There is actually a story behind this key. This Christmas, we decided to let Alex pick out an ornament to add to our Christmas tree. We took him to a local garden center which is transformed into a winter wonderland store every Christmas. Of the many, many, many decorations there, he decided on this Santa’s […]
Tradition
For the past several years, I have been dressing our Christmas tree essentially the same way. Commenting on that fact to a co-worker who is also a very dear friend of mine, she responded, “Chris, that is what tradition is all about. ” And here I thought I was just being cheap. :D I mean all […]
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!
Christmas really snuck up on us this year. In fact, on Christmas Eve, I still couldn’t quite believe that Christmas would actually be the next day! Although we were busy till the very last minute, the actual Christmas day proved to be a quiet one. We are hoping though that things will perk up a […]
Our Thanksgiving Meal
Here are some photos of our simple but oh so delicious Thanksgiving meal. We ate around noon since there wasn’t much prep involved. Just had to heat the ham and scalloped potatoes, cook the green beans, and the rest was essentially done. And boy, did we thoroughly enjoy our meal! Hope you all did as well. […]
Happy Thanksgiving!
We’re spending Thanksgiving by ourselves again this year. As much as we’ll miss being with family and friends, we’re hoping to make up for it by having a totally relaxing day tomorrow. Last year, we actually had a beautiful (and warm) Thanksgiving day and we got to spend it at the zoo. However, I don’t think that will be happening […]
Banana Chiffon Cake
I think we’ve discovered another family favorite today. :D I first saw a banana chiffon cake recipe a few years ago but I never did get around to trying it. Then recently, I came across another banana chiffon recipe, this time in Martha Stewart’s new cake book – Martha Stewart’s Cakes. It renewed my interest once again and I […]
Apple Upside-Down Cake
Keith and I have gone through two cakes (and I don’t mean slices) and are now cutting into our third one in just four days. I mean somebody has to try them to make sure they are good before I actually post the recipe, right? :D Since it is apple season, I wanted to make an apple dish but without using any […]
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 […]