This evening I attended an event to honor an inspiring teacher, model leader, and a truly caring human being. She is brilliant, talented, savvy, and persistent. In collaboration with a team of visionary teachers, she helped to start the Center for Inquiry, and helped grow it into the collection of schools it is today. CFI… Continue reading The Ripple Effect

Tonight I’m going to fanboy on my Hubby! For the past two years, my hubby has been wanting a smoker. He did his research, compared different brands, and went to visit them at the stores. In the end, he wanted a red Kamado Joe brand. After deciding, it became basically impossible to find. There was… Continue reading New Smoker

There were three bananas in the pantry I had set aside to ripen. I had seen a recipe that had intrigued me that required several ripened bananas. They were at just the right stage to be used. Collecting my cooking magazines, I went in search of the recipe I had wanted. I looked through magazine… Continue reading Second Choice Recipe

One book, out of the several books I purchased this past weekend, was a cookbook. Gasp! Surprised? Shocked? Thrown for a loop? I didn’t think so. It was the cover that pulled me in. Any book with a croissant, a tart, and an eclair on it has to be good. With the title of Bake… Continue reading French Pastry Anyone?

Our youngest son came to visit this past weekend. When we found out, one of the things we asked was if he had any special requests for a family dinner Saturday night. His reply was pesto chicken, and apple pie or apple crisp. I asked if he had a preference and he said to surprise… Continue reading As Simple as Apple Pie

The ingredients included things like onion, tomato paste and purée, red wine, bell pepper, and celery. It also contained sausage and hamburger. There was no ketchup in this recipe, but it did have some Worcestershire sauce and a bit of brown sugar. A little bit of jalapeño pepper was tossed in to add a little… Continue reading An Adult Twist on a Childhood Favorite

Other than when traveling, I almost always make or bake something several times a week. I was neither traveling nor in the kitchen very much this week. It is a little odd to say that out loud. I’m not entirely sure of what is going on. I keep thinking about what I’d like to make.… Continue reading No-Bake or -Make Week

Such a simple meal, but oh so good. I wasn’t sure what I was going to do with the chicken this evening. My first thought was to either grill it, or fry it. It would be placed over a bed of noodles that had been sautéed in a dash of garlic infused olive oil. Instead,… Continue reading Chicken and Noodles

Last weekend something happened that hasn’t happened during my adult years of living on my own. I went to make some No Bake Cookies only to discover, gasp, I didn’t have enough sugar to do so. I needed four cups and I only had two. Usually I have a bag in reserve, always. Not this… Continue reading Splenda Is Not Sugar

Doesn’t that cover just have your mouth watering from the get go? Ever since I saw the first volume in Costco, I’ve been in love with the Bake From Scratch cookbooks. They are a collection of almost all of the recipes from their magazine of the same name. Although I know the recipes will be… Continue reading Volume Six Has Arrived