Poor celery. It is delicious, versatile and makes so many things better. But it so often ends up play a supporting role instead of being the star of the show. It's a main ingredient in a good bread stuffing at Thanksgiving, but there are so many other flavors at play on that bountiful day, it … Continue reading Tasty Fall Side Dish – Why Celery Doesn’t Have To Play Second Fiddle
The Happy Pantry – How a good stock of staples will make your life easier.
Like my Mommy before me, I like having a fully stocked larder. I don't have many prepared foods on hand. I won't keep a frozen Asian dinner in the freezer, but I will keep most everything on hand to make my own sesame noodles. Most weeks, I can make anything on my menu plan by just picking … Continue reading The Happy Pantry – How a good stock of staples will make your life easier.
What to do with summer tomatoes – bacon, tomato and cheese pasta.
I've got a bumper crop of beautiful cherry tomatoes in both yellow and red.So I picked some off the vine, too them inside and pulled out a box of pasta. Cavatappi is a curly ridged pasta that is perfect for dishes like mac & cheese. It holds sauce beautifully. So I put some on to … Continue reading What to do with summer tomatoes – bacon, tomato and cheese pasta.
Bangers & Mash – My take
I have a dear friend, who like me is something of an Anglophile. We like Brit Sci-Fi, British mysteries and British accents. Every year for her birthday I try to make her something with a little UK flair. Sometimes it's shepherd's pie, last year it was chicken Tika. This year I took a stab at … Continue reading Bangers & Mash – My take
What the Chat Dragged In: The Creative Process from whence it sprang
My creative process at work is fairly straightforward. I get assigned a task with a deadline and I come up with copy and edit material to go with it. Sometimes the turnaround is 3 days, other times 45 minutes. The fiction creative process is much different. I'm pretty much on my own time table and … Continue reading What the Chat Dragged In: The Creative Process from whence it sprang
Super-Simple Summer Salad – Tomato and Avocado Together Make Magic
This is my super-simple go-to salad to accompany steak or to use in tacos. It's best in the summer when you can get beautiful vine-ripe juicy tomatoes. But other times of the year, a grape or cherry tomato will work. It combines many of the wonderful flavors of guacamole, but only has 3 ingredients besides … Continue reading Super-Simple Summer Salad – Tomato and Avocado Together Make Magic
The last first date ever.
Twenty-three years ago today, I went on my first date with my husband. I was looking sharp in my Star Trek IV T-shirt, plaid pants and silver tennis shoes. We stopped at McDonald's in Toledo for lunch. I ordered a Diet Coke and picked at Tim's fries. Then we went to see this Who Framed Roger … Continue reading The last first date ever.
A Headline You Won’t See
Here's a headline you won't ever see linked on The Drudge Report: Bicyclist Falls Down in Busy Street - Crowd rushes to render assistance. Today we were driving down the busy four-lane section of Glendale about four miles from home and Tim saw a guy go down in the street about a block back. So … Continue reading A Headline You Won’t See
Tim’s Famous Ribs – Low and slow on the smoke, baby.
My husband smokes a mean rack of ribs. Tender, smokey and delicious. Here's how we make it happen. We buy a rack of pork spareribs. If you have the time, a day before you're going to smoke the ribs, salt them well with kosher salt, wrap them in plastic and put them back in the … Continue reading Tim’s Famous Ribs – Low and slow on the smoke, baby.
The Magic Salad – turning a hometown favorite into a picnic dish.
I call it THE salad. The one I'd gladly spend five hours in a car to have a plate of. The salad you get at Giovanni's Pizza in my hometown. To clarify, there is no Giovanni. There are several Giovanni's Pizza restaurants all owned by different people. They are called things like Pam's Giovanni's and … Continue reading The Magic Salad – turning a hometown favorite into a picnic dish.