The first thing you need to know about no-bake cookies is that, though it’s true they don’t have to be baked, they still have to be cooked.  So you’re gonna need a pan and a stove.  The second thing you need to know about no-bake cookies is that you need to make some.  Right now.  [...]

The 4th of July means food, fun, fireworks, friends, family, and fattening festivities.  If you want to make a patriotic splash at the party this year, try these star-spangled ideas:   When it comes to kids (including this particularly adorable one, who happens to be mine), a little red, white and blue can go a [...]

The Bosch Universal Kitchen Machine ticks me off.  It sits there in my kitchen, taunting me, making me feel guilty.  I mean, if it didn’t work very well, that would be one thing.  I’d just taunt it right back.  But the thing is, it’s really, really good.  It makes everything easy.  It’s powerful and efficient, kneading [...]

In the midst of all this Spring cleaning, I’ve mentioned several times that you can use household items and organic cleaners as an alternative to the chemical-laden formulas in commerical cleaners.  If you’re interested in greener cleaning, check out this post over at A Must Ment, detailing 25 ways you can use plain white vinegar [...]

My friend Lily, born and raised in China, makes some very tasty food.  She generously offered to give a demonstration for a few friends, and allowed me to bring my camera along.  I only wish this computer had smell-o-vision, so I could do justice to the heavenly aromas wafting from the kitchen.  But we’ll just [...]

Egg salad.  Yuck.  Sounds gross.  But guess what?  It’s not.  And I’m a pretty picky eater, so I should know.  It’s just good old-fashioned comfort food, plus it’s a great way to use up the leftover Easter eggs, especially the ones that got mangled when you peeled them.  Or that had a greenish yolk from [...]

The key to boiling eggs right is actually not to boil them.  Yeah, you heard me.  Don’t boil them. Also, start with eggs that are less-than-fresh if you plan on peeling them at any point.  Here’s what you do:   Put the eggs in a pot.  Cover with cold water.  You should really only have one layer of [...]

My turn to host Book Club happened to fall on April Fool’s Day.  In the name of fun and foolishness, I made “Grilled Cheese Sandwiches” for dessert.  I wish I could say everyone was totally fooled until they took the first bite, but they all knew something was up.  Still, it was fun.  Here’s how [...]

Dilemma:  It’s lunch time, and you feel guilty for the Brownie Bites you had for breakfast.  You need something to ease your conscience (and your waistband), but you really don’t want to cook.  Solution:  Always, always have salad greens in your fridge.  Costco sells a big carton of organic mixed greens for, like, $3.50.  Keep [...]

No raindrops on roses (we’ve been getting snow) or whiskers on kittens (ours ran away), bright copper kettles (I have stainless) or warm woolen mittens (Thinsulate gloves around these parts).  No brown paper packages tied up with string (but I do have an ongoing affair with Amazon, and its brown cardboard boxes with the smile [...]