As I walked up from the mailbox a couple weeks ago, I glanced through the pile of stuff; a bill, some advertisements, blah blah blah, and then something caught my eye. On the cover of the new issue of Whole Living was a pan full of what appeared to be roasted Brussels sprouts with grapes and walnuts. "Ooooh," thought I, "That looks good. I'll give that a look over as soon as I make myself a cup of tea." I walked in the door, sat the magazine down and never saw it again. What happened to it? Who can say? What happens to anything that disappears in a home with five sons ages thirteen (for another two days) and under? Well, sometimes those View Post
Heath Bar Crunch Chex Mix {Sweet & Salty}
Chex mix is something I only allow myself to make between the day after Thanksgiving and the end of January. I can't handle myself around it and eat myself to the point where I feel like a turtle stuck on its back. A happy turtle, but a little less capable of moving under my own power, nonetheless. My normal Chex Mix is the classic savoury one; butter, salt, garlic, onion, Worcestershire, yaddayaddayadda. That's the one that puts my willpower to the test. However.... HOWEVER... This one comes a close second. This one is dangerous, people. Sweet, salty, crunchy... I find myself with pieces of this in my hand and think, "I don't even View Post
Freeze and Bake Bacon Cheddar Scallion Scones | Make Ahead Mondays
Visit our Bread Recipes page for more wonderful homemade bread recipes! Update: The Pick Giveaway Winner plugin chose Jana as the winner of our Folgers Holiday Exclusive Gift Pack. Congratulations, Jana! Check your email! A couple months ago, I hauled out of bed on a Saturday morning, pulled back my hair and put on my face, put some clothes on that I hoped were cute (who can tell anymore? I'm so out of touch!) and hopped in the car for an hour and a half drive. It was snowing, it was cold, it was a good day to stay home. So why did I go anywhere? Because in a warm building at the Genesee Country Village and Museum an hour and a View Post
Holiday Cookies and Goodies Round-Up
Were you to be looking for me this past Tuesday or Wednesday, you would've found me in the basement of the student center at Houghton College in Houghton, New York, selling tasty goodies at a table set up at the 26th Annual Houghton Arts & Crafts Fair. This was the first year the college did two floors of vendors and I was there on a mission: to sell as many baked goods as I could possibly turn out of my kitchen to benefit the Cookies for Kids Cancer organization. First I want to say a word about this fabulous group. Cookies for Kids' Cancer was the brainchild of a mother who was inspired by her two and a half year old son's own battle View Post
Salted Caramel Corn | Make Ahead Mondays
Update: The Pick Giveaway Winner plugin chose Christi P. as the winner of the Whirly Pop and Coconut Oil. Look for the email I've sent you, Christi! I can't even wait for you to get to try these things. Congratulations! My Grandma is one of my biggest cooking heroes. She has spent the majority of her life feeding people. My Grandpa, her husband, was a pastor who couldn't walk away from someone who looked hungry, and everyone looked hungry to Grandpa. I've mentioned it before, but it bears repeating that one of my most treasured possessions is my collection of recipe cards handwritten for me by Grandma in my first years of View Post
Shortbread Cookie Spoons (Spookies)
You know how sometimes everything just comes together at the right time? Those moments where inspiration strikes at the same time that you have all the supplies to make it happen? This is one of those moments. I had just made some velvety, luscious chocolate custard and one of my friends started talking about the world's best shortbread cookies that she just made. I wished aloud that I had a couple of her cookies to dunk in my custard and asked for the recipe. Lightbulb. I was going to make cookies that were spoons and eat my custard with them. Were they cookies? Were they spoons? Yes, they were both; they were Spookies*. *Like a View Post
Yuletide Spiced Brandy Liqueur
It's time to get cozy. ~~ ~~ The air has progressed past crisp to chilly and will soon be downright cold. The leaves have finally given up their tenuous grasp on the trees and -with one final gust of nearly winter wind- fallen to insulate the grass and ground against the coming snow. ~~ ~~ Thanksgiving and the feast have come and gone and we're still snacking and feeding on the almost-more-anticipated-than-the-meal-itself leftovers. A warm potato wheat roll dunked in hot turkey gravy is just the thing to bring warmth back to icy fingers after playing outside. ~~ ~~ There's a bustle and hustle going on almost everywhere. Crowds have View Post
Gingerbread Biscotti With White Chocolate and Nuts or Crystallized Ginger: Foodie Gift #9
The boys and I spent yesterday afternoon at the home of our friends, the Cooke family. Dave Cooke is our local United Methodist pastor. He lives nearby with wife, Heather (the hostess with the mostest), and son, Ben (who says some of the funniest things I've ever heard.) Heather bravely invited my entire crew and two other families with young kids to make, ice and decorate gingerbread cookies. To help you understand why I say 'bravely' I will make the situation a little clearer. Myself and my five sons, ages 11, 8, 6, 5, and 3 along with two other mothers and their children, ages 6, 2 and less than one year old as well as View Post
Viennese Rounds: Foodie Christmas Gift #6
The first time I had these cookies was in the home of a friend in a little college town I lived in for several years. Houghton, NY was the town, and Barbara Woolsey was the friend. We have lost touch with each other since I left Houghton several years ago, but every time I make these cookies I think of her and her lovely family. And I thank her for sharing this recipe! These are simple cookies, but take a little more time than some. Like the cookies mentioned in my last post, these are nut and butter cookies, no eggs involved, but they are sandwich cookies and take a little more time to form and decorate. But they are certainly worth View Post
Browned Butter Cardamom Cookies: Foodie Christmas Gift #5
First, let me apologize for the continued lack of pictures. As soon as I have camera action again, we'll get pictures of these up. One of my favorite Christmas cookies to eat or to give claims many lines of descent: Swedish nut balls, Russian Tea Cakes, Mexican Wedding cakes--I know I'm missing some other names--these are simple butter cookies, shaped into balls and rolled in confectioner's sugar after baking. Lovely bite sized cookies, always melt-in-your-mouth with a nice crunch at the same time. Another plus is that they freeze well, and with another quick toss in the sugar before serving, they are as good as to eat as when they View Post