What I Made
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Japanese Eggplant
My community is fortunate to have a very good weekly farmers’ market over the summer months. I am trying to take advantage of these last few weeks of Sunday morning, local produce shopping. Last Sunday, I spotted eggplant on a table. I was very excited about this! I also spotted on the table the skinnier cousin, Japanese eggplant. Produce in that section of the tent was $1 each or 5 for $6. Yea! I took two eggplant, two zucchini, and two of the Japanese eggplant. I had never prepared Japanese eggplant, but I had seen recipes for it at random times in the past. I figured that for under…
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Matzo Ball Soup, Chicken Salad, and Some of the Most Amazing Brownies EVER
I always get excited when someone in the neighborhood responds to my call for help in learning something new. Last week, after being in contact with him at various times over the summer, I finally had the opportunity to meet and spend time in the kitchen with Ron. The plan was to make homemade matzo ball soup from scratch. I love matzo ball soup, and historically in my kitchen, it involved a mix by Croyden House plus the addition of chopped carrots, celery, and egg whites. (My husband and I would tend to make it during Passover, so the egg whites “replaced” noodles.) There is absolutely nothing wrong with that…
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Mosaic Birdhouse
This summer, I spent several mornings with Stephanie, a woman who responded to my Facebook call for someone to teach me something new! She offered to teach me how to do a mosaic design on a birdhouse, and I took her up on her offer. Using one of my handy craft store coupons (with my Michael’s app, I always have one on hand–stores usually accept competitor coupons, so I am always ready), I picked up a wooden birdhouse which would eventually become a masterpiece! (I set my standards high.) Day 1: We started the project. This project would involve getting together several times due to the various steps requiring glue…
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Walk, Sweat, and Paint
My friend, Cheryl, and I have known each other since we were three. We grew up next door to each other and were neighbors until we headed off to college. Despite many years of coloring, Lite Brite, Spirograph, and Fashion Plates as kids, we never really painted together. Well, that has now changed! In response to my “Who wants to teach me something?” call, she offered to teach me to paint. She had no experience teaching painting, but I had no experience being taught (elementary school doesn’t count), so we had absolutely nothing to lose! Long story short, we had a fantastic day together! We did not start at the…
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Key Lime Pie
On a recent Sunday afternoon, my husband and daughter were busy, but my son and I had nothing on our schedules until the evening. I refused to spend the afternoon with us just hanging around the house doing lots of nothing, busywork, or playing on screens, so I asked what he would like to do. I gave him the option of doing something with me or making plans with his friends. He was initially indecisive, but he eventually said that he wanted to make key lime pie. I was sort of hoping to do something outdoors, but, he came up with a legitimate, doable idea, so that became our afternoon…
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Super Shed 3000
Spoiler alert: The title may be just a bit of an embellishment. Just a bit. Every so often, I put out the call for “who wants to teach me something new?” Recently, I had a taker who said that she would soon be building a shed and wondered if I would be interested in participating. I have no idea as to what response she expected, but I took her up on the offer! Whether or not I would be of much help would soon be determined, but I figured that we could have fun, I would try something different, and my friend and I would get a chance to get…
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Avocado Egg Salad
To begin, I acknowledge that I may now be a bit addicted. I recently found a recipe for “Healthy Avocado Egg Salad,” and I actually had eggs and avocados (technically, I had small avocados, but that is neither here nor there) and the other listed ingredients, so all was a go! I have always enjoyed egg salad, but I never put in the time to make it. First of all, my family members don’t really care about egg salad. Second, I used to find the task of hard boiling eggs to be a major pain. Now, though, I have a pressure cooker, and that has made all the difference! The…
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Eucalyptus Shower Melts–Another Pinterest Find
Double duty–I was able to try to help relieve some cold symptoms recently while simultaneously trying something new (otherwise known as “new blog material”)! In the past, I had seen various instructions for “shower melts” that help with congestion. I had also seen in the past that the various recipes often included ingredients which I did not have at home, so I decided to search on Pinterest for “shower melts” while including the words “baking soda.” I have a huge Sam’s club bag of baking soda, so I tend to have a lot of it available. I also have some essential oils, so, overall I was looking to see…
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Steak 101
I am a vegetarian and have been since college. This was a choice based on simple preference, not on ethics or health. Meat just really does not appeal to me. The same cannot be said of my family members. I live in a houseful of carnivores. I did not do much cooking growing up, and by the time I started doing real cooking (not just heating, microwaving, or thawing), I was a vegetarian, so I never learned how to actually prepare any type of meat. My husband, on the other hand, makes great steak (I admit–I have tasted it, and it is good), and the kids LOVE it when he…
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Brazilian Lemonade
While grocery shopping yesterday, I saw that limes were on sale, 10 for a dollar. I may not always know what prices are considered good prices, but I knew that 10 cents a lime was a good deal! I bought ten figuring that although I was not quite sure what I would do with them, I could always slice them and stick them in the freezer to add to water or iced tea at a later time. Before slicing them all up, though, I got on-line and started searching for lime-related recipes that seemed nice and simple. I was successful and found what I thought would be very appropriate to…
