May is National Egg Month. It is really not hard to find recipes that include eggs; they are used in a lot of ways. They may be found in cakes, cookies, breads, casseroles, salads, pies, plus many other dishes. They are eaten boiled, baked, fried, scrambled, shirred, poached, deviled; I am sure there are other cooking methods I haven’t mentioned. For many years, eggs had a bad reputation. It was thought that they were a significant cause of high cholesterol. …..
What would life be without asparagus? If that question had been asked of me as a child, I would have answered, “Wonderful!” I hated the stuff. My parents loved it, though, and so springtime meals were often a challenge for me. There was a large patch of asparagus that grew in the backyard of my childhood home. Dad also knew where lots of it grew wild in a ditch close to our house. While other families considered asparagus to be…..
Spring arrives on March 19th this year. It seems early, but we have been waiting all winter for the news that spring has sprung. However, winter doesn’t always listen to the fact that it is supposed to be gone, so we can’t depend on it to completely go away for several weeks yet. Since March is National Flour Month, I decided to focus this particular column on that subject. I am sometimes asked about the differences in flour types –…..
February is National Hot Breakfast Month. As I sit here trying to decide what to write about, I have the recipes already chosen for this week’s column. My breakfast is over; yes, I did try one of the recipes this morning. Now I need to figure out what else to say. Thinking of breakfast brings to mind a radio program my mother often turned on in the mornings: Don McNeill’s Breakfast Club. My sisters and I loved to listen to…..
People frequently comment about how much they enjoy reading about my grandchildren. If you are one of those folk, this one’s for you! On Thursday evening, my telephone rang. Caller ID informed me that my son Adam was on the other end of the line. However, when I answered the call, I heard nothing. Then, in the background, I heard Adam telling someone, “Say ‘Hi, Grammie!’” A little voice promptly obeyed. When I replied, two-year-old Colton began a long spate…..
Have you ever known the meaning of a word when you hear it, but not recognized it in its written form? One that confused me for a lot of years was“compromise.” I read it as “compromise.” I knew what a compromise was,but didn’t associate it with the printed word. Or how about “chaos?” That’s another one that can really be confusing. I have heard it pronounced several different ways when people are reading aloud, “chows” and “chy-oes” being among them. Who would…..
What better month of the year to designate as National Apple Month than October! Business is brisk at the local orchards as lots of folks flock there to purchase their favorite apple varieties. I went to one fairly close to me last week to obtain some Jonagolds. Making things with apples has long been a tradition in the Ray household. I couldn’t even begin to number all the recipes I have tried. Most of them have turned out well, although…..
“Into each life some rain must fall” is a line from a poem written by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. The same lyric is also declared in a song featuring Ella Fitzgerald and the Inkspots. Both of these depict a hard season of existence. However, there is another way to think about rainy days. Ask any farmer or gardener and you will hear that rain can be a blessing. Thirsty plants gain much-needed moisture to help them along their path to maturity. …..
One of the most frequent comments I hear about my column is, “I love the stories about your grandchildren!” So for those readers who enjoy them, this one’s for you! Elijah (2-1/2) is the source of the latest stories. He seems to have taken his older sister Vivian’s spot as a main source of family humor. Heather (his mother) called me one day and asked if I had time for an Elijah story. Of course I did! She had taken…..
I sorted through a lot of Christmas decorations trying to decide which ones I wanted to use this year. Many of them brought back fond memories of my husband and children, especially the Christmas stockings that I had made for each of us. One stocking, however, took me even further back. When I was preschool age, my Aunt Barbara sewed preprinted flannel stockings for my sisters and me. We used them for a year or two, but then our parents…..