I was recently given the opportunity to speak to the Newton Kiwanis about the many projects I have been working on at the newspaper. We enjoyed a great lunch and good conversation before I spent a bit talking about my job, including my over 10-year expedition into writing this column. I noted to them that …
Continue reading “Put this ‘four’midable cake on your list for this week”
We had a bit of a scaled-down celebration for Christmas this year, with several of our family members traveling outside of Kansas, so I very carefully considered what treats I would be making. Normally, I overdo it with several types of candies and baked goods to share, but knowing that our group would be a …
Continue reading “Become ‘nut’orious for simple pecan brownies”
I am often lost when it comes to buying preserves, jams, jellies, etc. I know there are differences, but for some reason, my brain can’t seem to keep it all straight. If you ever see me at a store, staring at my phone in front of a shelf of spreads, you’ll know exactly what I’m …
Continue reading “Preserve your time with a quick strawberry bar”
I was remarking to some friends the other day about how Joey and I are complete opposites when it comes to socializing. As an extroverted social butterfly, Joey draws his energy from being around people and generally loves a crowd. For me, while I love to socialize, I tend to be reenergized by some alone …
Continue reading “Don’t crumble under hosting pressure; make a quick and easy dessert”
The names people choose for recipes often crack me up. There’s the embarrassing-to-talk-about “better than sex” or “sex in a pan” variety of dishes, followed by “blue-ribbon” and “award-winning” options, and of course, there are a million recipes purporting to be “Mom’s” or “Grandma’s,” although few identify which matriarch those actually belong to. So you’ll …
Every week, I go have lunch with my Little for Big Brothers Big Sisters. We solve the world’s problems over school food and Uno cards as only a 13-year-old and a 39-year-old can. Recently, we discussed the nature of sandwiches. Is a hot dog a sandwich? How about a taco? Where do quesadillas come into …
Continue reading “A crustless pie recipe can really take the cake”
We had an early Christmas celebration this past week, and of course, I volunteered to make dessert. I knew I wanted to make a cranberry orange tart that I first tried last Christmas (check out my website for that one), since I had a full bag of cranberries in my crisper drawer, but I was …
Continue reading “You’ll be ready to poke into this chocolate-filled cake”
I’m constantly amazed by the things I don’t know, despite having spent a lot of time trying new ingredients and recipes over the years. One of my favorite discoveries over the past couple of years came from a random post I saw online about store-bought graham cracker crusts. I’m sure I am the last person …
Continue reading “The holidays are the ‘zest’ time for refreshing lemon pie”
The past two weeks, every time I walked through the produce department at our local grocery store, pints of blueberries have been calling my name. I tried to avoid eye contact with them, knowing that I didn’t have a good way to get rid of a lot of dessert. But when we were invited to …
Continue reading “This crisp lets fresh berries’ true colors shine ‘blue’”
There are so many neat videos online that give an insider’s view of all kinds of professions. For some reason, I can get absolutely lost watching someone power wash a driveway, paint fingernails or frost cakes and cookies. And then I have it in my head that I could also easily accomplish any of these …
Continue reading “Reese’s cake nearly got the ‘butter’ of me this time”
