Good Press

I learned this recipe at the 3rd Annual Feast of the Seven Fishes Festival in Fairmont. The co-founder's father taught it. His tasted way better than what I made last night. Buttery. I'm not sure if he added butter because people were so loud and rude that I missed a lot of his presentation unfortunately. Even if I missed something, what I made still tasted pretty good. I used a whole pound of pasta and we have a couple of lunches' worth of leftovers. It was easy to make, too, and just expensive enough to feel like a splurge. PASTA WITH SHRIMP, CLAMS AND ARTICHOKES From Larry Colaianni 1/4 cup olive oil, divided 1 8-ounce package angel hair pasta 1 teaspoon chopped garlic 1 pound large shrimp, peeled and deveined 1 can of clams 1/2 cup dry white wine 1/4 cup chopped parsley 3 tablespoons chopped fresh basil 3 tablespoons freshly grated Parmesan cheese Pepper flakes Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Cook pasta in boiling water according to directions or until al d...

Of all the memorable parts of dirty Judy Blume books, there is one that makes my mouth water in a wholesome way. Might've known it'd be food writing. "Justine was the ultimate caterer, the finest, the classiest, the most gourmet. Sandy knew the menu by heart. So did all the other guests. There would be no palatable surprises. But no one would go hungry. Crab fingers, marinated mushrooms, miniature pizzas, cheese and spinach quiche, tiny shells filled with chicken a la king, giant shrimp to hold by the tail, and later, at midnight, Justine herself would emerge from the kitchen, offering whole fillets of beef, slice before your very eyes and placed on squares of hot garlic brea, eliminating the hostess's need for renting china or silverware. And later still the buffet table would be laden with delectable French pastries and freshly brewed coffee." -- "Wifey" by Judy Blume (Pocket Books, 1978) I learned a lot of things from Judy Blume, not least of which wa...

I got myself a copy of "The Comfort Table" by Mrs. Billy Joel, Katie Lee, as she was known growing up in West Virginia. I plan to review it here later. The first recipe I tried after a quick flip-through is the Polar Bear, which she describes as a grown-up coffee milkshake that will warm you up in the winter and cool you down in summer. Well... it's kind of a glorified White Russian. Or maybe a watered-down cousin of a White Russian. It was OK. And my husband, who doesn't drink alcohol at all, said "I've had better shakes." Hey, it got us to take the 2-year-old hand blender that I *had to have* on its maiden voyage. Polar Bear From "The Comfort Table" by Katie Lee Joel (2008, Simon Spotlight Entertainment) 1/2 cup heavy whipping cream 1 tablespoon confectioners sugar 1 pint vanilla ice cream 1 1/2 cups milk 1/2 cup coffee-flavored liqueur Cocoa powder Put four dessert glasses in the freezer. Whip the cream with the sugar until soft peaks form. ...

On Christmas morning at my house, I want some easy but special nibbles to enjoy while we open presents. This is probably the most relaxed I'll be all day. As soon as we clean up wrapping paper, we change out of our PJs and start packing the car to go to my mom's house across the county for lunch. Not only do I take presents, I find myself taking more and more of the meal -- either dishes I've made ahead or the ingredients, recipes and kitchen equipment to prepare them. This year I'll be doing everything at her house. But that's another post. I make these easy rolls to treat myself and others throughout the year. They are just different fillings for crescent roll dough. CHOCOLATE HAZELNUT BRUNCH ROLLS 3 tubes of crescent rolls dough (If it's the traditional triangle cut, you'll have to push the perforations together. For this recipe, try to get the new variation where the dough is in strips or one big sheet.) Jar of Nutella chocolate-hazelnut spread (look f...

If you need something to fill in your Christmas Eve dinner party buffet or if you were asked ot attend a holiday potluck at the last minute, try these elegant and supremely easy little wonders. Buy some whole pitted dates, some goat cheese and some walnuts. I'm assuming you have powdered sugar and orange juice on hand. Split one side of the whole date. Grab a little piece of goat cheese and stuff it in the date. Plop a walnut half or piece (depending on the size of the date) on top. Drizzle the whole batch with some icing you whip up by mixing a little orange juice into some powdered sugar.

Well, I don't cheat at all cookies, but close readers will see my Chocolate Peppermint Sandwich cookies from an early post start with a boxed cake mix. And this Christmas cookie, rugelach, which I have never attempted to make from scratch, starts with a storebought pie crust. I saw it on the Rachael Ray TV show and had to try it. If I ever make it again, I'll try different jams for the filling or use Nutella chocolate-hazelnut spread instead of fooling with the melted butter and cocoa. This isn't bad tasting but it's not spectacular either. But it's a good way to get a little visual variety on your cookie tray, which is what I was going for. For Rachael Ray's recipe and a video demonstration, click here .

I almost added the word "easy" to the headline on this post. The recipe for Christmas Spice Butter is easy. Admittedly, the other technique -- for making dinner rolls shaped like doves -- requires some time and an eye for detail. If you like the sweet, spicy butter at Texas Roadhouse, this is a good knock-off. It is great on rolls and sweet potatoes. CHRISTMAS SPICE BUTTER 1 cup unsalted butter, softened 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg 1/4 teaspoon ground allspice 1 tablespoon sugar Place all ingredients in a mixing bowl. Beat with an electric mixer until fluffy and well-combined. Transfer to a small bowl. Cover and refrigerate until needed. Makes 1 cup. Shaping the doves is the hardest part of making the rolls because you're using thawed frozen rolls. It's no harder than rolling the bread dough into a rope and tying a knot. You'll need clean kitchen shears to snip the tail into feathers. Whole cloves are the eyes and sl...

On Friday I interviewed an artist, Morgantown metalsmith Amy Johns, at her shop in the historic Seneca Center. She shares The Little Studio with business partner and fellow crafter Carolyn Schuessler and the glass factory's original freight elevator that dates to 1902. Amy and Carolyn had set up Christmas cookies, punch and hot wassail for a holiday open house. At their urging, I grabbed a cup while they helped a customer. Then, without much urging, Carolyn shared her recipe. I made it for the church youth group Christmas party at my house tonight. A few of the teens tried it with no complaints and the oldest youth adviser, probably in his 70s, went back for more than one glass. I just had a little myself with a nip of brandy in it ... but only after all the guests have gone home. Wassail 1 gallon apple cider 1 large can frozen orange juice concentrate 1 large can pineapple juice 8 short cinnamon sticks or 4 long ones 27 whole cloves Mix all ingredients in a large stockpot. Simmer ...

Held the first Christmas cookie exchange with the church ladies' group Wednesday night. Only three people showed besides me. Heavy fog and prior commitments kept people away. I hope it will catch on in subsequent years. Here are three recipes (one woman didn't bring hers to copy.) REESE BALLS 1 1/2 cups graham crackers 1 1/3 cups crunchy peanut butter 1 box confectioners' sugar 1 1/2 sticks butter, melted 12-ounce bag semisweet chocolate chips 2/3 block food-grade paraffin (Gulf Wax brand) Note: Paraffin is no longer receommended for consumption. You can add a small amount of Crisco to the chocolate to make it shiny Crush graham crackers until fine. Add peanut butter, sugar and melted butter. Roll mixture into balls. Melt paraffin wax with chocolate chips. Dip balls with toothpick into melted chocolate. Place on wax paper until dry. Should make approximately 5 dozen depending on the size of the balls. HARVEST COOKIES 1 1/2 cups flour 1 teaspoon baking powder 1/2 teaspoon ba...

I guess I just gave it away. Let me explain ... . I had a wish come true this holiday season, two actually, sort of. I grew up occasionally wondering where my family came from but I could never get a satisfactory answer, or really much of an answer at all, about our origins, our heritage. My maiden name is Molisee. I thought maybe we were German but I settled on us being regular ol' American mutt. And I was sad. Though not sad or curious enough to dig into genealogy. My Aunt Mary was spurred by her desire to join the Daughters of the American Revolution to unearth the roots of our family tree. She ascertained that the Molisees are from the Molise region of Italy, beneath Abruzzo (kinda the Achilles heel of the boot) on the Adriatic Sea. So my first wish -- to know my heritage -- came true. And my second wish, which I am almost too shy to publish, was to be Italian. I was romanced mainly by the food, by travel stories and movies to a lesser degree, and by the rich traditions -- of w...

I was in a better humor on the first snow day of the school year, Oct. 28, when I started this post. I had nothing planned that day, unlike today when I am supposed to be working like a regular person in a city with adults and lunching with a dear friend. But enough about my troubles. The day I was in a good mood I made my daughter and her cousin waffles from-scratch because I had the time and inclination and patience... with the children and circumstances ... not the waffle-making process. Actually homemade waffles are not all that hard to make. Consider treating your family or just yourself this cold, snowy weekend. And if there is just one of you, freeze the extras and pop them in the toaster on the "defrost" setting on weekday mornings. This is where a vacuum sealer comes in handy. I own a Reynolds Handi-Vac and I will review it at the end of this blog and give you the recipe I use for "regular" waffles that you can add blueberries or other mix-ins to or just se...

"Gobs" is such an ugly word. But the cookie called by any other name is just as sweet. And if you get the commercially made ones...you know, spelled Gobz and sold at Sheetz convenience stores...they taste like nothing but sweet. These, ahem, chocolate-peppermint sandwich cookies I started making last year have distinct flavors besides just sweet. And the texture of the cookie is distinctly chewy and crackly compared to the soft creaminess of the buttercream filling. Divine. I recommend using more schnapps than milk when thinning the frosting for optimum punchiness. I prefer King Leo peppermint sticks for the same reason, plus they crunch up better, but I couldn't find them this year and had to settle for some generic bulk candies that are just OK. It's OK if the frosting is a little stiffer than you'd use on a cake because you are not spreading it, it's a filling and you want it to be able to hold up the weight of the top cookie. DEVIL'S FOOD COOKIES 1 18....

By Regina Schrambling As a food writer, I should never admit this, but I really hate Thanksgiving. Not the day, not the food, not the cooking or the shopping, not even the sappy reason Americans ostensibly gather to gorge in late November. What makes me totally crazy is the persistent pressure to reinvent a wheel that has been going around quite nicely for more than 200 years. Every fall, writers and editors have to knock themselves out to come up with a gimmick—fast turkey, slow turkey, brined turkey, unbrined turkey—when the meal essentially has to stay the same. It's like redrawing the Kama Sutra when readers really only care about the missionary position. ... More

There is something hollow and phony to me about going around the dinner table at Thanksgiving and telling what we're thankful for. If that is your tradition, that's fine for you and I am not belittling it. It is not my tradition as I strive to give my thanks to God every day or at least every week at church. Specific thanks for His general goodness and for instances where I believe I have seen His handiwork in my life, such as divine appointments and deliverances. When I am a guest somewhere and pressed to share what I'm grateful for, I usually say something flip but honest like "four-wheel-drive and coffee." But it is immensely important to me to be real (and I am thankful for go-in-the-snow ability and the caffeine that gets my motor running every day of the year.) Being real is so important that when I hear children at my table singsong "God is great, God is good" seemingly without contemplating the words' meaning or, worse, rushing through it or ...

Some of the tried-and-true recipes in my personal cookbook come from the "back of the box." Those are the recipes companies put on products -- whether they come in boxes or cans -- to show consumers different ways to use them in hope that they buy more. I found a variation of this recipe on the back of a can of Del Monte corn more than four years ago. I don't make it a lot but it is easy as in quick to make, inexpensive and good on cold fall evenings. SMOKY CORN AND POTATO CHOWDER 1 1/2 cups milk 1 14-ounce can creamed corn 1 cup cubed cooked ham 1 14-ounce can diced new potatoes, drained 1 can golden sweet corn, drained 1 cup shredded smoked cheddar, Swiss or Gouda cheese Stir milk into creamed corn in large saucepan. Add ham, potatoes and whole kernel corn. Heat through, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat. Stir in cheese until melted. Serves 4.

Please take the time to read this . There are many good points here, including one that I have been making for at least 15 years: Food Stamps should be regulated so you can't buy soda or junk food with them. But there's lots more meat to this guy's proposals for sustainable agriculture.

I have long made country ribs in the oven covered with a thick, rich, spicy sauce from a recipe in an old The New Good Housekeeping Cookbook. YUM! But when I read a new recipe for Sweet 'n' Spicy Country Ribs in Taste of Home's Simple & Delicious Sept./Oct. 2008, I decided to try it. I had everything for the recipe except apple juice. I could've bought it but I already had apple cider so I decided to use that instead. It caused no problem as far as I could tell. The big change I made was in the preparation method. The recipe is for the grill. I have no desire to fire up the charcoal grill, especially on a day when my house could use the warming from the oven. I have a cast-iron grill pan but no desire to cook two ribs at a time for 45 minutes per batch. So instead I used the grill pan at an extremely high heat to sear each rib and get sexy grill marks, then I finished the meat off in the oven. Oven roasting is the method used in my preferred recipe, which follows. I...

This soup was relatively quick to make, hearty without seeming heavy and passed muster with my sometimes-picky family. My husband liked that the spinach didn't seem slimy. I think I will chop the spinach next time before adding it to the pot. I also think I will add one more can of chicken broth. I liked that it packed in a lot of vegetables and low-fat meats -- that's turkey in the meatballs. WEDDING SOUP Taste of Home's Simple & Delicious magazine Sept./Oct. 2008 1 egg, beaten 3/4 cup chopped onion, divided 1/3 cup dry bread crumbs 1/2 pound ground turkey 1 1/2 teaspoons vegetable oil 2 cups sliced fresh carrots 1 1/2 cups chopped celery 1 tablespoon butter 4 cups fresh baby spinach (coarsely chopped) 3 (plus 1) 14 1/2-ounce cans chicken broth 1 cup cubed cooked chicken breast 2 tablespoons minced fresh parsley 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme 1/8 teaspoon salt 1/8 teaspooon pepper 1 1/4 cups acini di pepe pasta In a large bowl, combine the egg, 1/4 cup onion and bread crumbs...

I used to be a diehard recipe follower. Now I'm less afraid of messing up something. I'm not completely at ease just mixing random things without measuring. Ingredients are too expensive to throw away and I am too picky to eat my mistakes. But I have come to trust my palate more and will occasionally wing it. I must really be taking risks in my sleep-deprived state of late because I mixed up some chicken salad for sandwich filling to serve at a church luncheon reception with only a vague notion of what I was going for and a quick glance at a couple of recipes. Tyler Florence helped only marginally. I didn't boil my chicken with onion, carrots and celery and save the stock but someday I will. A review of Baltimore's Atwater's restaurant sparked the notion of adding dried cherries as well as the golden raisins I planned. The resulting sandwich wasn't bad -- no complaints but no requests for the recipe (unlike my Rocky Road Brownies, which drew raves.) Here...

A couple just moved from Sedona, Arizona, to Terra Alta to join my church's ministry team. One of my contributions to the luncheon reception to welcome them is pepperoni rolls, a West Virginia invention. Someone in Marion County got the notion to bake pepperoni in bread dough for Italian American coal miners to carry in their lunchboxes. Here's how I make mine: Two loaves Rhodes frozen bread dough, thawed 3/4 pound thin sliced deli sandwich pepperoni 1/4 pound thin sliced salami Mozzarella or provolone cheese (optional, I didn't use it this time) sliced is more manageable than shredded Cut the bread dough loaves each into 12 equal pieces. Working with one piece at a time, roll out the dough till it's about the size of a deck of cards. Stack together about 3 slices pepperoni and one slice salami (and a slice of cheese if you're using). Roll up. Roughly chop it with your knife on your workspace (this releases oils from the meat to make a good orange "grease spot...

We had an out-of-the-ordinary main dish tonight. I made chicken wings in the crockpot because it was an overscheduled day. So much so that they might've been left in a little too long -- they were falling off the bone. Not a quality I want in a meaty, saucy rib I grip and gnosh. While I might remember this for football games and the Christmas Eve party, I might more likely try the recipe again with ribs and serve the sauce over rice. I think it would go just fine. Some of you might like to try it with chicken thighs. SWEET 'N' TANGY CHICKEN WINGS From Taste of Home's Simple & Delicious March/April 2008 3 pounds chicken wingettes (about 30) salt dash pepper 1 1/2 cups ketchup 1/4 cup packed brown sugar 1/4 cup red wine vinegar 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard 1 teaspoon minced garlic (not the jarred kind, folks -- icky) 1 teaspoon Liquid Smoke, optional Sesame seeds, optional Sprinkle chicken wings with salt and pepper. Broil 4-6 inches f...

My house smells like scorched dust, leftover spaghetti and hot cocoa. Mmmm. It is 39 degrees and drizzly here on the mountain. My husband turned on the furnace tonight when he got home -- unbidden. I was prepared to bundle up and take it a few more weeks. Also without much prompting he made hot cocoa from scratch while our daughter took her bath. "Smells like brownies," she said. After she was tucked in, I set to putting away our summer clothes and hanging up our winter wear. I couldn't think of a nicer way to welcome my favorite season on the first truly cold night. Here's the recipe: HERSHEY'S FAVORITE HOT COCOA Top of stove six servings 1/2 cup sugar 1/4 cup Hershey's Cocoa Dash salt 1/3 cup hot water 4 cups milk 3/4 teaspoon vanilla extract Mix sugar, cocoa and salt in saucepan; stir in water. Cook and stir over medium heat until mixture boils; boil and stir 2 minutes. Stir in milk and heat. Do not boil. Remove from heat; add vanilla.

Lest you think I ignored or neglected a big part of my heritage, here is my post about the 67th Annual Preston County Buckwheat Festival wrapping up in Kingwood. We almost didn't go this year -- things have been kind of up in the air since my mom's surgery. So we didn't enter any food or arts and crafts exhibits. We didn't see a parade. We didn't walk through the livestock exhibits. We didn't have family and friends over for our traditional buckwheat-cakes-and-sausage feed on the Sunday before the festival. My husband said he felt like it was too early this year but it always starts the last Thursday in September. Here, in photos, are the highlights of our festival traditions and some of the new things we did this year. May we be better prepared for next year's festival. We watched a lumberjack contest ... ... let Bella ride the carousel (for which we paid $3 -- yow) ... ... bought a chance on a handmade muzzleloader from a craftsman I wrote about, got some ...

Two years ago I roasted a pie pumpkin for the first time. This year I made one of the recipes again. It is aptly called "Dinner in a pumpkin" because you bake all the elements of the meal inside the gourd. The filling is similar to that of stuffed peppers. You can serve right from the pumpkin and it makes a lovely presentation as the shell turns a lovely dark burnt sienna color. When picking your pumpkin, steer clear of the big kind you carve jack-o'-lanterns from. You want smaller pie pumpkins from the produce section. If your pumpkin won't hold all the filling, bake it separately in a covered casserole dish. You can halve the ingredients listed here for 1 small pumpkin or bake it in two. Save the pumpkin seeds to roast and snack on ... a recipe for that follows and includes variations. DINNER IN A PUMPKIN 1 medium sugar (or pie) pumpkin 1 1/2 pounds lean ground beef 1 onion, chopped 1 clove garlic, minced 1 1/2 teaspoon sugar 1 1/2 teaspoon Italian seasoning 1 1/2 t...

Wow. Tonight's dinner was special and awesome. I consoled myself for missing tonight's firemen's parade at the 67th Annual Preston County Buckwheat Festival by making a fully-cooked-just-heat-and-eat glazed ham with from-scratch summer squash cornbread and sweet potato, dried cherry, Madras curry and bleu cheese dressing. (That's dressing as in a casserole-style side dish that can also be used to stuff turkeys and game hens, not salad dressing.) I'll get right to the recipes and photos. Yum! SQUASH CORN BREAD From Taste of Home's Simple & Delicious Sept./Oct. 2008 This recipe makes two -- one to eat now and one to freeze. If you're trying it for the first time, you can halve the ingredients make just one, as I did. I like that it packs in extra nutrition and uses up some summer squash. 5 medium yellow summer squash (about 2 pounds), chopped 2 packages (8 1/2 ounces each) cornbread/muffin mix, such as Jiffy 4 eggs, lightly beaten 2/3 cup 4 percent cottage...

For dinner I just finished a juicy hamburger with creamy mayo and a luscious, red, sweet-tart tomato I bought at the local farmers' market. A few weeks ago, my neighbor left a bag of softball-sized tomatoes on my porch. Two of them kept me in BLTs with mayo on toasted 12-grain bread for almost two weeks of lunches. The rest I chopped up for a panzanella salad. I wish I measured when I made this but I don't. It just has to "look right". I add olive oil and red wine vinegar, a little chopped red onion, chopped fresh garlic and a chiffonade of basil. This time, I chopped fresh tomatoes and seasoned them with a little salt and pepper. Usually I use canned tomatoes -- an excellent choice -- with their juice ready to soak into the bread, these tomatoes are canned at the peak of ripeness so they make this salad a hit all year. In fact, I have it in the spring before tomatoes are even coming on in local gardens. I get some sort of Italian, French or country bread -- whatever ...

Before Rachael Ray brought her cooking show spots to daytime TV on a network station, before the TV chefs became a celebrity phenomenon, the Taste of Home Cooking School's home economists and culinary specialists were taking their cooking shows on the road. They still are. One week from today I will be sitting in the audience at one in Morgantown, WV. One year ago I was onstage, helping make the show happen. Newspapers and other sponsors bring the shows to venues in their cities. This one happens to be in a concert theater at a university arts center. National food makers sponsor the shows too so their products get plugged in the recipe demonstrations. The home economists that present the shows travel a particular several-state region of the country. They come to town and an advance team of workers from the sponsoring newspaper help unpack their equipment, shop for ingredients and prep all the recipes they'll be presenting at that night's show. They chop, measure and sort s...

I love fall. I love the colors and decorating with them. But probably most of all because of all the yummy things I can make from the harvest: pies, fresh whole hog sausage patties, pumpkin waffles, and much more. They warm my house and my tummy and my spirits. I started early this year and in the next few weeks I hope to share a lot of recipes and photos. Here's a recipe for an apple pie I made a few weeks ago. I used apples of unknown lineage from the tree in the backyard. I usually use Granny Smiths but David's grandma baked from this tree all the time and I wanted to give them a try. You might think they look splotchy but you must realize that Americans eat with their eyes first. If it doesn't look pretty and perfect and unblemished we think it has spoiled or is otherwise inferior and inedible. Not true! These are apples that haven't been treated with pesticides and so they bear the marks of growing unprotected in nature. I hope to make apple butter with them before...

It's that time of year when a swarm descends upon my kitchen and bathrooms, so I thought it fitting to repost this really good tip. Gnats, fruit flies, call them what you will -- my former colleague Mark prefers "flavor fairies" -- flit within my line of vision seeking something sour: drying towels, anyone? My friend Diane Hooie, a bright, well-traveled and adventurous cook, told me how to trap 'em. This really works: Pour a half inch of apple cider vinegar in a small glass and add two drops of dishwashing liquid. Mix well, sit it out and the flies will be drawn to the cup and gone forever. I misremembered her instructions and added water to the glass. It doesn't seem to affect the potion's desirability as dozens of gnats have perished in a watery grave.

I got this 12-cup silicone muffin "tin" for Christmas 2007 and hadn't played with it until recently. I was making zucchini bread and got the idea to scoop some of the batter into these molds. The result was adorable. Tonight, when I needed birthday cupcakes for a church meeting, I decided red velvet batter would make pretty cake flowers. Because I couldn't top them with the traditional cream cheese frosting (you wouldn't be able to tell what the flowers are), I mixed up a simple powdered sugar glaze and dribbled it over the cooled cakes. I displayed them on my Wilton cupcake stand. The flower silicone mold is by Pampered Chef. I don't buy (or ask for) all the kitschy tools but it's fun to have some little indulgences so I can do something special once in a while.

My fabulous foodie friend Katie e-mailed me a recipe for roasted peaches that she concocted. It sounded yummy, but I had no whole vanilla beans and I worried extract just wouldn't do it justice. I made it with a cinnamon stick instead. It was warm and spicy and quite good. Here's my way and her way: Cinnamon Roasted Peaches 6 peaches, sliced in half, stones removed 3-4 tablespoons melted butter 3-4 tablespoons cinnamon-infused honey 3-4 tablespoons brown sugar cinnamon stick vanilla ice cream Whisk together the butter, honey and brown sugar in a 13-by-9-inch glass baking dish. Add the cinnamon stick. Place peach halves in the mixture, turning to coat thoroughly, and resting cut side down. Bake at about 375 degrees for 25 minutes or so, checking for doneness. About every 8-10 minutes or so, remove the peaches from the oven and use a spoon to baste the peaches in the honey mixture. Roast until the peaches yield easily to a knife, but aren’t mushy, and the honey mixture is bubbly ...

I'm trying to encourage the women and men of my church to sign up to bring sweet treats on Sunday morning for the coffee bar instead of the same kind soul (not me) buying doughnuts or whatever every week. It hasn't quite caught on yet. But today was my Sunday to bring the treats and boy was I swamped with work, work-related traveling and helping my mom. Still, feeling like I needed to be a good example, I whipped up something I already had on hand. It is easy -- 20 minutes start to finish. In fact, it baked while I was in the shower. And I thought it was pretty yummy -- a couple of other people said so, too. Here is my fuss-free formula: 1 package of Jiffy corn muffin mix 1 egg 1/3 cup milk red raspberry jam Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Grease a muffin tin that yields 24 mini muffins. Prepare the muffin mix according to package directions but scoop the batter into 24 minimuffin tins, Filling them half full. Drop a scant 1/4 teaspoon raspberry jam into the middle of the batt...

My family is fortunate that my husband’s grandfather planted eight blueberry bushes in his backyard. Now our front yard blends into it and our daughter often walks down and stands among the bushes picking and eating the fat blue-black berries till she’s full or bored. We don’t usually snack between meals but I don’t mind her grazing at the blueberry bushes. Sometimes she will take an 8-cup lidded Tupperware measuring cup by the handle and pick alongside her grandmother, bringing home berries that I stir into pancake or waffle batter. Recently she brought so many that I made a pie. This year, thanks to their daily picking, we beat the birds to the berries. I’m not a berry pie or cobbler baker or lover (I don’t like the little seeds in my teeth) but I recently made individual (think cupcake-sized) peach “cobblers” – really they were more like pies – for a church bake sale. There was a berry variation listed so I adapted this recipe when I made my full-size blueberry pie. Then our culinar...