My daughter told me awhile ago about James Beard’s “Poor Man’s Butter”. She has used it as a delicious healthful spread, instead of butter. (From James Beard’s site: “In Spanish, avocado butter is called ‘mantequilla de pobre’ – poor man’s butter. It was used as a spread or added to dishes to give the soft…

Balsamic Reduction Gastrique
This dressing has been a staple in our house for almost 10-years now! I first made it because it was a no-calorie dressing; later because it was no-oil. Even later, I read an article by a chef who uses a balsamic reduction as a gastrique (a thick syrupy reduction of mainly vinegar and sugar) because…

Vita-Mix: My Story
I didn’t grow up with a Vita-Mix in my home. I sure wish I would have! I think I would have had so much fun creating delicious concoctions. But I had to wait until I was an adult, with my own family, before I got one. With it, I have my own smoothie-bar! My Vita-Mix…

Confetti Salad
I am so grateful I found this fast-and-easy technique to make delicious (and beautiful) raw vegetable salads. This technique requires a food processor, which is so much easier than chopping or grating or slicing by hand. It is best to use hard vegetables if you want to store this for several days. In this example…

Potato Grow Bags
We have a very small garden space. So I was excited when I saw these felt potato grow bags that could be filled with soil and put wherever I wanted! Could a gardener ask for more? I found a sunny location, and added a drip from our irrigation system. I rolled down the felt bag…

A Dizzy Chick
This is a short note to explain why I haven’t been posting for many many months: I became A Dizzy Chick! One night in March I hopped into bed and felt like I was Alice-In-Wonderland falling headfirst down The Rabbit Hole, and I was spinning. When I saw the ENT I was diagnosed with “benign…

Cashew Cream: Dessert Topping
We used to receive a mailing called The Ruralite. It had a recipe section. Tom and I still joke about our all-time favorite question, “Does anyone have a recipe for homemade COOL WHIP?” […]

Persian Naan: Easy Flatbreads
Did I mention that I went to the Middle East for overseas study during college? One of my favorite memories was watching flatbreads being removed from rustic bakery ovens. Then you could watch breads being transported atop people’s heads! […]