Must Love Garlic

Summer lasted right through October 21st this year. Then, Mother Nature hopped right over fall and landed in winter. I tried to capture colors of autumn, but not a lot showed up. We actually got a sprinkle of snow over the weekend that didn’t stick.

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Paperbacks, Baking and a Contest

I have some exciting news. My novel, Whit’s End, is now available on CreateSpace in paperback and will be available on Amazon next week. The Ebook version is available now. On December 14th, they’ll be a goodreads giveaway contest for the paperback version. I will post a link when the contest goes live.

Switching gears, on November 1st, I posted about my short story memoir anthology, and gave a glimpse of the first of those four stories titled, Don’t Blink. The second tale in the anthology is titled, Hope Lies in Meatballs. I thought it was a funny and fitting title.

What does it mean?

Baking, Thanksgiving and Dysfunction

I hope everyone is enjoying family, friends, feast and some fine goodies. May those who don’t celebrate this American holiday be blessed as well.

I just finished making pumpkin cookies for Thanksgiving treats.

Cavatelli

This is the second installment of a day in the kitchen with mom.  Only this time, it was our other mom.

My husband had been wanting to spend time with each of our mom’s in the kitchen, and a few weeks after he baked apple slices with his mom, he asked my mom, V, to teach him how to make pasta from scratch.

Simple Olive Chicken Bake

When I first started blogging, I posted recipes to coincide with the comical short story in my memoir anthology about how I learned to cook. The anthology is no longer available, but I hope to re-release it after we move. (If you missed the news about the move, you can find it here) In the mean time, I thought I’d release a new recipe of mine. If you like chicken, and you like deliciously briny Greek olives, you will like this easy recipe. Keep in mind, I cook for two so add ingredients accordingly for more people.

Before I Forget Eggplant

Have you ever created your own recipe for a meal that turned out delicious and then forgot what you did? I have done this countless times. When I try to recreate the same dish, it’s never quite the same.

It’s been a long time since I posted a recipe, which I started doing because of the cooking memoir in my anthology. I’m writing it on my blog immediately after dinner in order not to forget what I did. When I say I made this “today,” it’s actually not the same day that this post is going up.

Swimming in Flour

Spent the entire weekend baking cookies.

Recipe for these yummy dippers are here.

End of Week Wisdom

My First Recipe Review

I’m not a food or recipe blogger in particular, but since my memoirs and other writings are about every day people learning every day lessons, food must be included. Not to mention that I wrote a story about how I learned to cook in my memoir anthology.

I put a recipe on this blog every now and then when it strikes my fancy, which triggers food bloggers to stop here. I usually return the favor by going to their blogs as well. In doing so, I have found some scrumptious recipes and hope to post a recipe review once a month.

Feels Like Home

I subscribe to, and have been published in the magazine Angels on Earth. They usually put one recipe in each issue. One of those quarterly recipes called my name, because not only was it chicken soup, which I love, but it was shared by an Italian family. Its ingredients reminded me of something my own Italian family might make.

Leftover Holiday-Ham Stew

This is not my recipe (but it is my photo). It’s one I found on the internet a couple of years ago. Back then, just like this year, I had tons of ham leftover from Christmas. I was searching the web to find something I could do with it. I found this recipe that calls for ham steak, but I just cut up chunks of my leftover ham.

Happy First Birthday Lori’s Lane

I never thought I’d make it a week, let alone an entire year … and counting!

One More Day To Vote

For anyone who hasn’t done it yet, one more day to vote on my choose-a-recipe poll. Go to this link and read about the recipes, then vote. Poll will be closed on Tuesday morning December 4th.

Baker, not a Breakfast Maker

Sweet Wednesday Wisdom

Pumpkin Pie Alternative

I’ve never been much of a pie maker. In fact, I’ve never baked a pie in my life. I’ve made pies before, but they’ve been the kind that, once put together, are meant to chill in the fridge until ready to be served. I have a great grasshopper pie recipe that I can share  some day, if anyone is interested. If it helps you decide if you’d like to see it on this blog some time, the ingredients include Creme de Menthe. 🙂

Anyway, since I don’t really bake pies, I don’t make pumpkin pie for Thanksgiving. Cookies are more my thing, and thanks be to Betty Crocker, I’ve made “my” traditional pumpkin cookies for years. Some of you may already be aware of these delectable delights, but I’m going to share the recipe here today anyway. When I first made them for my in-laws family, they had never heard of them before and they gobbled them up.

It’s not a butt … it’s a recipe!

No, this is not a photo of my big white butt! It’s the introduction to a simple recipe. We’ll call it, Cheater’s Focaccia.

Wednesday Wisdom

You better cut the pizza in four pieces, because I’m not hungry enough to eat six.
~ Yogi Berra

This is a little preview of an upcoming recipe for a fun Friday food blog.

For more quotes, check out my quotations page.

Rolling Meatloaf

If you haven’t read my memoir anthology, you do not know about my fails in cooking as a newlywed. You might find it amusing about how little I knew.

When I got married, one of my gifts was a Betty Crocker cookbook. At the time, I was pleased to find an easy meatloaf recipe in there that helped me learn in the beginning. Since I haven’t shared a recipe in a while, I’m posting this tried and true meatloaf I still make on occasion.

Swiss Chard

When I first moved to Florida (20 years ago), no one here ever heard of Swiss chard. People who worked in produce at the grocery store, or even at produce stands, looked at me like I had an extra eye on my forehead when I inquired about the green vegee.

The photo shown is regular Swiss chard. I prefer rainbow but this was all I could find this week at the store.

Mom’s Stuffed Artichokes

Since I write memoirs, and I discuss cooking with my Italian family in my memoir anthology, here’s some more talk on food.

Don’t know where my mom got this recipe, but I remember it from my childhood and now make it for us at home. It’s really easy to make, but it does take some prep time. This recipe is for two medium to large artichokes. If you’re making more, add ingredients and some prep time.

2 medium to large artichokes
1 garlic clove minced
1 1/3 cups seasoned bread crumbs
1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
3/4 cup to 1 cup water
1/4 cup lemon juice
water for boiling