If I had to identify one problem with my pantry (and I doubt I’m alone in this), it’s that I have these bags, containers, etc. of partially used ingredients from new recipes I tried that didn’t call for an entire package of whatever special item that particular kitchen experiment needed. Recently, I found myself with just a bit more dark […]

There were quite a number of years when I was younger that I wouldn’t eat cherry pie, despite always having loved it. My last piece before my break with the dessert was while sitting at my grandparents’ dining room table. “You know,” my cousins told me, “those aren’t cherries. Those are baby animal hearts.” I immediately dismissed them as liars, […]

I was digging through our refrigerator last week, reorganizing and looking for hidden “treasures” that were stuffed into the back corners when I stumbled on some packets of yeast. I cringed a little, because I didn’t really remember when I bought them, and they were well over their expiration date. In a waste-not-want-not mood, I did some Internet searching on […]

I’ve mentioned before that my gardening ability is pretty sad, to say the least. Part of that is due to my inability to figure out how much water to dump on my plants, and part of that is due to a thieving squirrel, who convinced me for most of a summer that my tomatoes were vanishing into thin air just […]

If there was such a thing as the anti-mayonnaise lobby, Joey would be its president. Actually, it’s probably dangerous for me to even mention it. He might be getting T-shirts made up as I write this. I don’t mind mayo in the right application, and this time of year, I especially love it in a creamy potato salad—a dish Joey […]

We were out grocery shopping recently, getting the essentials for the week, and Joey disappeared (as he often seems to do) while we were in the produce section and came back holding a pint of some of the biggest blackberries I’ve ever seen. “These are on sale,” he said, knowing how to appeal to my weaknesses. I quickly looked on […]

We recently had a get-together with my mom’s side of the family. As always, we had an amazing spread of way too much food and had lots of fun catching up. I volunteered to bring a few pies for dessert, and my family is used to being guinea pigs when it comes to me trying out new recipes. One of […]

I know that we’re quickly moving out of what most people would consider “soup weather,” but I tend to like it no matter what time of year it is. I especially like to have containers full of it in my deep freeze at all times for evenings when Joey and I are far too busy (or tired) to make a […]

It might be a side effect of becoming an aunt, but my eyes seem to be drawn to all kinds of cute things lately. The cookie recipe I’m sharing with you this week was one of those cute items I found online and just had to try. I then immediately messaged my sister with a photo, noting that they’d be […]

Sometimes I let my fridge do the talking when I’m trying to figure out what to make for dinner, so when I had several leftover stalks of celery, most of an onion and lots of diced bell peppers at my disposal, I took to the Internet for a solution. Much to Joey’s delight, I decided to try a recipe for […]