Homemade Tomato Basil Soup with Fresh Tomatoes

A recent bounty of fresh tomatoes found me channeling my mom and grandma in the kitchen cleaning, prepping and cooking fresh tomatoes and then getting ready to “put them up,” as they would have said.  By which they meant canning in glass jars.  I’m more of a Ziplock freezer bag gal myself. Those jars and […]

Homemade Grape Juice

Enjoying the bounty of the season (meaning I had more grapes than I know what to do with), I brewed a cup o’ joe and strapped on an apron.  Next I put on one of my favorite Pandora stations – French Cooking Music.  And then.  I made homemade grape juice.  Yep, I channeled my grandma […]

Massimo Electric Cooler – Honest Review

A long road trip requires a nice cooler.  Well, we have a really nice one.  And this is my honest review of the Massimo Electric Cooler. For the Mount Rushmore road trip we took in May, hub ordered the Massimo 50 liter electric cooler through Costco.  But.  It didn’t arrive in time.  When Denisse and […]

Winter Patio and Excellent Online Customer Service

A bit warmer, dryer weather led to a winter patio spruce up.  My honest report on some excellent online customer service after all the holiday hoopla! The holidays gifted us with a lot of rain.  I pulled all the cushions under the patio cover and we hunkered inside for about a week. The firepit beckons […]

First of the Year Shopping

My anxiety-driven spending frenzy seems to be quelled, but I did do a bit of first-of-the-year shopping and want to share a couple of great bargains and highly recommended items. Banana Republic Girlfriend Jeans & Sweatshirt I never find petite sizes at BR so I never go into their outlet near our home, but I […]

New Year – 2022

Ok, 2022, let’s get this started, shall we?  Is everyone up for a new year?  Do you have plans or resolutions you care to share for the New Year? Do you start a New Year’s Eating Plan?  Well, I’m way too old to do that now.  But.  I could give my tummy a bit of […]

Roasted Red Pepper Soup

Soup making is in high speed around here.  As in almost daily a pot is boiling.  A new Roasted Red Pepper Soup made its debut and it is a winner. Oh, my.  One more time I wish I had smell-o-vision so you could smell how delish my house is right now.  Between the roasted peppers […]

Wrapping Up Christmas and a Few Book Reviews

This is crazy, but true.  I love wrapping up the holiday season as much as I like preparing for it.  As in I take down everything Christmas on Christmas Day.  Wrapping up Christmas is like presenting a fresh slate for me to take into the New Year. Oh, and I owe a few book reviews […]

Five Favorite Crockpot Meals

No matter what your busy holiday season may look like, you may still want a hot home-cooked meal with little fuss and healthful ingredients.  So I’m sharing my five favorite crockpot meals and hope to inspire you treat yourself well. My kitchen countertops are often sporting a crockpot full of something.  It’s probably my number […]

Holiday Potpourri

“Simple” is my holiday mantra and enjoying holiday potpourri is about as simple as you can get and still satisfy the senses.  A tiny crockpot means the stove doesn’t even have to go on and I can set it and forget it. Remember the dried orange slices I made a couple of weeks ago?  I […]