I generally make the exact same New Year’s resolution each year. Unfortunately, I’m pretty sure my resolution messes up some of your resolutions, so I’ll apologize in advance for the calorie-laden recipes that will continue to grace my column in the coming months. It’s necessary, though, in order for me to meet my ultimate goal: …
Continue reading “Try as you ‘maple,’ you can’t avoid these delicious bars forever”
Over the years, I have had a few kitchen disasters that resulted in major cleanup afterwards. There was the time I dropped my flour container, spilling it all over the floor. There was another, when I accidentally turned my mixer on too high and exploded chocolate cake batter all over my backsplash and cabinets. The …
Continue reading “Fudge recipe is one in a million holiday treat”
I have loved our new tradition of sharing holiday recipes from readers in our annual guide that inserted into our newspapers last week. It’s so interesting to see what dishes everyone makes for their own friends and families this time of year. One dish that really intrigued me came from Rachel Hindle of Yoder. It …
Continue reading “Don’t let this tasty recipe go in one ear and out the other”
One of my duties as a speech and debate coach over the years was hosting weekend tournaments. And part of that duty was organizing a concession stand to feed all of the students who came. That meant buying what felt like a heinous amount of hot dogs, chips and candy, along with tons of pop …
Continue reading “Make a pie that feels like it’s payday every day”
In 2024, the Joetta Di Bella and Fred C. Sautter III Center for Strategic Communication in the School of Communication and Media at Montclair State University released a study about the ongoing popularity of pumpkin spice lattes. Apparently, according to their study, apple spice was starting to edge out pumpkin on the popularity scale last …
Continue reading “Bake a ‘cinn’sational treat to celebrate autumn weather”
It’s amazing how memory works. There are so many experiences from my childhood that seemed so big, so awesome, so magical, and once I experienced them again as an adult, I realized that those were better left as cherished memories than something to revisit. I remember, for example, taking Joey to see Coronado Heights near …
Continue reading “Sometimes it pays to give memories a fair ‘cake’”
Back in college, when I decided I was going to change my major and get my teaching degree, one of my first undertakings was to learn what I deemed to be a very important teacher skill: how to drink coffee. Growing up, the coffee maker only came out at our house if we were having …
Continue reading “Make your own coffee ice cream from the ground(s) up”
I have been spending some time reading through the Harvey County Fair’s entry guidelines book, looking at all the food categories. The one that intrigues me, which I need to pay more attention to when I go look at the exhibits this year, is for cookie jars. For the entry, the cookies have to be …
Continue reading “‘Wash’ out for these easy-to-make sugar-coated cookies”
I find that the toughest time of year to make desserts is summer. If it’s a particularly good recipe, I’m willing to heat up my kitchen by using my oven, but my problem is how the dessert will travel with the heat. And if the event I’m taking my dessert to happens to be outdoors, …
Continue reading “In July, heat-proof desserts are a ‘pine’ of the times”
Last weekend, our house was the scene of an end-of-season party for Joey’s bowling team. I always love when that crew comes over. They are a super nice group, and it’s always fun to share a big meal and hear them tell stories and tease each other about their bowling gaffes. It’s also a great …
Continue reading “Earn brownie points with your friends with these awesome cookies”
