I spent this sunny Sunday afternoon strolling through the city.  Partially motivated by book research and partially by nostalgia, I decided to visit the Metropolitan Museum of Art.  In no particular hurry, I took my time getting ready to leave.  I gave the dogs ample time to romp around in the yard while I gazed at my blooming Rhododendrons and late-flowering dogwood.  After three years in my yard, this is the first season the tree has given me blossoms, and they are a magnificent antique white with touches of pink at the tips of each petal.

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Do you ever wonder why Chinese restaurants name their obvious sauté of mixed vegetables and meat Pork and Broccoli?  The Broccoli is only one of many veggies in there.  Does it have superior health benefits that I don’t know about?  Is it socially popular?  Or is it just the only vegetables that the average American is not afraid to eat?

I love a good stir fry… but for me, it is mushrooms!  I love it when they throw a mixture of different mushrooms into the mix (porcini, enochi, straw mushrooms – and not the canned ones either!).  I always find that ...<< MORE >>

Spring weekends are busy, busy, and busy!  I have reached a point in the process of writing my novel where I have temporarily stopped mechanically writing and immersed myself in more research, which (believe it or not) gives me a bit more time to cook , blog, and read :-)

So, first thing this morning (while listening to podcasts on the rise of the Roman Empire), I set to cooking!  

I made an egg salad.  While the organic eggs boiled away in the pot, I made mayonnaise.  I took two uncooked egg yolks, some fresh lemon juice, apple cider vinegar, some ...<< MORE >>

Spring brings me joy!  I love all the pink and white trees, how the earth transforms from brown to light green and bright yellow.  It also brings back variety in the fresh and local foods we have available. (Don’t get me wrong, I love the slightly hay-like flavor of winter dairy and an unlimited supply of potatoes, apples, onions and garlic… but after a while…)

Well, the cattle and pig farmer that lives two towns away from me and raises free-range, organic animals has informed me that the pigs are going up to the butcher this week.  Now, I usually buy ...<< MORE >>

Dear Readers,

I am sure that many of you felt my blog posts have languished in recent months.  I have posted fewer and fewer blogs, each one promising greater frequency.  All the while, the threat of internet antiquity is looming over my virtual quiet country life.  

Well my friends… please allow me to explain.  In mid-December, I decided to write a book.  It is an epic fiction novel spanning 1,600 years.  Confident in my plot, I dove into character and story development and have been there ever since.  

You see, what I did not realize when I decided to embark upon this fun and foolish task is that writing a novel is an extraordinary amount of work.  It spills over into all aspects of the writer’s life.  In my case, I think about it in every free moment.  I come home from work and begin to write, or edit, or re-read… torturing my friends and family in the process.

I am convinced that my cousin Michele is a saint, in addition to her excellent skills as an editor, and enduring patience as a friend.  My friend Ronnie also deserves tremendous kudos for listening to me drone on about an imaginary world and made up characters for months on end.  Oh, and I cannot fail to mention my dear friend Rich, who has exactly zero interest in the fantasy genre, yet he patiently listens and guides me as a writer.  

Needless to say, my friends, my poor blog has suffered.  Please, dear readers, do not give up hope.  I will keep posting, perhaps with less frequency, but I have not abandoned you!   I hope that in time, I can tell you more about the progress of the novel, but for now, I beg your patience.

Love,

Deb

        

When I asked my cousin Michele what kind of cake she wanted for her birthday, she said “oh, I don’t know, either something with canoli cream in it, or that rose cake that you make.”  So, in the weeks leading up to the big event, I spent a lot of time thinking about cake.  

As part of my gift to her, we hosted about 15 people at my house yesterday to celebrate Michele’s birthday.  We declared it a Pot-Luck party, with my primary responsibility focused on dessert.  With so many people attending, I decided to make a variety of desserts.

I ...<< MORE >>

    Lately, I have thought a lot about bread.  The local grocer/garden center that I shop in (the place that sells lots of locally grown and organic dairy, produce, and meats) also has a bakery.  Their prices are on par with other bakeries and their quality is very good.     While I shopped last week, I reached over to pick up a loaf of cranberry-pecan wholegrain bread.  I looked at the price on the label.  Imagine my shock at the $7.95 price tag. 

    “What?”  I could not believe it!  “Has the price of ingredients increased this much? I ...<< MORE >>

All of my life, I have used a propane grill for my outdoor cooking (sans camping… but that is a different blog).  My Weber has served me well.  However, I longed for the high heat and smoky flavors of a charcoal grill.  I found that I had better results searing a steak in a cast iron pan on my stove than I did on my Weber grill, so after many years and much debating, I finally broke down and bought the charcoal grill.

I didn’t just buy any old grill, however.  I bought the grand pooba of grills, The ...<< MORE >>

This weekend felt like spring!  The thermometer hit the mid-fifties.  I did not even need a jacket to run around outside.  After such a long, cold winter, running around outside is all I wanted to do!  This is also the weekend that The Watchmen hit the box office.  My book club read The Watchmen last month, in advance of the movie, and a few of us got together yesterday to go see it  (It was awesome, BTW, and mostly true to the story).

Before we caught the Sunday night showing, everyone met at my house for dinner.  I started by thinly ...<< MORE >>

What do your pets eat?  Do you shop for pet food based on price? How nutritious is it?  Do you really know?  Well, one of my dogs got sick a few months ago, she lost nearly 15 lbs.  I took her to the vet, and after a series of tests, he determined that she has a genetic liver disorder called Copper Storage Disease.  The dog lacks the enzyme to properly digest and process metals – specifically copper.  So the copper builds up and poisons her liver.

The vet had me buy special pet food without metals at $80 for a 20lb ...<< MORE >>