The petite woman knocking gently on the door of ER bay 17 last Wednesday opened it slightly and poked her head through. “May I come in?” she said softly. Everyone else had rapped loudly and bustled in and out. I nodded and moved to make room for her near the gurney where my father lay….
Category: Gluten-Free
Chicken Cutlets with Mustard-Cream Sauce
Wednesday afternoon. Last to-do: pick up some Chardonnay to serve with chicken cutlets, steamed rice, and broccoli. Kai the husky was riding shotgun, his preference any time a car door is open. Sometimes he even settles behind the steering wheel, and I have to flat out tell him he can’t drive. We had just left the…
Baked Eggs II
“These dogs have it made,” my husband declared, surveying three shaggy mounds reclining under and around our breakfast table. They could say the same about you, I replied, as I put a prosciutto-lined ramekin of eggs baked with cream on the placemat in front of him. One for B, and one for me. Freshly cut…
Two-fer: Fig Bruschetta & Fig Bites
Until he gave them up for good a few years ago, my husband loved Fig Newtons with an intensity people usually reserve for their favorite sports teams. I would buy five or six packages at a time and store them on a certain shelf in the pantry, so he’d always have a ready supply. He…
Snapshot: Watermelon Plugs
Did you catch the video making social media rounds recently showing another new way to cut and serve a watermelon? It’s simple and works great. Pictured above is a mini-melon, the perfect size for my small household. Slice it in half on a cutting board. Place one of the halves cut side down. Slice it…
Vanilla Buttercream Frosting
Last born had a birthday on Sunday. After warm spinach-artichoke dip and zingy cucumber dip; after frozen strawberry margaritas whose fruit factor was boosted with homemade strawberry jam; after burgers and hot dogs sizzling from the grill, sweet and bacony baked beans, and potato-egg salad with fronds of fresh dill (that I should have chopped…
Strawberry Jam
Silly me. I must have misread the label on the strawberry plants I bought last month. I thought I was buying a variety called Ozark Beauty. Instead, I must have bought some called Ant Food, by mistake. Good thing there’s a strawberry farm in nearby Cabot, Arkansas, that grows lusciously sweet fruit, scarlet to the…
Chicken with Beans & Tomatoes
This is one of my top ten favorite recipes. It’s comfort food. Source is Real Simple magazine, and it’s the reason I try to keep pots of oregano and thyme growing on my deck most of the year. Here’s how to make it, with minor adaptations. Chicken with Beans and Tomatoes 2 15.5-ounce cans cannellini…
Cheese Soup
One box of fart bombs, please, I said, smiling at the toyshop owner. I put the small, red box emblazoned with caution tape – “MEGA STINKY! GAS MASK REQUIRED!” – on the counter. The shopkeeper grinned back. It had been his idea, after all. And that’s it for my weak defense. I’m the one who…
Chicken Tortilla Soup (In Case You Missed It)
Sometimes a bowl of soup is just a bowl of soup, and sometimes it bears the weight of a thousand prayers for protection and swift return. ♦ ♦ ♦ A soldier I know left for faraway lands last month, honoring his promise to support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies….
Cookbook Wall 