What you see up there cost me $50 at the Goodwill down the street. $50. 2 jackets, a skirt, 5 pairs of pants, a dress, and 7 tops. For $50! I gave up thrifting all together in San Diego, but here, my goodness has it proven worthwhile. I didn’t go in with high hopes because […]
[Continue reading...]Strawberry Balsamic Granita
June 30, 2010
For once I’m actually on top of things, and in time for all your 4th of July celebrations, I wanted to share my recipe for my favorite cold treat. A granita is a little bit like a shaved ice, but the ice is flaky instead of smoothly ground. It gets its texture from the way […]
[Continue reading...]2010 Year of Pleasures #26
June 29, 2010
You ask any Northern Californian and they’ll tell you. The Mexican food is better up here. I’m sure someone somewhere has a theory as to why that is, but it beats the heck out of me. You can always find some local woman selling tamales in the grocery store parking lot, or choose between the […]
[Continue reading...]Best of Modesto – The Lunch Pail
June 28, 2010
Modesto does not enjoy a reputation as a world class city. Based on the reactions of some of my acquaintances, you’d think I moved to the slums of Redneckville, USA. OK, OK, Modesto has it’s share of problems. But there is a whole lot to love about this place, and one of my favorites is […]
[Continue reading...]Personalized KitchenTowels
June 25, 2010
When you work with teenage girls as long as I have, you get a whole lot of graduation and wedding announcements in the mail. The timing worked out just right so that in moving back here, we were able to attend the wedding of one of my really special girls, Breanne. I always find wedding […]
[Continue reading...]Bear’s Blueberry Cream Cheese Muffins
June 24, 2010
Bear has been like a kid in a candy store with all this fresh fruit around, and the thing he keeps coming back to is fresh blueberry muffins. It’s easy to see why. Talk about the biggest reward for the smallest effort. It takes no more time than mixing up a Betty Crocker cake, but […]
[Continue reading...]Canning, Round 1
June 23, 2010
I made a lot of mistakes this first time around, but overall, I’m pretty dang proud of myself. Over four days I managed to can: 6 pints of strawberry lemonade concentrate1 pint of limeade concentrate2 pints of nectarineade concentrate3 qts of dilled carrots1 pint blueberry butter2 1/2 pints blueberry syrup2 1/2 pints nectarine chutney12 pints […]
[Continue reading...]2010 Year of Pleasures #25
June 22, 2010
After I nearly died in the sun, look at what my sweet husband brought home for me. Oh my gosh, on the right kind of day there may not be a single thing better than a slurpee. Let’s try this experiment. Join me in a search for the pleasures in life. Write a post on […]
[Continue reading...]My new garden
June 21, 2010
When I was whining about leaving my garden behind, my friend Tona asked me if there was a community garden that I could participate in so I could feed my gardening addiction. I really didn’t expect to find one. Around here people aren’t usually looking for an opportunity to garden when they either do it […]
[Continue reading...]Strawberry Apricot Cobbler
June 18, 2010
So with all that fruit we’ve been bringing home, we have been learning the hard way that we have to use it up fast. Tree-ripened, farm stand fruit can not sit around for a week like the stuff you get at the grocery store. It’s ready to eat, NOW. We have ended up having to […]
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