On Saturday night, after a fun Halloween party filled with dancing and costumed elementary school kids, I baked banana bread. It was pretty late, but I think all the sugar I consumed at the party gave me an unusual amount of extra energy. I have one of those rather un-stylish yet very handy digital alarm clocks that automatically updates to the current time in the event the cord gets accidentally unplugged. You'd be surprised at how often that happens. However, for reasons beyond my ... Read more

On a scale of 1 to 10 (10 being Julia Child), I would rate myself somewhere between a 5 and a 6 when it comes to cooking. I'm a good recipe-follower, but I'm not too innovative in my culinary endeavors. But these salmon croquettes are entirely of my own creation, and they are scrumptious, if I do say so myself. It is essentially un-mess-up-able and my finicky daughter who hates any food containing fish devours these. It helps that they are full of buttery mashed potatoes and are fried up in ... Read more

I'm not a huge fan of plums or apricots, but when presented with the hybrid pluot, I'm all over it. I'm smitten with the orange-pink hue of the fruit and its tart yet sweet flavor. I adapted Ina Garten's Pear, Apple and Cranberry Crisp to create a cozy, comforting dessert. I halved the recipe, replaced the fruit with pluots and baked them in individual little bowls. It's very, very yummy. That pretty grey fabric is a remnant from a sewing project I'm working on that I'll share with you ... Read more

So, I am tracing and cutting patterns today and in between those tasks, I thought I would make a jelly roll cake. But no. I followed the instructions to the letter, and still the cake cracked all over the place. So instead of a roll, they are flat: ...and I thought maybe I should add some jelly... ...and hey, why not slice them and make them mini layer cakes and style the whole thing a little differently? But no. I'm afraid this wasn't one of my better desserts. It's edible ... Read more