Blog

October 30, 2011 - Let’s Talk Mustard

Imagine eating a hotdog without it. Or to not have this on your ham sandwich. You just can’t imagine a life without it, but I haven’t read on this forum of anyone who has made their own. What I’m talking about?? MUSTARD of course! I don’t know how many varieties are out there, I’m only...
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October 29, 2011 - Smoked Fish

After our successful salmon fishing last weekend, my nephew, Jay, marinated and smoked some salmon filets in his electric smoker. Wonderful stuff! While I can sit right down with a plate of smoked salmon in front of me and be perfectly content, I sacrificed some for a dip. A dip with smoked salmon, cream cheese...
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October 28, 2011 - A Pretty Tasty, Basic Spaghetti Sauce

Howdy. Let’s get ready to feed our faces. Today, we’re gonna make s’ketti sauce from tomatoes. First, wash up about 50 Roma tomatoes, then cut ’em in half lengthwise. Then you’ll want to scoop the seeds out with a spoon (or not–if you like ’em, leave ’em in). Then turn on your grill to medium...
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October 27, 2011 - Mandoori Chicken – An Experiment

Yes, you read that right. Mandoori Chicken, not Tandoori Chicken. I was trying to come up with something for dinner that we have never had before. I was reminded in the Weis Market about Tandoori Chicken that my cousin Irene had made at our family camp last year on her night to make dinner. My...
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October 26, 2011 - A Fish Boil, My Way

A fish boil is to the Great Lakes like a clambake is to New England. It is a big festivity around the Great Lakes in the summer and fall and is normally done outside over a fire pit in a huge pot with a basket to lower the ingredients into the boiling water. Fresh caught...
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October 25, 2011 - Homemade Gatorade Experiment

Last weekend, my husband ran his second marathon. He came in at just over 3 hours and 6 minutes. I’m super proud! He spent the past spring and summer training, which meant he went through a lot of sports drink. Even when waiting for his drink to go on sale, we still spent a lot...
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October 24, 2011 - Spaghetti for Breakfast?

One of my favorite memories from childhood is eating spaghetti pancakes with my best friend who lived across the street. Every time his mom made them, both my sisters and I would run over to his house and with the help of his brother, the five of us would devour them instantly. For those who...
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October 23, 2011 - Oh, No! What Do I Do Now Soup

This should be titled Food Disaster Soup. When we grill, I like to cook up a big batch of chicken and use the leftovers in various recipes during the busy weekdays. BUT when things go wrong…. My son grilled a large batch of chicken breasts but overcooked them. After smothering some with BBQ sauce to...
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October 22, 2011 - Homemade Lara Bars

There are recipes all over the internet for these, but after much trial and error I have come up with an easy-to-memorize recipe that allows for any number of flavor combinations. You want to start with some dried Madjool dates. If you have a Sams Membership, they carry them from the fall until after the...
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October 20, 2011 - PB & J Again?

School has been in session for several weeks now and you’ve already made 50 peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. Is there anything new that the kids will eat that isn’t the expensive pre-packaged lunch kits? Here are some lunch bag tips that help guarantee your kids will eat their lunch and save you a wallet...
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October 19, 2011 - Easy, Cheap, Fast, Filling, TASTY!

Now I know you’re reading the title of this post and saying “There’s no way one recipe can be ALL those things.” Trust me, friends, you don’t even have to be able to boil water to get this recipe to work. And, like so many other recipes, it can be completely customized to you and...
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October 18, 2011 - Waste Not

The other day when I posted It’s Apple Cider Season, Folkwoman asked: I’m wondering – if you seed the apples, would the remaining stuff make a good applesauce once you’ve strained it for cider? Do you ever do anything with it? I did not throw the scraps away after I strained the juice. I could...
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October 17, 2011 - Pasta!

Pasta, a staple food in Italy, is popular worldwide. Pasta is simply flour (durum wheat in Italy), water, and sometimes eggs–a very basic staple food that can extend a food budget tremendously. It can be fresh, dried, or frozen, depending on how you would like it. And even though “pasta” is traditionally an Italian food,...
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October 16, 2011 - Instant Oatmeal (Just Like the Packets)

Growing up, we had pretty strict menus in the fall and winter months–potato soup every Saturday for lunch, bean soup every Saturday night, fried chicken every Sunday for dinner, and oatmeal every.single.morning. And we weren’t allowed to leave anything on our plate, either. Now, I understand and can appreciate it–all the way up to the...
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October 15, 2011 - When Life Gives You Rain, Make Green Tomato Sauce!

Once the weather forecast claimed rain for the next 4,356 days (one of the downsides to living in the Pacific NW), I decided it was time to uproot my tomato plants. Unlike much of the USA this year, our summer was cold and all together too short. And my tomato plants suffered. As a matter...
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October 14, 2011 - It’s Apple Cider Season!

The apple trees are still loaded with apples here in West Michigan. They’ve been picking and packing apples for quite a few weeks and still have lots to pick! With apple season comes apple cider (among other things). The difference between apple juice and apple cider is a press. Apple cider is actually made by...
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October 13, 2011 - It’s Just Sauce, Mama!

Throughout my childhood, my family created many traditions involving food and entertaining. Although we never had much money, my parents worked hard to make sure our family holidays filled all five of us kids with joy and a sense of togetherness that lasted well after the holiday. We cooked holiday meals together and invited extended...
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October 12, 2011 - Cookie Dough–Bake One, Freeze One

I remember way back when–in corporate world days–my cookie dough came off a yellow truck that would stop curbside every Monday night. The friendly man would take my order and come back with bags and boxes that were promptly put into the freezer. Sooo easy. When I wanted to make “homemade” cookies, I would reach...
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October 11, 2011 - Two-Ingredient Pumpkin Bread. Or Cake. Whatever.

I make this pumpkin bread/cake a lot because it is tasty and has a good texture. Oh! And because it uses just two ingredients: a cake mix and a can of pumpkin puree. How to make Two-Ingredient Pumpkin Bread (or Cake): Printable Seriously, just take the cake mix and add the can of pumpkin puree....
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October 10, 2011 - Pear Ginger Perfection

It’s pear season. I heart pears. Mostly, I heart pears in Pear Ginger Jam. I heart Pear Ginger Jam. This year, I got some pears right off of my mom’s tree. I’ve never picked pears before. We usually get them from generous friends who pick for us. When we saw them ripening on the tree,...
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October 8, 2011 - Marinated Feta from My Own Nigerian Dwarf Goats

I’m new to cheese making and wanted to experiment making cheese from my Nigerian Dwarf goat milk. Their milk is renowned for cheese making as well as drinking, and generally results in a high cheese yield. I have 5 milking girls so I had plenty of milk to begin my cheese making adventures. I find...
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October 7, 2011 - Grandma’s Potato Soup

One of my earliest memories of cooking, is of making Potato Soup with my grandma. We would make soup at harvest time, using any potatoes that had been stabbed by the pitch fork, and also in the spring when any potatoes left were turning soft. This is a great way to use up potatoes that...
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October 5, 2011 - Cooking with Kids Courtesy of CITR

I love autumn. I love the falling leaves (we don’t see as much of that here in the Pacific NW, what with all the evergreens). I love the cool crisp air and wearing sweaters. I love harvest and pumpkins and most of all, Halloween! Most years Halloween comes and goes before we’re ready for it...
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October 4, 2011 - Green Tomato & Apple Crisp

Yes, you read that right. Green tomatoes. Try not to think about it too hard. We have loads of green tomatoes and I hate to let them freeze on the vine but I don’t have the room to pull up the vines and hang them until the tomatoes turn red. I needed another idea. I’d...
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October 3, 2011 - Commercial Juice Jelly, Tattler Lids, a Steam Canner, and My Niece

Yes, I took on all of those challenges in one day, all at the same time! And maybe not in that exact order. You know that triumphant feeling you get when you try something new–the high, the ecstaticness–and it works? I think I’ve been having a craving for that lately. The Retreat was the last...
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