Boiled Cider

This came about from my quest of trying to infuse more flavor in an apple cake without using spices.  I considered using apple cider to replace part or all of the liquid in an adapted recipe. Then, I thought why not take it one step further and concentrate the apple cider to get a more intense flavor. […]

Our First Snowstorm

Snowstorm in October? It’s actually not unusual or unexpected in Northeast Ohio but boy, was it a pain when we had one last week! Our backyard looked like a disaster zone with broken tree limbs everywhere – I think we must have had at least 20 decent-size branches down, with several of them on our roof. And of course, […]

Stir-Fried Sugar Snap Peas with Tomatoes

I don’t usually have anything in mind when I shop for veggies to go with our meal. I buy what looks good and is reasonably priced. This week, the sugar snap peas fit the bill and they were so good that they really didn’t need much embellishment. I did my usual quick stir-fry, threw some tomatoes in at the […]

Chicken in Black Bean Garlic Sauce

Okay, here’s part of my Sunday schedule…woke up, got ready, did grocery, rushed home, put chicken and sauce in slow cooker (Keith put away the rest of the grocery…thank goodness), stuffed my face with a quick lunch (not pretty), rushed to work, came home, ate yummy chicken. :D So, let’s have a big round of […]

Stir-Fried Green Beans with Eggs

A childhood dish that never gets old, this is as homestyle as it can get. My mum used to cook this dish at least once a week. It was served with every dish imaginable…steamed meat, soup, stew, fried chicken, or fish, and everything’s served with rice, of course. :D Here, I’m pairing it with the […]

Rotisserie Chicken Porridge

Another busy week flew by…due to the lack of time in our lives, I often cook in huge quantities (enough to last us several meals). It’s not exactly an ideal situation but at least we get to have a home-cooked meal most days. Usually, I would make something tried and true, of course. It has to be […]

Chocolate Raspberry Muffins

I miss blogging, believe it or not :) despite its time-consuming process but I just can’t find the time or energy to do it lately. Between homeschooling and work (not to mention the still depressed and anxious “puppy” who’s continuing to keep us up at night), blogging has been put on the back burner for now. I still […]

Coconut Agar-Agar

Happy Fourth of July! No huge cookout for us (especially since Cyber decided to keep us up all night last night…thank goodness it’s a holiday today!) but I’ve managed to muster up some energy :D to make one of my favorite summer desserts – coconut agar-agar. Agar-agar is a vegetarian substitute for gelatin, and was more […]

Depressed Puppy

Although Cyber is thirteen and a half years old, he’ll always be our “puppy.” He’s the youngest of our three dogs and had never been without another dog his entire life until the day we had to let Darwin go. Since then, he has turned into a depressed and highly anxious pup. He paces around […]

In Loving Memory of Darwin

Last Friday, we made one of the hardest decisions in our lives – putting down our 15-year-old dog, Darwin. We hope that he is no longer in pain and is happily reunited and playing with his sister, Max at Rainbow Bridge. Our youngest and only dog, Cyber has been “crying” for the past five days […]