Unfortunately some people never seem to acquire this knack. Shhh…don’t name names!🤫 On this day pranks come …