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, …
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 …
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 …
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 …
Funky Shaped Fresh Lemon Cake
The local berries were abundant when I went to the local orchard. There were blueberries, currants, blackberries (the size of my thumb!) and luscious looking red raspberries. I knew once I brought those red raspberries home they needed to top something fun, something tasty, something special. So—it was time to make a Funky Shaped Fresh …
Jimmies and Butter Cake Cupcakes
I love to make cupcakes. Little rounds of cakey goodness that turn any day — and every day — into a party. My faves are simple—a butter cake with a sweet vanilla frosting, both enhanced with Tahitian Vanilla Extract. Perfect flavor profiles. But eating those cupcakes without embellishment is just, shall we say, boring! Listen …
One Leftover Baguette
A dear friend who owns a gardener’s dream of a plant farm and gift barn had asked me to teach a class on herbs. I’d taught there many times, in one of the greenhouses, surrounded by the sights and scents of seasonal flowers and greenery. The students and I had great fun, talking and tasting …
Buttermilk
Honestly, I’ve loved buttermilk for quite some time. I make a mean buttermilk bread…and, considering I’m a “Jersey girl” at heart my buttermilk biscuits would make any Southerner proud. And did I mention my buttermilk waffles with buttermilk fried chicken tenders? Yum. But — when I make my Buttermilk Fruit Cobbler, all bets are off. …