-
Spiced Cranberry Apple Butter
Who still has cranberries left from the holidays? Anyone besides me? I always stock up and freeze what I’m not going to use, because I firmly believe that cranberries aren’t just a winter fruit. It drives me crazy that you can’t find them year round, so when I see ’em, I buy ’em. Our CSA has been overly generous with our apple deliveries lately too – so much so that we haven’t been able to eat them all quickly enough. We eat them like crazy…
-
A Pantry Makeover Part 4: Glidden Paint
Several weeks ago, we took on the daunting task of updating and renovating our walk-in pantry. When we built our house five years ago, pantry functionality and design was, unfortunately, not high on our priority list. Given how frequently we use that little room, it’s really a shame we put it off so long. My friends over at Glidden® paint made the process so much easier. After submitting a few of my inspiration photos to their online My Image Inspiration tool , I was actually able…
-
Easy Hot Fudge Sauce
A lot of memories from my childhood are centered around food. I think that’s normal for a lot of people (right?) but I’d go so far as to say that 90% of my memories contain food somehow. Perhaps that’s because I’m the oldest of five kids, so mealtimes were always massive undertakings, but nonetheless, food conjures up a lot of nostalgia. For instance, my parents used to load all five kids into the minivan once a month for a trip to the grocery store. We’d…
-
White Sandwich Bread
Yesterday evening, I realized that I didn’t have enough potatoes to make the mashed potatoes I was planning for dinner. At that point, most people probably would’ve nixed the mashed potatoes (which would be a very, very sad thing…) and found another side dish. But I’m lucky enough to live a couple of minutes away from my parent’s house, which means I am just a couple of minutes away from my Dad’s garden. So, after a quick trip down the road and armed with…
-
A Pantry Makeover Part 3: Glidden Paint
When we built our house just over five years ago, I was so overwhelmed with decisions that I just took the easy road when it came to our paint colors. With the exception of my daughter’s room, I went all-out subdivision beige. I just couldn’t make another decision. Floors, appliances, windows, furniture, lighting, faucets…I couldn’t do it. So, subdivision beige it was. Over the years, we’ve slowly been updating rooms to fit our taste and decor style. It’s been a slow, arduous process and I…
-
A Pantry Makeover with Organized Living™ (Part 2: After)
(This is part two of a two-part series. To see part one, click {here}.) This post has been so long in the making that I really can’t believe I’m actually finally typing it. I’ve been working with the folks at Organized Living for a few months now, working out the details of this project, getting it installed and working out a giveaway for you guys, and now it’s all done – and I am in LOVE with my new pantry. In. Love. Over the past…
-
Easy Marinara Sauce
So, if a magic genie in a lantern gave me three wishes, I think mine might be for 1) money (duh), 2) more wishes (also duh) and 3) that pasta would become a health food. As in, I could eat it all day every day and have the same results as if I lived on raw green veggies. I’m really not kidding. And don’t try to tell me that you wouldn’t wish for money or more wishes, because that’s what makes the game fun.
-
Homemade Ricotta Cheese
My youngest brother is getting married in the spring. In preparation for the Groom’s family duties, my Mom, sisters and I are beginning the process of scoping out locations for their rehearsal dinner. Last night, while pouring over menus, venues and prices, I came across my favorite Italian restaurant, Lidia’s. I love that place. Everything is made from scratch with fresh ingredients – from their bread to their pasta to their marinara and ricotta cheese…and that’s exactly the reason their food tastes so much better.…
-
Homemade Peanut Butter
My husband and I have a bit of a problem with grocery stores, and an even bigger problem with markets like Dean & Deluca or our community mercantile. Oh, and you can’t forget Trader Joe’s. Or Whole Foods. Or farmer’s markets. By problem, I mean that we can’t be trusted to go in alone. We might spend a month’s pay without even blinking. So, we have to go together, and even then it isn’t pretty. Food shopping is fun for us. Practically entertainment. We really…
-
Homemade Vanilla Extract
If you’ve spent much time at all in the kitchen, you understand how essential good-quality vanilla is to the outcome of your desserts. The problem is, REALLY good vanilla is also REALLY expensive. Even the grocery-store options are relatively expensive, and they don’t even compare to the good stuff. To buy a bottle of top-quality vanilla, you’re going to spend nearly $20, and if you do a lot of baking, that’s quite an investment! So, as you can imagine, I was overjoyed to find this…
