Category Archives: family cooking

Happy Valentine’s Day AND Happy Chinese New Year!

How often do they fall on the same day??? As with every holiday, our family celebrates both occasions with food and lots of cooking on the days before and the day of. For Chinese New Year, I like to make homemade jiao-zi, Chinese dumplings (more on this on another post) and fortune cookies. This year, […]

Also posted in recipes | Leave a comment

Rosemary Parmesan 100% Whole Wheat Crackers

I rarely use whole wheat flour exclusively in my recipes because, well, I love the taste and baking characteristics of white flour. Crackers are an exception. They don’t need to rise and you can pack a lot of flavors alongside wheat. Here’s my favorite cracker recipe which is simply a version of the basic cracker […]

Also posted in recipes | Leave a comment

Chestnuts for the Holidays

November through the new year is always a busy time for our family and I feel like I’m always in the kitchen! Here’s one must have food tradition for our family – oven roasted chestnuts, the next best thing to roasting on an open fire. The key to making them easy to peel is to […]

Also posted in recipes | Leave a comment

Basic Crackers Using a Stand Mixer

Crackers are one of the easiest, most versatile “quick breads” you can make. A basic cracker recipe contains just flour, fat, baking powder, and liquid. As for seasonings, anything goes! Once I discovered how quick and easy it was to make especially with the stand mixer doing all the work, I’ve not bought crackers since! […]

Also posted in recipes | Leave a comment

Honey Vanilla Ice Cream

What I love about using honey instead of sugar is that I can use about half the amount of sweetener. Also, it’s just healthier. Slightly. We make vanilla ice cream more than any other kind. It goes well with so many fruits, nuts, and chocolatey toppings. This recipe is about as simple as it gets. […]

Also posted in recipes | 2 Responses

Brew Tea in a French Press

Some of the best teas only come in loose leaf form. Having used a myriad of tea brewing paraphernalia, the French press is still my tea maker of choice. It is non-electric, economical, easy to clean, and does not take counter space. Though the French press is meant for brewing coffee, the same concepts apply […]

Also posted in home and garden | Leave a comment

How to Extract Berry Juice Without Adding Sugar, Boiling, or Using a Juicer

Freeze and Thaw. With minimal effort on your part or a machine’s, you can easily extract the syrupy naturally sweet liquid from some fruits. You just have to plan ahead and be willing to wait a day or so. This works especially well with strawberries, blackberries, and raspberries. I have not tried it with other […]

Also posted in recipes | 3 Responses

Cold Refreshing All Natural Soda

In a previous post on homemade soda, I raved about the Soda-Club soda machine used to make your own carbonated water. From now until the end of this month, you can save on your online order with the following promo codes: Save $10 – use code POPDADDY Save 10% – use code SUMMERSTOCK Tips for […]

Also posted in home and garden, recipes | Leave a comment

Homemade Flour Tortillas Using a Stand Mixer

Say goodbye to your tortilla press and use your stand mixer for fast(er) tortilla-making at home. For these instructions, you would need the pasta roller attachment (not just for pasta making)! Here’s how I make 32 tortillas in under 30 minutes (not including dough resting time or extra little helpers): Ingredients: 4 cups flour, all-purpose […]

Also posted in kids craft, Popular posts, recipes | Tagged , , | 10 Responses

Easy Creamy Fruit Shakes

Here’s a healthy shake for the kids. It’s easy enough for them to make it themselves too. It’s just fruit and milk. Cut up fruits into blender friendly size. Freeze. This is also a good way to make good use of over-ripen fruits. Blend frozen fruits with milk. You can pretty much use any kind: […]

Also posted in kids craft, recipes | Leave a comment