I love soups…especially those that are hearty and make my kitchen smell inviting. This mouthwatering Ham and Bean soup is the perfect way to use leftover ham and a plethora of winter veggies. You won’t want to limit the soup to just when you have leftover ham, however; it’s easy enough to add a thick, …
The Kindness of Friends
We have some wonderful friends and their kindnesses come in the most unexpected ways! Every few months we get our teeth cleaned…seemingly more information than you need to know, except it relates to this story. Megan is our dental hygienist and she does a wonderful job. She’s caring and thorough. One of those times this …
Bev’s Homemade Butterscotch Sauce
Seriously, use only the very best ingredients for this recipe. I love homemade Butterscotch Sauce with crisp apples; love to dip and dunk and enjoy. John? He would eat it straight from the jar (and I’m sure he has)…but also loves it on ice cream. This holiday season I decided to gift the hospice nurse, …
Did Someone Say Chocolate?
I love chocolate. Deep, dark, rich chocolate especially when it’s melted and whipped into a frenzy. The result? How about chocolate cupcakes! My personal preference is unsweetened chocolate … so that I can adjust my sugar and add the tang of rich sour cream to create handfuls of moist chocolate goodness with a little decorative …
The Birthday Card
When you care for someone with Alzheimer’s, well-meaning people are in my mind a little too anxious to share their “stories” … “My uncle had it and my aunt wound up in the hospital for months from exhaustion caring for him.” “My mom had dementia and one day she drove away in her car and …
Grandma Louie’s Stuffed Peppers (loosely translated)
We had such wonderful nicknames for my Mom. She always laughed good naturedly, but I’m not sure she was thrilled overall. When I was in high school, we convinced one of our business teachers that my Mom was a Hungarian gypsy who danced with tambourines and ribbons. The teacher was convinced she was going to …
When It’s Been a Stressful Week…
…you need to rely on things that make you smile and things that bring a sense of calm to the madness. It has been a stressful week. One issue with John piled atop another. Most days I can handle it…I deal with the situation, then walk away and refocus my brain on something else. A …
Life Measured by Puzzle Pieces
As long as the pieces were large enough and the number of pieces was somewhere between 25 and 60—John enjoyed the repetition and the activity of puzzles. It was a new hobby, but the repetitiveness and that half of the dining room table that was his devoted puzzle area kept his mind somewhat active. When …
Damn Good Corn Chowder
Fresh and local sweet corn was late this year and driving home I remembered that I’d been so obsessed with local berries and juicy peaches I had forgotten about Ohio sweet corn. We happened upon a country neighbor about 10 miles from home and while John waited in the car I popped out to buy …
Commitment and Peach Dumplings
Some recipes require commitment. Time commitment. Flour everywhere commitment. That’s the way it was with my Peach Dumplings recipe. I wanted to make them. Correction: I wanted to eat them, warm from the oven, with their own slightly thickened maple syrup sauce. I wanted someone else to make them. But—no one else showed up. No …