A few weeks ago, my mom made the trek out to Michigan to visit her sisters (my aunties) and my Grandma.
One night while Mom and my baby sister were out there, the Shaffer girls (because that’s what they become when they’re all together again) and Grandma gathered around the kitchen table to talk food and [...]

We have a winner!  And I have my power back!  Yes.  I was without power for nearly two days.  With two stinky dogs, sixteen stinky chicks, five stinky chickens, five stinky kids and two marginally less stinky adults, our power came back none too soon.  No power translated to no pump for the well, no [...]

Beans.  They are the perfect budget food.  They’re chock full of dietary fiber and nutrients, simple to store and able to leap tall buildings with a single bound. And they’re cheap! They’re so cheap (“How cheap ARE they?” screamed the crowd.  “So cheap they’re on the dollar menu!”) that there is no excuse to be without them.  [...]

These golden rings of crunchy, flavorful pickled onions are just about the perfect thing for topping salads or roast meat sandwiches,  adding a unique touch and pop of color to buffet spreads and antipasto trays, and accompanying cold meat loaf.  Plus, when you’ve fished the very last onion ring out of the jar, the leftover oniony, [...]

 
I am sure that many of you are aware of Tastespotting, a site that serves to display pictures submitted by other websites; and these are not just ANY pictures–these are pictures selected to meet a certain aesthetic, and they are absolutely beautiful. For those of you not familiar with this resource, you can link with it [...]

Beautiful little green ‘yellow pear’ cherry tomatoes waiting to be pickled…

Because there really is no such thing as a garlic clove that is too big.

 
When I got home from our vacation I didn’t toddle over to our garden immediately.  I started doing laundry furiously.  I don’t mean to say that I was doing it quickly.  [...]

I am fully aware that it is still late August, but I am programmed to think of putting up food for the winter in mid-summer.  See Grandma, Mom, and Dad?  I did pay attention!  And so, in the spirit of playing ‘the ant’ to any food preservation grasshoppers out there…
 
It’s garlic season!  Yippee!

 
If the only [...]