Autumn is pie weather - especially apple pie. The pick your own places are all open, and all kinds of varieties are showing up at the markets. Farmer markets have baskets full. I like apple pie made with 2 or 3 different varieties combined. I think it add dimension to the flavor. I personally do … Continue reading Autumn is for….Apple Pie!
Kale soup, or Caldo Verde, comes from northern Portugal. It's a perfect fall soup, filled with healthy vegetables and sausage. There are many variations, with and without potatoes, Linguiça (a Portuguese sausage), and different kinds of kale. I have a feeling that once a family recipe is developed it becomes tradition for that family. Autumn … Continue reading How to make an Easy Portuguese Kale Soup
I usually plant as many heirloom vegetables in my garden as I can. First because they taste better. But secondly, because I can save their seeds for next year. The Difference between Heirloom and Hybrid plants Heirloom plants will reliably pass on their traits to the next generation of seeds. More in a moment about … Continue reading How to save Heirloom Vegetable seeds
The number of Monarch butterflies in the USA have been in a declining mode for several years. It does seem like I see less of them than I used to. Many things may contribute to the smaller numbers, including pesticides and predators, but one major thing is lack of habitat. Namely lack of milkweed plants, … Continue reading Caring for Monarchs
My typical mid-summer morning – laundry first. Bed sheets washed and hung on the line so they absorb that sunshine, fresh air smell. Since it’s late July, the wild blueberries are ripening. We live in a pine forest, so really acid soil. Blueberries love acid, poor quality soil. They grow so thick in some place … Continue reading Summer Gardens & a Perfect Summer Morning
I love cherries, and late spring/early summer is the season. Every store has them now. I typically buy quite a few to eat, bake and freeze. I wasted a simple dessert today, something easier than a pie. So I decided on a sweet dough, almost a pate sucre, and a quick turn on the range … Continue reading Making Cast Iron Cherry Almond Crumble
I wanted comfort food - pasta to be specific. But not the standard spaghetti and meatballs my husband favors. I wanted something gooey, filled with cheese, and baked. I had sausage in the fridge, along with mushrooms, mozzarella and Parmesan; and all the other staple ingredients in my pantry. Even a half loaf of Italian … Continue reading Incredible Sausage Mushroom Pasta Bake
I decided a few weeks ago I should make some refrigerator cookies and freeze them, so I could bake cookies on short notice...like when unexpected company stops by. These are regular refrigerator cookies - the kind you mix up, roll into a log and refrigerate until firm. Except I'm going to store them long term … Continue reading How to make Freezer Cookies
I'm trying to use less plastic; it seems to permeate our lives these days (and the ocean's and wildlife stomach's). And who knows what leaches from the plastic into our food. So I bought some beeswax wraps on line. And I love them. But not the price. So as with many other things, I googled … Continue reading Making My Own Beeswax Wraps
It’s the little things that count. How often do the things that went wrong plague your thoughts? The harsh words spoken, an accident, a plan that went awry…. Our minds often tend to focus on things that were hurtful, a mistake or we delve into “what if” thinking. What if we change that around, and … Continue reading A Life Lesson: It’s the Little Things that Matter