Chilled Shrimp and Cucumber Soup

Summer officially arrived last weekend.  Today’s hot and muggy weather bears testament to why a chilled soup that requires almost no cooking is a perfect summer meal.  Little additional heat is generated to produce this light and filling soup.  Prepared in minutes, other fresh herbs such as parsley or mint can be substituted for the fresh dill.
Toss 2 large [...]

Slightly Spooky

Today on Michael Feldman’s “What’Ya Know” radio show on NPR, a guest was describing an incident in her life that she found to be incredibly shameful.  At a low point in her life, she was forced to sell everything she owned.  At the yard sale, a man offered her $7.00 for her children’s pet dog, and she agreed.  [...]

Sales(wo)manship

Just about one month ago, wistful notions of once again driving my now departed Saab convertible rushed through my veins.  It was a beautiful spring day and other Saab nuts were out tooling around having fun–making me incredibly jealous and lonely for just one drive.
Fortunately, sanity returned in short order, but the real end of the story has to include how I [...]

Hens and Chickens

My Grandmother called them Hens and Chicks, or, Cats and Kittens.  In this climate, the two larger plants in the lower section of the pot will grow just a little more, sending out runners that will produce more chicks or kittens.  Three other succulents–sedum, wall pepper and glabra–fill the rest of the pot. 
This is a fun and easy [...]

Bumper Stickers

Winning bumper sticker of the day today is:  “I fish and I vote.”  Seeing that on a well-used pick-up truck today made me start thinking of other possible combinations.  For example, a corollary would be “I hunt and I vote.”  Each implies that the voting choice would be directly related to how each candidate stood [...]

Attack of the Giant Grasshopper or is it a Praying Mantis?

Risking life and limb for the sake of my loyal readers–just part of an ordinary day for your intrepid mild-mannered blogger.

Memoir in Six Words

 
In today’s newspaper I noticed a catchy header on an article about a writing website.  Naturally, I zoned in and read the details.  The website (www.smithmag.net) is dedicated to the love of writing.  According to the man who founded the online magazine, Larry Smith, Hemmingway was asked to write a six-word story.  He wrote:  “For sale:  baby shoes, never worn.”  It struck Smith as [...]

Smokey Corn Chowder

Love this super fast chowder because it works on the day there isn’t a drop of chicken broth in the house.  Chop 1/2 cup onion and saute in 4 tablespoons butter until tender.  Blend in 1/4 cup flour, 1 teaspoon salt, and 1/8 teaspoon pepper.  Add 4 cups milk.  Cook and stir until bubbly and thickened.  Stir in [...]

Go Blue and White

Although a dedicated Penn State fan, I am currently most impressed by my blue and white garden box.  The blue morning glories are starting to grow at an astonishing rate.  Planted two weeks before the white moonflowers, the blues have a slight edge, but the rest are feeling the heat–literally.   When the night is warmer [...]

Field of Magazine Dreams

I love magazines.  All kinds of magazines.  Magazines dedicated to cooking, magazines dedicated to decorating, style and fashion magazines, business or sports–you pick a genre.  If they print it I will read it.  Cover to cover, usually.  At the very least, each  article is at least quickly scanned to see if there is something that [...]