About Me

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My friends call me the "grammar goddess." Really. ;-) I own a freelance writing, editing and tutoring business. Previously, I served three years as food editor for The Morning Sun in Mt. Pleasant, which kindled my interest in food writing. My other areas of expertise in writing include features, community news, architecture/construction and engraving/personalization. I have a frightening number of cookbooks and watch too many DIY, HGTV, Food Network, Cooking Channel and Antiques Roadshow (BBC and PBS versions) shows. And I tweak nearly every recipe I make.

Thursday, January 11, 2018

Old cookbooks, real food and the dangers of online shopping

My friend, Michelle, and I had an interesting discussion a while back. 

It started with a search for a recipe she wanted from Plimouth Plantation involving rabbit with gooseberries. 

Armed with that knowledge, I went hunting and found it. 

Plimouth Plantation's website has an incredible assortment of books (including some cookbooks I thought Michelle might want to check out of her library, which is a great way to see if you'd use a cookbook). 

Ah, the dangers of online shopping abound. I did come up with some possibilities in terms of cookbooks for Michelle, but I probably saved half of them to my Amazon list. Here's the most recent addition to my list of desired cookbooks, Barefoot in Paris by Ina GartenAnd other books, too. If I got everything on my list and did nothing but read for a year, I still might not finish all of them. See what being helpful can do for you? 

Unfortunately, that's just a small portion of my Amazon list. But I did get to take a couple of things off it thanks to some lovely Christmas gifts. 

How was your holiday? Did you get what you wanted? 

Tuesday, January 9, 2018

Happy New Year: try my favorite recipes from the holiday season

My New Year's resolution is simple: update the blog more often. 

I last updated about a year-and-a-half ago. Time flies. 

I really have no excuse for it. What have I been doing? Everything and nothing. (On Facebook, I'd be accused of vague booking. Here, I guess it'd be vague blogging. 

The last two things I made are chocolate dipped Oreos (I dipped them in bittersweet melted chips and put on wax paper in freezer to harden; they weren't pretty, but hey, they were chocolate) and Braunschweiger liver pâté; it's similar to this recipe but with some major differences: 


I ditched the chili powder, used roasted garlic powder (1/4 tsp. and minced onion (1 tsp) instead of fresh. I also added ketchup and French's yellow mustard to taste (about 2 TBSP and 1 tsp., respectively - and it varies by brand, so you need to taste it) as well as about 1 TBSP of McCormick's Bac'n Bits. I had no bacon on hand, or I probably would have put a couple of slices of crumbled bacon in. I have since solved that problem. 

Aesthetically, it wasn't outstanding. For the first time ever, large chunks of cream cheese flecked the spread. I could not get them to completely blend in and that bothered me. I've made this several times, and that never happened before. I did leave it at room temperature for 45 minutes. Perhaps it needs to be colder to blend properly? Anyway, the pâté is gone, too, so I have no photos. 

My preferred chilling time is at least four hours, but overnight is even better. Another note: there's also a difference between the Jones and the Oscar Mayer brands of Braunschweiger. I feel the Oscar Mayer is more authentic, but both are good.

Bonus: I made a huge number of cookies for gifts and in doing so, discovered an awesome product. Krusteaz Bakery Style Gingerbread Cookie Mix was the best mix I used. (I was a bit crunched for time.)

Will make all three again soon for a belated holiday celebration. When I do, I'll take and post photos.