Thursday, March 31, 2022

Food reviews: Best Breakfast Omellette

On those mornings when I'm pressed for time or just don't feel like cooking up breakfast from scratch, my go-to convenience food is a ready-made omelette from Eggland's Best. I switch off between the Three Cheese Omelette and the Ham and Cheese Omelette (there's also a Sausage and Cheese version, which is my husband's favorite). 

They cook up fast in the microwave (one minute on each side) and keep me from getting "hangry". I usually pair one omelette with half an avocado, topped with Trader Joe's Everything Bagel seasoning and a little Tabasco Sauce (my new favorite--cayenne garlic flavored!). This particular morning, I added some quartered cherry tomatoes on the side, which made for a great, healthy, balanced breakfast.

Friday, March 25, 2022

Tuesday, March 22, 2022

Celebrating Dad's Birth Day, But Not the Milestone

Of all the emotions we feel as human beings, I believe that Grief is the most personal. Each of deals with grief in our own way, because the impact that is felt after losing a loved one is rooted in the unique relationship you had with that person. There is no "right" or "wrong" way to work through grief, but it's important that as you cope with loss, you do not allow the sadness to overwhelm and consume you. Ultimately, you need keep moving forward with your own life, moving towards a positive state of mind where you can still cherish the memories that you have of that person, and eventually experience joy again. 

It's not easy, but it is necessary and healthy to go through a healing process, and get to that positive place.

Some days are harder than others, but usually two in particular: the date the person died, and date that was their birthday.  While it's inevitable that you'll be thinking of your loved one each year on the day they passed away, I've always felt it's preferable to focus on the day they were born. The memories associated with that day tend to be happier and easier to cope with, because they are typically filled with reminiscences of celebrations, family gatherings, and hope-filled wishes made when blowing out the candles on a birthday cake. 

I think that's why I see so many people on social media post about their deceased loved ones, celebrating their milestones as if they were still accumulating them: "Today is my Grandmother's 101st Birthday!" or "Happy 87th Birthday to my aunt in Heaven!"  (Inevitably, someone comments, "Wow, Happy Birthday to your Grandmother!" until the original poster clues them in: "She died 30 years ago, but thank you"...and awkward silence ensues.)  

So, while I do understand why people do this, it still makes me cringe every time I see it happen.

I mention this, because today is my father's birthday, and if he were still alive, it would have been a big "milestone" celebration. Unfortunately, my Dad's been gone for almost 16 years now, and as such, he will be forever frozen in time at the age of 74. 

Although I still mourn my father's loss deeply, I can't bring myself to herald the milestones of "what would have been" because it only reinforces what will never be. 

So today, I will celebrate the date of his birth, but not the milestone. Instead, I do my best to honor his life every day of the year, and draw comfort from the cherished memories accrued during the 39 years of my life that I was so very lucky to have him in it.

Sunday, March 20, 2022

Grandma's Crochet Projects

Doily with crocheted "lace" and flowers
Recently, one of my daughters decided to take on a new hobby: crocheting. She learned a few stitches years ago when she was a little girl, but hasn't picked up a crochet hook in long time. Seeing her renewed interest in learning how to crochet brought back some wonderful childhood memories for me: I first learned how to crochet with my Aunt Jennie when I was still in elementary school, but much like my daughter, I didn't delve into making any projects until I was in my early 20s. It became a fun activity I enjoyed whenever my husband and I visited his grandmother in Canada. I tried to keep up with it, making blankets after each one of my children was born, but after awhile, other interests cropped up, and this hobby fell by the wayside.

Now that my daughter is looking for project ideas and supplies,      I started digging through my stash of yarn and crochet hooks, and found some beautiful things that "Grandma Cana" made over the years.

Here are some of her beautiful creations, made with love many decades ago:


Top Left: Not actually a crochet project, but you can tell by the color scheme that this braided trivet in groovy colors dates back to the early 1970s.

Top Right: Another trivet, but one that hides a unique item as its base. Can you guess common item she recycled to make the outside rings? Answer given at the end of this post.

Bottom Right: A beautiful double-sided pointsettia potholder. I made a few of these with her, and found my handwritten directions for this one, which I'll include in a future blog post.

Bottom Left: All hail this Crochet Classic: the toilet paper cozy! This one also has a small lace sachet of potpourri sewn to the top--pretty and practical!



ANSWER: The secret to those perfectly-shaped rings that form the stable base for the blue and white trivet are the plastic rings that hold a six-pack of soda cans together, cut up into individual circles and covered with crochet stitches.

Saturday, March 19, 2022

St. Joseph wasn't just a good dad...

 ...he has some great pastries named after him, too!

Today is St. Joseph's Day, a day that Catholics honor Jesus' earthly father, Joseph the carpenter, husband of the Virgin Mary. 

Fortunately, you do not need to be a believer in order to celebrate this day with the very best pastry there is: Zeppole di San Giuseppe. 

You'll typically find two types of fillings: custard cream, and cannoli cream. They're both delicious, although I'm a bit partial to the cannoli cream myself. 

I've never made this particular dessert, but it's on my list of ones to try someday. 

Here are links to a couple of recipes I've got my eye on, bookmarked for later:

Zeppole di San Giuseppe from Christina's Cucina

Baked Zeppole from Mangia Bedda

And, if you live in the NY Metro Area, you can get the best authentic Italian St. Joseph's Pastries delivered from Veniero's Bakery, located in the heart of Little Italy. (If you live in the U.S. but outside of the NY Metro area, they do have many other things you can order, like their famous NY Cheesecake, Cannolis, and Rainbow Cookies.)

In addition to his must-have pastries, St. Joseph is also pretty popular with modern-day homeowners--but not because people like to put him on display inside their homes. In recent years, it's become a superstition that if you bury a small statue of St. Joseph in your yard when you're trying to sell your house,  he will help it sell faster, thanks to his diligent carpenter's work ethic. (If you're trying to sell a condo or other residence where you don't have a yard, you can bury him in the soil of a houseplant instead.)

Of course, the Catholic Church frowns upon such things, but I have heard from friends who swear that it actually works, so who am I judge? If you're looking to sell your home and feel like you need an extra helping hand to close the deal, here's a link to a reasonably-priced St. Joseph statue that is just the right size, and even comes with its own prayer card.  Happy St. Joseph's Day!

Friday, March 18, 2022

Leo is 3!

 Happy 3rd Birthday to this sweet, snuggly boy!



Thursday, March 17, 2022

St. Patrick’s Day 2022

​Celebrated St. Paddy’s Day with the traditional fare: corned beef, cabbage, potatoes, carrots, and plenty of Irish Soda Bread. 



The Irish Soda Bread was a new recipe I found through TikTok. It was sweeter than other recipes, and used an entire box of raisins (!) but it was dang tasty! 


Here’s the link from SoufflĂ© Bombay if you’d like to give it a try: https://soufflebombay.com/wprm_print/recipe/8968

Sunday, March 13, 2022

Unearthing Pantry Artifacts

 A couple of years ago, a friend of a friend was looking to make some extra money, so I hired him to do a few odd jobs around the house. One of the projects he worked on was going through my kitchen cabinets and throwing out all of the expired stuff.  I don't recall what the most expired item was at the time, but I do remember being mortified at just how ancient some things were. 

At some point, he got busy with a different project, and there were a couple of cabinets he didn't get to finish, including the one where I store coffee and tea. 

This particular cabinet is one of the upper corner cabinets, so most of the shelves are way above my head, and out of my reach without the assistance of a step ladder.  It's also a deep cabinet, which means things that get pushed to the back have a tendency to ... languish. 

Here, I present to you the three most expired items I found in this cabinet: 

Are you ready for their expiration dates? Prepare to be horrified.

The sealed, never-opened box of Wedgewood Tea has a Best Before date of April 30, 2008--nearly 14 years ago. I think we bought it as a souvenir when we did a British Isles cruise in the Summer of 2007.

The Maxwell House instant coffee says Best When Used By October 19, 2007. At that time, George W. Bush was still the President of the United States, the #1 song in the U.S. was "Crank That" by Soulja Boy, and a new gadget known as an "iPhone" had just hit the market 4 months prior.

But the winner of Oldest Pantry Item goes to the lovely can of Illy espresso coffee, which expired back in April, 2006.  My youngest child, who recently graduated college and moved into her own apartment, was still in Kindergarten when this coffee went past its freshness date. Steve Irwin, aka The Crocodile Hunter, was still alive. On the music scene, Shakira's hips didn't lie, Kanye rapped about gold diggers, and Daniel Powter became famous for having a bad day.

Consider this a friendly reminder: clean out your cabinets, people. And when you do, let me know the oldest thing you find.

Saturday, March 12, 2022

Semi-homemade Saturday Stew

Today was one of those days when the weather was particularly nasty (freezing rain, followed by sleet, followed by snow) but we didn’t have much in the house in the way of food, so I had to get creative and start rummaging through the freezer.

I did have a few fresh vegetables--some carrots, a little celery, and a bunch of sliced mushrooms leftover from earlier in the week--and I always have frozen chopped onions and frozen peas on hand, so stew looked like a solid option. The only problem: all I could find in the way of protein was a bag of frozen cocktail meatballs from Trader Joe’s. Would those be a good substitute for the usual stew beef?

Yes. 1000 times yes. 

I threw everything into a crockpot with a container of beef broth and an envelope of instant brown gravy mix. When it comes to making gravy, I always make my own from scratch, because it's so easy and tastes so much better than the powdered version or from a jar . However, I've learned that a packet of instant gravy mix is a great way to add depth and richness to stews with very little effort, so I usually keep some in the pantry. Another great ingredient to add an extra layer of flavor: dry mustard, which I also added to the stew. Whenver I feel like a dish needs just a little "sumthin sumthin", a teaspoon of dry mustard adds that savory, umami note that was missing.

I set the crockpot to high for a couple of hours, just to get everything up to temperature, since there was a mix of frozen and fresh ingredients, and then I bumped it down to low for a couple more hours. I like my stew on the thicker side, so I melted 1/4 cup of butter and 1/4 cup of flour in a sauce pan, whisked it up and added that to the stew a few minutes before we were ready to eat, which made it the perfect consistency for serving over noodles. I also made some sourdough biscuits for dipping, using discard from my starter.  It ended up being a hearty, delicious meal, thrown together with ingredients we already had on hand. And just like that, I feel like I could win an episode of Chopped. 

Turning into Dr. Carol Marcus

Me, every time I remember to water a neglected houseplant and it manages to spring back one more time:



Friday, March 11, 2022

Recipe: Sugar-Free Banana Caramel Cake

I saw this Sugar-Free Yellow Cake mix and decided to give it a try. I've done quite a bit of sugar-free baking using Keto-friendly recipes, but couldn't pass up the chance to try something a little less labor intensive. A ready-made mix should be easy-peasy, right?

But then...

On the back of the box was a recipe for Banana Caramel Cake, and I couldn't resist going for it, especially since I already had all of the necessary ingredients in the house. Now, before you start in with "but bananas are high in sugar/carbs", bananas get a bad rap, thanks to Dr. Atkins and his low-carb fad diet. Bananas are a good source of fiber, vitamins, antioxidants, and they're considered a "resistant starch" so they don't have as big an impact on blood sugar levels. (Still think bananas are bad for you? Take a minute to read this article from Healthline.)

Although I did have store-bought sugar-free caramel in the house, I opted to make my own from this amazing sugar-free caramel sauce recipe by Carolyn Ketchum at All Day I Dream About Food.  If you're looking for some fantastic, sugar-free baking recipes, look no further--her recipes are THE BEST when it comes to taste and texture. She posts most of them on her website, but her book (linked below) is definitely worth buying. 

The finished cake was delcious, even before the caramel drizzle, and my husband also gave it a big thumbs up. You can easily use this recipe with regular cake mix, too, if sugar-free isn't your thing.

Amazon Affiliate link to The Ultimate Guide to Keto Baking

Wednesday, March 9, 2022

What's for Dinner Tonight? Chicken Marsala with Mushrooms

My daughter and her boyfriend come over for dinner every Wednesday night, so dinners are usually kicked up a notch (consider it a bribe to keep them coming back, lol).  


Tonight's menu: Arugula Caprese Salad, Chicken Marsala with Mushrooms, Mushroom Risotto, and Gingersnap Cookies

Arugala Caprese Salad
No complicated recipe needed for this one. We just put a small handful of baby arugula greens on a salad plate, added some small round pieces of mozzarella cheese, a few cherry tomatoes, sprinkled on some salt and pepper, and served it with a drizzle of olive oil and aged balsamic vinegar.

Chicken Marsala
I usually just wing it when it comes to Italian food, because I am a full-fledged Italian-American and that style of cooking is just intuitive for me after all of these years. This recipe from Once Upon a Chef is pretty close to the way I make Chicken Marsala, but I like to use a mix of different mushroom varieties (button mushrooms, baby bella mushrooms, and shitake mushrooms) and a little extra garlic and butter. I didn't use any thyme because I find it overpowering in a dish like this. 


Mushroom Risotto
I was feeling lazy so I actually used a store-bought brand rather than making the risotto from scratch, but I did add a little bit extra to it to give it a "homemade" flavor. I chopped up a few extra shitake mushrooms, sauteed them in butter with a heaping teaspoon of chopped shallots, and added it to the saucepan at the same time I added the rice. I melted in one extra pat of butter just before serving. I didn't do it this time, but I usually add a little grated parmesan cheese as well. 

Gingersnap Cookies
It snowed here today, so it put me in the mood for some wintry comfort food. My daughter has been trying to stay away from chocolate lately, so I opted for gingersnap cookies for dessert.  I used this easy recipe from Preppy Kitchen and they turned out great.

Tuesday, March 8, 2022

Monday, March 7, 2022

Sunday, March 6, 2022

Saturday, March 5, 2022

Fun at the Fabric Store

So, less than 24 hours after deciding it is finally time to start downsizing the mountain of craft supplies I have hoarded amassed over the past 30 years, I...went to the fabric store and came home with MORE stuff.

What can I say? Addiction isn't pretty.

In my defense, I went to the fabric store with a very specific mission in mind, and I purchased items that will be use specifically for the project at the top of my list: updating the window treatments and color scheme in my youngest daughters now-vacant bedroom.

When she was about 10 years old, I made a window seat cushion, matching pillows, and a couple of valances for her room, and I let her pick all of the fabrics. She ended up choosing lime green for the window seat, fire engine red for the curtains, and a whimsical floral pattern with cats on it for the pillows--and lord help me, I went with it. 

Now that she's all grown up and moved out into her own apartment, we painted her bedroom walls a neutral, light gray color, covering over the sunny lemon yellow walls that were chosen for her nursery 22 years ago. 

The gray is certainly more versatile, but...I miss the yellow (and her!). So, I decided to add some updated colors to the room that would coordinate well with gray. At first, I thought I would get something in a sunflower pattern, because that's her favorite flower, but I ended up falling in love with a different floral on a dark gray background. I'll be using that for the seat cushion, and for the new valances.  I'm going to make accent pillows in a golden yellow that matches colors in the main fabric, and a bolster pillow in the main fabric, too. 

That's the plan, anyway. First, I need to dust off the old Singer sewing machine and see if I still remember how to thread a bobbin and sew in a straight line. 

Friday, March 4, 2022

Downsizing the Craft Supply Stockpile

When my children were small, I loved doing crafts with them, and writing about it for magazines like Sesame Street Parents and Family Fun. I also wrote for many home decorating magazines, and even edited an entire issue of Woman's Day Walls, Windows & Floors


As a result, I've amassed quite the stockpile of craft supplies: acrylic paints, brushes, canvases, hot glue guns in various sizes, wood crafts, seashells, fake flowers, fabric, sewing patterns, felt in a rainbow of colors, metal stamping sets, every scrapbooking item you can possibly imagine, and SO much more. 

Now that my daughters are grown, I'm realizing that I need to start working my way through all this stuff. I'm probably going to end up giving most of it away, but as I've started sifting through it all, I've felt the pull to start crafting again, even if I'm doing it by myself. I'm looking forward to reconnecting with this long-neglected creative outlet, and posting the results here on the blog.

Thursday, March 3, 2022

Sage Advice from W.C. Fields

 This is one lesson it took me wayyyy too long to learn, but it's a mantra I repeat to myself often.



Wednesday, March 2, 2022

Banana Cream Pie Day - Recipes to Try

According to my daily calendar, today is Banana Cream Pie Day.  For those looking to celebrate, here are some recipes to suit a variety of dietary requirements:

TRADITIONAL All Recipes has a recipe for those looking to make a classic Banana Cream Pie that's completely homemade from scratch. For a quick-and-simple version, grab some banana pudding mix and try this one from Taste of Home.

SUGAR FREE This one from Sugar Free Diva is super-easy, thanks to the shortcut of using sugar-free Banana pudding mix 

KETO Leave to the Low Carb Maven to figure out a low-sugar, low carb version. 

CHOCOLATE Food Network star & talk show host Rachel Ray kicks things up a notch with a Chocolate Banana Cream Pie that comes together in just 22 minutes.

GLUTEN-FREE & DAIRY FREE What is this Vegan Banana Cream Pie witchcraft from Minimalist Baker? This one takes several hours to set, but if you're in need of a dairy-free, gluten-free option, it'll be worth the wait.

Tuesday, March 1, 2022

Mardi Gras!

It's the day before Ash Wednesday, known as "Fat Tuesday" or Mardi Gras. It's traditionally a day to feast (some might say, gorge?) in anticipation of the 40 day period of Lent observed by Christians. 

I've gone the route of "giving things up" for Lent, like chocolate or potato chips, but as I've gotten older, I've found it far more productive to focus on adding in a good behavior or two (or more!), rather than releasing a bad one. This year, I happen to have a list of several things I'd like to get back into, and blogging is one of them.  This is the only writing that I do strictly for myself, and even though my career-based workload is busier than ever, I'm going to do my best to carve out time each day to slap up a few thoughts here on the blog.

This Lenten season also just happens to coincide with the New Moon in Pisces (tomorrow, March 2nd), a time that is perfect for setting goals and manifesting things that you desire. I'll be curious to see just how many of the things on my list I'm able to achieve over the next 40 days. 

[A note about the photos: These are a couple of Carnevale di Venezia masks I purchased on my first and only trip to Venice, Italy, in 2006. They are both hand painted and Made in Italy. I love getting souvenirs that are original to the area I'm visiting, and even though I've never had occasion to wear these, I'm still happy I bought them.]