Best of Mother Earth

It’s cold and miserably wintery out, doesn’t this apple cinnamon spice energy tea sound positively wonderful? One stick of inch loss green,red,and white tea.6 oz of hot water2 tbsp of unsweetened apple juice1 tsp of orange juice dash of cinnamon heat water, add one tea stick, add other ingredients and stir who says when losing [...]

It’s cold and rainy today. Perfect day for a stew. This recipe is particularly aromatic. The smell of when I was young. Comforting. Brown 2 lbs of floured stew meat in oil. Add 4 C boiling Water. I T of lemon juice, 1 teas of worcestershire sauce, 1 large clove of garlic crushed, 1 large onion [...]

Need something to make with all those fresh apples you have around? I made a unique Waldorf Salad for one last night with what I had in the house. It was delicious!!Chop up one apple and one stalk of celery.  Add candied ginger and sunflower seeds.  For the dressing mix together plain yogurt with a bit of honey and [...]

My new neighbors Becky and Matt are absolutely wonderful.  They are young, hip, kind and an absolute gas to hang around.  I adore their one hundred plus year old house. I think it’s wild that our house closing date is the same. They moved in last year. I can’t wait to celebrate the love for our homes a year from [...]

I get a hankering for beans.  Maybe that’s weird, but I love them!!  I have been trying to replicate the black beans I ate in Costa Rica and have yet to find the taste I recall so affectionately.  However I recently tried this recipe and loved it.   I completely neglected to bookmark the site where [...]

Someone told me that if you take a portabello mushroom and marinate it for DAYS, that it’s exceptional grilled.  So I tried it, and sure enough. It was just superb. I began experimenting with stovetop grilling and found that I liked that too! An even better trick is to create salad-centric meals and apply the marinade concept [...]

Corn beef dinner or boiled dinner as some call it, was something we always looked forwards to growing up. My mom never swayed from the basics and reliably there was always a good rye bread and plenty of butter. What was missing in my growing up was having good company over to share it with. We just [...]

My chiropractor and I always share recipes.   She was sharing her love of vegetable side dishes yet expressing how tired she gets of cooking them the same way all the time!  I couldn’t agree moreThis recipe, something she made for a holiday meal,  sounded just wonderful. Tonight I tried it. Cook 6 strips of bacon until crumbly.  I [...]

  I have a big tin full of recipes written on index cards. This one in particular is rather worn.  Yet somehow in all the years this recipe has sat in my recipe box, I don’t EVER remember making it.  I treasure this recipe.  Just loved when my mom made it while growing up.  She made it at all different [...]

I have always wanted to make this soup. Not sure why I haven’t before because it’s positively wonderful. With Halloween in the air I guess I was in the mood for something orange! pumpkin pile flickr sourcedPlace oiled wedges of squash, flesh side down in a roasting pan.  I piled mine in the center of [...]

You must think we never eat with the lack of recipes from the heart posts around here. Truth is after 130 recipes or so I wasn’t really cooking anything new. Like tonight this is a retread of something I adore making…served tonight with a cast iron skillet grilled garlic lemon chicken and a pear, pecan and [...]

Bless me father for I have sinned. I ate TWO BLT sandwiches this evening. This is the first of my tomato confesssions.  I admit to being a repeat offender. When my very first slicing tomato ripened I called my friend and author Pat Martin and said OK I’m throwing some bacon in the pan – you’re invited.Happiness is [...]

For those of you in Michigan who eat salads this post is not for you. However if you think a salad is iceberg lettuce, than maybe you might want to read further. I remember when salads became the perk to a meal. Get such and such dinner and the salad is included. I think this was a way [...]

A Middle Eastern restraunt that I enjoy tremendously serves fabulous turkish coffee. It comes in a teeny tiny cup and saucer, remarkably dark and extremely aromatic. Each sip is rich with espresso and the smell of cardamom. The grinds sit at the bottom of the cup.  I personally can’t drink the stuff as it’s like rocket fuel in my body – makes my [...]

Sometimes you need stove top, fast, and summery – for me summery means light.  Growing up there was an influx of convenient meals from a box; beginning with your Kraft classic mac – n- cheese to Hamburger Helper. Remember these?I was lucky that my mother was horrified by these and cooked from scratch.  I say lucky because [...]

There was a tag on the organic asparagus. It said cream of asparagus soup and I thought, I’ve never made that!  The tag sat on the counter for weeks. This last grocery shop I bought a stunning orange tomato. Normally I don’t buy hothouse or tomatoes off season, instead I inhale them once they are [...]

Today this very fine April day…you know spring in Chicago and all –  it was snowing when I took the dog for a walk. I was wearing a hat, gloves and my winter coat. Excuse me? The term brisk walk had new meaning. Snow and flowers – does that make ANY sense to you? Short Post.I adore [...]

I have absolutely no idea where this Cheese Dunk recipe comes from. It is on a worn baby blue index card that was buried in my large square tin of eclectic recipes that I seemingly always forget I have.  I went to a little local social gig at a glorious arty, home decor and exquisite clothing store in [...]

I left the house 11 hours ago and feel a bit like a whipped dog. One of my things to do today was grocery shopping. Ever come home from the grocery store with nothing to eat? I didn’t actually do that, but what I intended to  actually make I just didn’t feel like making. In a creative what can [...]

We sometimes have breakfast for dinner. Do you ever do that? My daughter made this request awhile back and I have been thinking about it ever since. With all things eggy this time of year it seemed to be an especially good time to make it.I was first introduced to this delectable dish while working at [...]

In just a few hours, Chicago will dye it’s river green, as it has every Saturday before St Patrick’s Day for 40 years. I have always wondered if this was polluting the river. Turns out that from the beginning the lephrechaun –ish antics of those who began this tradition have always had this same concern. The [...]

Short Post.Bless me bloggers for I have sinned, my last recipe from the heart was ions ago, you must think we are starving here…truth is I haven’t made anything new that I haven’t already posted about. It’s been the land of ordinary or in a hurry or comforting boring food. Until today. I had a leftover [...]

Today was way more productive than I give the day credit. The reason I say that is I got myself in a funk. The reasons for my funk are some of the same things that always funk me out. Today I just let it get to me. I was funky. We are also getting into the bowels of [...]

I adore this recipe, it reminds me of a romantic tapas place I use to eat at with my ex. We would share everything, eat a zillion courses and take our sweet time. I love eating that way. It was pricey and always made me feel decadent and really special. This particular recipe alot of soup and is perfect for these [...]

I must be in a retro mood. Meatloaf over the weekend, this casserole tonight. Isn’t meat loaf and casseroles typical 50′s fare? I should know those kinds of cooking trivia, but I don’t really gather information like thatTo me casseroles are something that usually requires a Campbell soup product. I won’t use anything thats got 6 million mg of [...]

I was walking the dog today and the sun was setting. The copper eaves on several buildings facing south looked as if they were outlined in flames. It was the way they captured the descending light. Looking through a row of black branches of trees it was so remarkably pretty.  I stopped and watched it disappear, my dog sitting [...]

Last night I roasted a turkey breast (yum), a done that been there recipe from the heart.Tonight the stove burners were a humming as I had to make use of some italian sausage I forgot to freeze, and some must use up now fresh spinach. I try really really hard to use all that I buy [...]

After completing SELP ( self expression leadership program ) through the Landmark Education curriculum in 1997. Sara said, ”We can’t stop this let’s get together for dinner”  Laughingly she then said, “Let’s start at Karen’s house — she can cook!!” 11 years later, 3 of us still meet and cook for each other! All of us are darn [...]

Got in over my head with our celebrating on the 23rd – the last few days a bit of a blur – Here are the recipes to make nog, stuffed pork tenderloin and cheesy potatoes, as I promised: Shared with holiday love from our menuEgg Nog When I go online or check out my library for nog [...]

When it looks like this outside… recipes like Winter Beef Stew are just perfectFence and Vine Covered with Snow in My YardI was writing Chef Kelly Fisher’s Newsletter  this month and wrote about this recipe my mom used to make When I knew this storm was going to hit I decided how perfect. I am going to make it. [...]

Thanksgiving, my daughter’s birthday, month end/month begins and holiday churn has me feeling rather crazy – sortof spinning things too fast in my head and heart. I feel excited and detached – sortof like a machine on automatic. As I try,  I see it’s really hard to explain. I gauge chaos by the condition of my [...]

Today I baked what could be defined as our family favorite. It’s a recipe by all definition and from my perspective totally not healthy. Pre-made Cake Mix, Canned Pie Mix, white flour, food dye’s, hydrogenated whatever. The alternative food queen’s nightmare. However the once a year that I make it is probably OK in comparison to so many who [...]

The advantage of having someone else do the cooking on Thanksgiving is pretty obvious – can you say relaxing??  That it was. At the same time it does not offer the bounty of turkey leftovers. My wonderful friend who prepared an astounding feast this year did give me a small treasure trove container of white [...]

This recipe is a bit of a tease for you because it was a gift to me from Helen, at A Finch Nest.  You won’t have access to the bean and pea variety she included in the glass jar nor will you have the garni bag. Yet if your intrigued by the recipe perhaps you can bug [...]

I knew that my day today would have me make something quick for dinner. I chose a favorite recipe – creamy pasta with peas Today I wanted to make the adult version and add arugula (yum) , only to find myself also throwing some asparagus in the grill skillet with some balsamic vinegar. When we sat down to eat, I [...]

In case you are expecting me to speak french, and that this is going to be a fancy recipe – think again. Yes in title the recipes are french, I am partly french canadien and today I was inspired by my William Sonoma French Cookbook, yet if you haven’t noticed by now I often start with [...]

This weekend I put the tomato beds to rest. Love the smell of the dirt and being outside. I can’t say I am a devoted gardener. I tend to get all inspired by the blossoming of spring, plant great seeds or seedlings and then get completely distracted or lazy. Limited space gave me 3 tomato plants [...]

when time gets away from you take advantage of what you’ve got and recycle it thus a former post for your burger drooling pleasureTonight’s version was with shredded zucchini, goat cheese crumbles and window ripened tomato slices from the garden eaten quickly the day a bit of a blur

It’s 58 degrees today and cloudy. No — I am not now doing the weather report!! I am clear this is probably my most favorite temperature ever.  I could live with this temperature every single day – perhaps with the sun shining, but even without the sun shining — today just felt wonderful. With an autumn birthday it’s always [...]

So I whine a little about global warming and a really hot autumn day over the weekend only to have today be almost brisk out.  Go figure – huh?Perfect day for making a meatloaf. My recipe is from a Better Homes and Garden Cookbook my mom got for me at a garage sale – at the [...]

I want you to know that  the 10 day plan is working out quite well. I had a trip out to get butter yesterday (which I never bought – do you believe that? ) and picked up a few fresh vegetables and fruit.  I still am working the plan. Yesterday was day 9. Something like that.  I think [...]

Happiness is the way Friday’s feels, left overs (especially when one is sick), a daughter who likes to bake and is home on a friday night and a brand new recipe to try from Martha.Thank you my sweet, Katezucchini – parmesan loaf preheat oven to 375brush bread pan with oil and dust w/ flour – tap [...]