Fudge… there are so many recipes. Old-Fashioned Chocolate Fudge requires cooking to 234 degrees on a candy thermometer then cooling to 110 degrees. Next, it requires beating until thick, about 15 minutes. Too fussy. Marshmallow Creme Chocolate Fudge only requires melting the ingredients then allowing them to harden on their own, but the ingredient list is a…

When Dick and I stopped by Caribou Coffee for a hot chocolate recently, I tucked the napkin into my backpack… the messages imprinted on it were worth revisiting again.  I ran across the napkin this afternoon, which reminded me of the hot chocolate we had shared. The drizzly, chilly (49 degree high) day begs for a cup of…

My daughter, Lisa, gave me money for my birthday. I had the greatest fun deciding how I would spend her gift. After careful consideration, I chose this pair of "midsummer black" gardening clogs. I love the autumn colors.   The price on sloggers.com was $34.99, but I found them on amazon.com for $20.98. The savings left me with additional…

My milk packaging took on a new look that I absolutely love! Same company but a new name and a label makeover.     This milk that I purchase from Kalona Super Natural (formerly Farmers' All Natural Creamery) that is processed in Kalona, a town in southeastern Iowa, has the qualities I look for… The company…

The scents of autumn… Pear Spice Cake from my October 2010 Clean Eating E-Newsletter. It's light, moist, and lowfat. The cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and cloves permeate the house with the most wonderful aroma as it bakes.   Pear Spice Cake 1 egg + 1 egg white ¼ cup unsweetened applesauce 2 tbsp oil ½ cup nonfat plain Greek yogurt…

The colors of autumn… a red kuri squash that I purchased at the North Wind Organic Farm in Bayfield, Wisconsin this past weekend. The flavors of autumn… Creamy Red Kuri Squash Soup is a recipe from Louisa Shafia's Lucid Food: Cooking for an Eco-Conscious Life. Her cookbook is divided into seasons making it easy to find recipes…

Yesterday, when I was foraging for edible mushrooms on our property, I discovered many beautiful inedible varieties. They were always there… I had just never seen them.        

I continue to learn… and the teachers come to me. In the light drizzle and brisk wind yesterday morning, a couple who stayed at my bed and breakfast pointed out edible mushrooms called boletes (aka boletus and cepes) growing in my woods, so this afternoon I went foraging.  The cap was recognizable, but David and…

My friend Connie gave me some apples from her orchard. What perfect timing! Today the daytime and evening temps felt like autumn, so I made orchard granola crisp.

Flipping through two of my 93 year-old mother's recipes-to-try file boxes, I pulled out an index card with just three ingredients… milk, banana, and honey (or molasses). What a treat! This smoothie holds its own up against any favorite milkshake you've ever had!   Here's my mom's handwritten recipe.  I used Farmers' Creamery non-homgenized, low-temperature pasteurized 2% milk from grass-fed cows not…