It all began with a guest's request for a gluten-free breakfast which led me to a box of gluten-free Simply Organic Chai Spice Scone Mix sitting right there on our local food co-op's store shelf.     Let me just say that all gluten-free products are not created equal. This one, however, is a definite keeper. A…

Thinking aloud, while my daughter Lisa sat at her computer, she said, "I wonder what Nana would like for her birthday." Without hesitation, my soon-to-be 6 year-old grandson suggested cookbooks. "Now, why do you say that?" Lisa inquired. "Because she loves to cook," was his wise reply. I do love to build my collection of nutritious recipes.…

Birthday fun goes on long after the day has passed.  One of the gifts my daughter, Heather, gave me is a set of four glass straws from glassdharma.com that come with a cleaning brush and a lifetime replacement guarantee. An extra wide diameter allows chunky mixtures to slip through easily. Since I was anxious to use…

Our grandson was visiting this week from New Jersey, so I was so hoping that our hens would begin laying eggs. Perfect timing… we discovered our first egg yesterday underneath a truck in our yard. That is good, but not the proper place to be laying it. I instructed our grandson to place it in a nesting box…

This morning, we had a huge downpour coupled with thunder and lightning… a cookie baking day by all obvious indicators. The forecast predicted continued unseasonably hot temps with extremely high humidity, so I dug out the ice cream maker that my daughters gave me for Mother's Day and chose to make gelato instead.       I made Red Raspberry Gelato, a…

This simple recipe for dee-lish chocolate pudding came from Ellie Krieger who never disappoints me. She titled it Grandma's Chocolate Pudding. However, since it didn't come from my grandma, I renamed it Velvety Smooth Lowfat Chocolate Pudding because it is all that… lusciously velvety smooth with a reduced fat content compared to traditional pudding recipes that…

For Mothers Day, my three daughters gave me an ice cream maker and a book. Not just any book… A Homemade Life by Molly Wizenberg.  In her book, Molly shares recollections from her life… memories that left an imprint. We all have them. A song, a smell, a season triggers remembrance. A bonus is that Molly skillfully, ever so seamlessly,…

No need to lie on my back and look for familiar shapes in the clouds. I saw them in my hot cocoa. Do you see a duck? I see a duck… two eyes where the foam has separated and the marshmallow is its beak. Today, my mug of hot cocoa was smiling back at me. I…

Tonight, I completed Lesson 8 Traditional Ricotta Cheese in my 16-week Cultured Dairy and Basic Cheesemaking eCourse. This is what the ricotta cheese solids look like after heating the whey…   and here's the ricotta cheese after straining the solids through a dishtowel.  You need a lot of whey to make ricotta. I had accumulated only one quart…

My friend, Sharon, asked me if I could recommend a cake recipe for her granddaughter's 1st birthday on the 13th of April. Simple, right? Not so fast. It needs to be milk, soy, oat and wheat free due to sensitivities. Traditionally recognized wheat also includes varieties like spelt, kamut, farro, and durum and products made from wheat like bulgur and…