I love how each season brings a new perfectly ripe fruit. Winter has citrus, spring has strawberries and rhubarb, summer has berries and peaches and fall has apples. Ok, you can get almost every fruit year round in the grocery store and because of this, we’re all a little spoiled that we don’t have to
If you’ve been a blog reader of mine for any length of time, I’m sure you’ve realized by now that I love nostalgic recipes. I must be an 90-year-old in a younger body because I crave the recipes found in old church cookbooks and passed down from family member to family member. I find these
Growing up, homemade applesauce making was an event. Mom, usually with the help of Grandma, always had apples laying out in the basement for a few days before making applesauce. She always did this because ripe apples make the process quick and give the most flavor. And when I say “the basement,” I mean the
I always make sure that I bake a cake for each of my nieces’ and nephew’s birthdays. This is a tall order given that I live 15 (long) hours from them. Being far apart gives me the determination to make the best memories with the kids each and every time I see them. We’re lucky
Pizza was one of the first things I cooked on my own. I remember learning how to make the dough – the easiest bread dough to make – and using fresh produce from the garden to create different varieties. The more I made pizza, I more comfortable I became having people over for meals. Now
I’m not usually a person who likes help in the kitchen. Everyone who knows me is rolling their eyes: they of course know that I don’t ever like help. I want to think I would be a person who invites friends over and, in a laid back fashion, they join me in the kitchen to
I love shrimp. And even though I love it, for some inexplicable reason I save it for going out to eat. I assume we all have these foods that we think are just better at restaurants. Shrimp shouldn’t be difficult to cook at home, but unfortunately they’re easily overcooked, becoming tough, rubbery and blah… This
Lately, we’ve had amazing weather in Iowa. If you’re not from around here, July is characteristically hot, humid, dry and honestly, it’s really not that much fun to be outside. The last few days started with cool – almost crisp! – mornings and warm days that quickly melted into beautiful evenings. Did I paint a