Category Archives: kitchen

Don’t Get Me Started

Oops too late. Last Sunday when I went downstairs to get some ravioli from our upright freezer, I discovered the dial was turned to off (must’ve been those damn faeries). Bummer! Everything inside the freezer had defrosted. I’m talking soups, … Continue reading

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Pure Gold in the Eye of the Beholder

A good friend and colleague of Offspring #4 stopped by yesterday with a promised gift of hen-of-the-woods mushrooms, otherwise known as quarin in the Piemontese dialect of Italian-Americans in our Illinois town and barbison or quarin in Colleretto and the … Continue reading

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Done! Done. Done.

Some years ago our family sold our comfortable condo at Missouri’s Lake of the Ozarks in order to acquire an actual house, a fixer upper located in a quiet cove off the lake’s main channel. By mutual agreement the family … Continue reading

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A Little Garlic Between Friends

I will be signing my Italian-American family sagas and mysteries during the Collinsville, Illinois, 2016 Italian Fest at Spirito’s Groceria on Main Street, Fri, Sept 16, 10 to 5; Sat, Sept 17, 10 to 2. And to celebrate this year’s … Continue reading

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My Knife Collection

I have this thing about kitchen knives. It began some years ago with a Christmas gift from No. 1 son M and family—a set of Henckel Knives and a hardwood block for storing the knives. Certainly sufficient for my culinary … Continue reading

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Marinara Sauce, My Way

Hubby D and I were driving home from our place at Missouri’s Lake of the Ozarks when my cell phone rang. It was my good friend E, who along with her husband J, have a successful year-round catering business, mostly … Continue reading

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Omelet, Anyone?

Unless I’m traveling, I seldom sit down to breakfast in a restaurant or diner. But when those few occasions do arise, I’m rarely satisfied with the results. Even when perusing a substantial buffet, I wind up with the most basic … Continue reading

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Casalago Construction and Squatters

Some time ago, March maybe, I did say we’d have the new addition to our Lake of the Ozarks house completed by Memorial Day, right? Boy was I ever wrong, which wouldn’t be a first for me. Always think positive, it’s a … Continue reading

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Peanut Butter Etcetera Cookies, My Way

Well, it’s that time of year again, usually the only time I bake cookies since the temptation would be too much for Hubby D and me if those delectable morsels were available year round. Besides, this Christmas season #1 son … Continue reading

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Kitchen Updates and Special Moments

Six days after the tear-out of our twenty-two-year-old ceramic tile kitchen floor, the new kitchen floor was declared ready to walk all-over, as was the family room floor previously covered in wall-to-wall carpeting. This practically maintenance-free porcelain tile has taken … Continue reading

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