I was in Hobby Lobby last week buying art supplies for my 16 year old, Ethan. He is in his first semester at the local community college and taking an art class that has a supplies list that reads like the inventory sheet at Hobby Lobby. Seriously, if the store carries it it is on the list! When I was painting and doing commissioned work back in the day I spent less on supplies than was required by this class. Anyway, while hyperventilating over the contents of the cart I decided to poke around in the baking section. What to my wondering eyes should appear but a new Wilton pan (or new to me) that created a cake with a heart filling on the inside. Seriously? [Read more] [Read more]

This week has gone by fast and there have been a lot of things going on here. I have two sons in the local community college now and since we only have one car at the moment it means I am driving them to school. I am also looking at kitchen stuff because I am hoping for a kitchen makeover soon. I got some great ideas at the B&B I was at last week and I am still thinking about what I want to do… exactly. The temptation is to go to the restaurant supply and just put in a commercial kitchen. Ugly but ever so practical. I don’t know. What do you love about your kitchen? Leave me a comment…give me some ideas! Kitchen at the bed and breakfast I stayed at. Valentines Day is next week and if you are looking for romantic food…... [Read more]

This bread is a rustic bread. You can make it in a loaf with great success or make  a free form loaf or boule. It makes incredible toast, awesome sandwiches (try a thick slice of ham) and great bread to go with soup. Add to that that it is easy to do and healthy and you will want this on your repertoire of bread recipes. Be sure to give this plenty of time to rise. Due to the heaviness of the oats the bread will probably rise more slowly than traditional light white bread. Be sure to give it plenty of time to bake or it will be doughy inside as well. [Read more] [Read more]

Rice has to be one of the best foods invented…EVER. Think about it: Inexpensive Filling Delicious Adaptable to almost any flavor Healthy Easily procured I don’t think there is anything else that fits that quite as well as rice does. This particular dish can be made as a risotto or you can dump everything in the pan, cover it and just let it cook for a slightly more rustic texture. [Read more] [Read more]

I told you I was going to try to keep up with the food holidays this year… we will see how long it lasts. Today is National Carrot Cake Day.  Carrot cake is one of those things that people seem to love or hate. It stays moist for a long time because of the carrots, raisins and other ingredients. It is, in most cases a heavy cake as well. Warmly spicy, carrot cake screams autumn and winter. It makes a perfect snack anytime. Food historians believe that carrot cake was developed during the Middle Ages  because of the natural sugars in carrots. At a time when sweeteners were not widely available, carrot cake was easily sweetened with dried fruits and carrots.  The first written recipe  (that we know of)  for carrot cake as we know it... [Read more]