Searching for Direction & Purpose in Life's Sea of Opportunities
I learned many of my cooking skills from my grandmas. Having grown up during the Great Depression, they taught me to make do with what we had – I didn’t need a biscuit cutter, that’s what jam jars (or juice glasses) are for, and pastry cutters - Why buy that when there are forks on hand? To… Continue reading Right Tool for the Job
I bought my Betty Crocker Cookbook when I was 21 years old. I still have it and still use it. The waffles and pancakes recipes are on opposite sides of the same page - a page that has seen more than its fair share of batter and cleaning, as the warping indicates. In listening to… Continue reading Betty Crocker
Five years ago this weekend, DH2U moved in with me. This is a wonderful milestone for us. Only a couple of months ago we had another milestone: our first joint purchase. I was shocked when I realized that up to that point it had been one of us or the other who had paid for… Continue reading First Joint Purchase
It's been quite a while since I've sat in the confessional to reveal a not-so-deep, not-so-hidden secret to my readers. This time it is about food. As you know, I love cooking from scratch. I'm always so tickled to find out how to make items I never knew could be created at home, things like… Continue reading Food Confessional
My from-scratch skill set continues to grow, which makes my heart go pitter pat. I make my new favorite homemade food nearly every weekend, and it brightens up my breakfasts throughout the week. It's yogurt! I was already eating yogurt two times a week, but since my favorite kind is the Greek style, it can… Continue reading Science Experiment
It's hard to believe it was nearly a year and a half ago when I asked for my readers' help in coming up with some go-to meals. Eggs now play a more regular role thanks to several suggestions. One other new favorite has started - we call it three things. It first happened through lack of… Continue reading 3 Things
I have lots of crazy notions that I love to explore. As much as I enjoy learning new skills, I'm not big on watching videos as a first line of knowledge. I prefer to read about it, try it, and only if it goes so terribly wrong that I couldn't figure it out on my own do… Continue reading Hill of Beans
Last year I discovered the work of Barbara Kingsolver quite by accident. I was browsing through the audiobook section of the library and found Flight Behavior. I vaguely recalled having read something about it, so I decided to give it a go. I love it when authors are talented at reading their own stories, and she definitely… Continue reading Animal Vegetable Miracle
Right after I had success on my second attempt at making paneer cheese, I used my momentum and placed my Amazon order for rennet - the ingredient needed for making the harder, melting cheeses. It arrived right away and sat in my fridge until I was ready. During our rainy weekend a couple months ago, my courage… Continue reading Intermediate Cheesy Courage
Thanks to a spectacular sale on asparagus, I pulled out my canning equipment. It was pickling time. Last year I made a small batch of dill pickled asparagus. I don't really care for dill pickles, but I liked these - the dill taste didn't completely overwhelm the asparagus. So those were in the line up again, as… Continue reading Use it All
Grown Up, Now What? 