When my mom was young, she worked in the kitchen of a Mennonite retirement home, where the head cook was an older Conservative (plainer than Mennonite) woman. “Vernie” hailed from Holmes County, Ohio, and had the accent to prove it. One of my mom’s duties was cutting the cheese (which, I guess, explains Ben’s affinity…
Once in a Lifetime
When we were in college, my brother, Fred, and I started every road trip home in our shared 1967 Ford Galaxie the same way. The car only had an AM radio, so I brought my boombox stocked with new D batteries. We found ourselves behind the wheel of a large automobile for our 18-hour journey…
Happy as a Clam (for not a lot of clams)
This week’s main dish was not only tasty, but also easy on the pocketbook. We used Katie Lee’s recipe for spaghetti with canned clams: https://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/katie-lee/spaghetti-with-canned-clams-9629262 and we found it to be pretty good, and definitely satisfying. Canned clams weighed in at $1.89 a can, so if you are looking for a quick, easy, economical pantry…
It’s a Long Way to Tipperary
…but my carbs are right there. To celebrate Saint Patrick’s Day, Ben and I concocted an “Irish Breakfast Pizza” that took its inspiration from a delicious breakfast pizza served at Basil Wood Fired Kitchen and Lounge, and from a whole wheat vegan potato pizza recipe that we make sometimes when we are feeling virtuous. Of…
Condimentia – When your kid’s love of condiments drives you crazy
If it were up to Ben, we would frequently serve BBQ sauce as a main dish, with a side of ranch dressing. This week’s cooking adventure (like everything in life) was a compromise, but it did capitalize on our current condiment holdings. I wanted to try replicating a splendid chickpea dish we sampled at a…
Clark Mast, Wide Open!!!
My mother grew up as the youngest of ten children in an Old Order Amish household. Though my maternal grandparents lived well into their nineties, I, being nearly the youngest of my zillion first cousins, and living a distance away, never developed a very close relationship with my grandparents, and mostly know them through my…
Big Week
These days, we have a million things going on. We’ve been laying low restaurant-wise, and that does not go down without a fight from my young valentine. Translation? Porterhouse steak at home. Of course, the Super Bowl comes with certain expectations on Ben’s part. He was all excited about some wings we had in the…
Pair and Ink
Wait. What? That makes no sense! If you don’t speak Benglish, you will need this quick tutorial. Hand washing before eating is a basic principle that we still have to monitor and enforce. Once, when Ben had been doing an artject (art project) at school, and I was making him scrub up before dinner, I…
Pollo Pot Pie – ¡Olé!
This week we came up with a Mexican version of chicken pot pie, and we may never go back to our standard chicken pot pie! Not only was it delicious, the meal came together in a snap, thanks to items from the freezer and a prepared rotisserie chicken. Aside from the seasoning, the twist in…
Ooh La La!!!
If you could be anywhere right now, other than on your couch in your stretchy pants, like us, where would you be? Well, Paris, right? Since you probably can’t actually get there now (pandemic) we offer you the next best thing: charcuterie salad and French onion soup. If you know what’s good for you, you’ll…