Does everyone rave about your mashed potatoes? Do you make the best jams and jellies? Do you know how to create the ultimate birthday cake? Maybe it is time to consider establishing a home-based food business. When you do something that you love, you tend to do it well. Why not take your cooking and or baking skills one step further and make some money from it? Here is what you need to know. The first thing you will need to do is to identify your food business. What do you want to make, to whom do you want to … Continue reading →

Do you know what the “germiest” item in your kitchen is? If you said your sponge, you would actually be wrong, although sponges (and dishrags) should be cleaned on a daily basis to ensure that they are not harboring bacteria. It might surprise you to know that the biggest germ spreader in your kitchen is actually your can opener! This is because it comes in contact with both food and the outside of the cans themselves, and it is usually infrequently washed. Leftovers, especially meat, should be throughly reheated before eating, especially if they have been in the refrigerator more … Continue reading →

My husband has been on a mission for more than year: to find the perfect chafing dish or other means to keep food warm for family get togethers, church functions and other celebrations. Chafing dishes, or should I say, the perfect chafing dishes, are hard to find. We have looked at a number of them and they have all failed the test, according to my husband. He has something particular in mind. Since we are chafing dish-less, I have found a number of other ways to keep the holiday food warm. When traveling with a meal, there are a number … Continue reading →

It won’t be too long before the chaos of the holidays is upon us. That is why whatever can be done early will put us in a good place to actually enjoy the holiday season instead of becoming frantic with all that needs to be done. Now is a good time to start your holiday food planning and get your kitchen in order. When Thanksgiving rolls around, and the living is easy, you’ll thank me. The first thing to do is to enter your kitchen and take a good look around as if you were seeing it for the very … Continue reading →

Most people, if they have heard of tempering at all, have heard about tempering chocolate to make it strong and shiny. There is another form of tempering that you should be practicing in your kitchen, and that is the tempering of of eggs. Why do eggs need to be tempered? If you have ever dumped eggs into hot or warm liquid and watched those eggs curdle or scramble? If so, you know first hand the need for tempering eggs. There are techniques to use when blending ingredients of different temperatures, so that you don’t wind up with negative results, such … Continue reading →

Growing up, I only had two options in nut and seed butter. The first was the classic peanut butter that only came in smooth and only came in Skippy. Today, not only are there so many different varieties of nut and seed butter, but there are even more variations or versions within the broader categories. So what was that second option that I had? It has been around for a while, and you may or may not know about it: Nutella, a chocolate and hazelnut spread made with skim milk. It was like getting desert for lunch, although the taste … Continue reading →

Because I have a family of five, I seem to always be scaling recipes up in size in order to feed all of us. This usually works out pretty well with ingredients. With the exception of some items, such as baking soda, scaling up is easy. On the other hand, what if you want to scale down in a recipe. Trying to halve an egg can be a conundrum, can’t it? Halving an egg, while confusing is not impossible. Knowing the secret can open up a world of recipes to you if you have found that many traditional recipes make … Continue reading →

Love to visit the farmer’s market but intimidated by the produce that is presented? Are those greens supposed to be for a salad or cooked? What is that weird curly stuff and what is the difference between slicing tomatoes and heirloom ones? Not recognizing produce at the farmer’s market shouldn’t stop you from going, or from discovery some great new favorites. There is no doubt that farmer’s markets can be overwhelming. It can seem as though there are too many choices and that everyone but you know exactly what is what. But if you take a look at the other … Continue reading →

Have you joined a CSA (Community Sponsored Agriculture) but aren’t sure what to do with all of the produce? Maybe you have your own garden and are overwhelmed with How to prepare the bounty. Either way, I thought I would list the produce that I get and how I’m planning to prepare it. And yes, it is okay to compare your share with mine. In fact, I would enjoy hearing what you have and how you are using it. We currently have a half share, which for our farm means that we pick up our share every other week. This … Continue reading →