Cooking & Creativity
Inspired by Asian Soup
Reflections on the origins of ethnic foods and the delicious traditional recipes that developed out of eating what grows well locally. We could say our natural cuisines are a product of our terroir. Enjoy my template for a delicious spring soup.
Free Homemade Amish Flour
Zucchini season is just around the corner. If you don’t grow them yourself, chances are you’ll be gifted some. After you’ve read this post you may not want to refuse. Check out the recipes – a new mug muffin and a seasonal coffee cake.
My Second Book Nook
One of my lifelong passions has been miniatures, and more recently, book nooks – glimpses of a tiny scene tucked into a bookcase. I built my second kit in February 2023. The Eternal Bookstore was my choice because the design is so appealing.
Duck Liver Pâté
Pâté is a savory peasant food gone elegant. You can have it on toast with your soup for lunch or serve it as a canapé at your next party. If you make it yourself, you will save a lot of money and control the ingredients so that it is health-giving too.
Fascinating Book Nooks
In my exploration of the realm of crafting miniatures, I encountered a niche called book nooks. These little dioramas fit into boxes not much taller and about twice as wide as a hardcover book. I was smitten. I’d love to share my first one with you.
Economics of Bean Brownies
For gluten free eaters, a bean brownie recipe is an asset. But these brownies are much more than just the freedom to enjoy a treat without gluten. Unlike mixes made from overprocessed powders, bean brownies offer real food value.
Serendipity Gluten Free Pizza
At Earl’s I had a thin crust, gluten free pizza that amazed me. As a thin crust pizza fan, I replicated it at home. A cost comparison with our standard gluten free pizza showed that serendipity pizzas are definitely less expensive per person.
A Miniature Fascination
I’ve long been intrigued by miniatures. Finally I have time to indulge myself and create small worlds. Favourite supplies are gathered on nature walks, work space is compact – miniatures align perfectly with my goal of a resilient, natural retirement.
Hot Pepper Poppers
The busy harvest season requires plenty of creativity. These fresh-from-the-garden, gluten-free hot pepper poppers are an autumn treat that quenches any impulse to buy expensive, frozen, deep-fried jalapeño poppers from the grocery store.
Keto Mug Breads
Have you discovered mug bread? Buns, biscuits, muffins, even chocolate cake can be ready in only a few minutes with my template and ingredient quick reference sheet. More good news – these five quick and easy recipes are Keto-friendly. Enjoy!
Can’t Be Beet GF Cake
Summer birthdays and plentiful garden vegetables. This could be a carrot cake, a zucchini cake, a beet cake or a combination of all three. Any way you slice it, this nutritious cake is healthy enough to eat for breakfast.
Grill Bolting Buttercrunch
Abundant lettuce meets unseasonably hot, sunny weather. The lettuce is stressed so instead of forming a nice leafy heads, it bolts. I hated to pull them. How about grilled bolting buttercrunch?
Keto Meringue Mushrooms
Until now I did not know that meringue mushrooms are a thing, and I certainly could not imagine that a sweet treat made with meringue could be keto-friendly. I’m older and wiser now. Enjoy!
Crab Apple Hot Pepper Jelly
Although I work hard at preserving our harvest, chances are you won't find much canning on my shelves. That's because anything that requires sugar for preservation is on our "Do Not Eat" list. However, I do make one small exception. Because charming red crab apples...
Slow Roasted Duck
Roast duck. So decadent, right? Surprisingly, slow roasting a duck turns out to be easy and economical. For well over a year now, we've consistently been able to buy frozen young ducks at our local grocery store for $2 a pound. We look for the largest one we can find,...
Hemp Heart Milk
Sometimes a brilliantly simple solution presents itself for a problem you didn't realize you had. We are a mostly dairy-free household and I never buy cow's milk, except to combat mildew on the squash vines in August (but that's a different story). I buy canned...
Coconut Milk Yogurt
Cow's milk has been gone from our diet so long that living without it is easy. If goat feta or chèvre is on hand, there's nothing much to miss ... mostly ... except yogurt. Plain, live culture yogurt used to be one of my favourite foods, not to mention an easy way to...
Lime Mint Purslane Salad
Purslane is one of the marvelous volunteers in my garden plot. While others see it as a weed, I encourage it, and harvest a bag or two every week during its growing season. I've been eating purslane in cooked dishes for years because it's so nutritious, not to mention...