The fact that I have this recipe is all Corrine’s fault.

You see Corrine loves her husband very much. Her husband really loves apple butter. However, once upon a time, Corrine didn’t know how to make apple butter. I guess they don’t have it in the Great Frozen North.

Corrine taught me how to make jam in 2007. That was the same year that Corrine & her family discovered several apple trees on public land, and watching several apples just rot on the ground below the trees. I recall her watching for quite a bit of time, hoping someone would come grab the apples before just going and doing it herself. As I recall, the family ended up with a couple of five gallon buckets full of cute green apples.… Continue reading →

I don’t think it’s possible to relate to you, in writing, how much I love butternut squash. I think you’d understand if you were to eat some with me, or if you’d been here as our CSA shares kept coming in with squash. I was utterly delighted.

Unfortunately, I don’t have a perfect knack for storing these guys. We’ve lost about two from the CSA to mushy areas that I’ve read make them inappropriate to eat. I wonder if my Grandma Ella would have said otherwise; I wish I could ask her.

Even with those losses, though, I have several squashes in my pantry to make into new and delightful food creations. The tricky part is finding ways to use them up without making enough to feed an army.… Continue reading →

Once upon a time, a friend told me that if I ever wanted to hitch a ride with them to Costco, to see if I wanted a membership too, to just let her know. She spoke of the glories of bulk buying, and I was intrigued.

So, one day in late December, I decided to take her up on it. She said she wasn’t available that day, but her boyfriend would be, and I was welcome to ask him. She told me not to get my hopes up, though, as he hates the place with a passion. I figured I might as well try.

There was no rule, however, that I couldn’t stack the deck in my favor. So I sent him a couple of text messages inviting him to Costco:

“Hey, handsome!… Continue reading →

Anyone who knows me knows I love my desserts an awful lot. I pretty much will not pass them up if offered, and I choose to get a dessert (hopefully to split with someone) almost every time I eat out with any deliberation (meaning, not the days Bill and I look at our well-stocked pantry and say, “There’s nothing to eat!”).

Dessert at home is a much more rare occurrence. We occasionally have ice cream in the freezer, and I occasionally will bake something in advance. However, because of my tendencies to hoover down desserts, we try not to keep these things around. If I bake cookies, I try to give at least some of them away. We only buy ice cream in pint sizes, and then make them last two to three days (with each of us having some).… Continue reading →