This blueberry pie didn’t win any prizes, but at least I made it myself

Just when every other pie-maker is thinking about the fall flavors of apple and pumpkin, I’m thinking blueberry. That’s because, on the last day of August, I fulfilled my summer-long plan of making a blueberry pie. Not just any blueberry pie, mind you. It was my first blueberry pie **ever.** And getting around to my […]

How I managed six weeks of receptions, food included, for 40

Food preparation and presentation: Not my thing. Still. Especially after my dinner-date disaster earlier this month. Making food available and attractive for others is still my sore point, about 10 months after I vowed in public that I would do better. After turning 56 last October, I recognized my lifetime of laziness with respect to […]

I made him dinner. He said it was “adequate.” So I said goodbye.

Get this: There was a man courting me, and after a few restaurant meals together, I offered to make him dinner. Turns out, he was painfully honest about my cooking skills, such as they are. Then he was stunned when I showed him the door and ended his evening — probably earlier than he was […]

Bottom Line: Needing to scale back my eating

Time to order some stretch pants, perhaps? Looks like it, unfortunately, from all angles. I’m not counting on a close friend to tell me this, because I know this firsthand, and for a fact, too. It’s been several months since I’ve seen the better side of 160 pounds. I started this pseudo-cooking blog almost six […]

Newbie cook self-reports: I’m a ding-a-ling no more!

“Why was I such a ding-a-ling all these years?” My mother hesitated. Maybe, before she responded the other day, she was considering in which way I was presenting myself as a ding-a-ling this time. (There are several possibilities). I meant, why did I never bother with cooking until now, when I’m 56? I mean, really! […]

Cooking my first turkey became my own Christmas gift

Just like millions of households across America a few days past Christmas, my refrigerator holds the remains of a picked-over turkey. It’s ordinary post-holiday fare for most, but it’s extraordinary for me. My turkey isn’t fancy, but it’s flavorful. And best of all, it’s my first. This is the year when I am not just […]

Public suppers, casseroles make for perfect food fit

To everyone who learned how to make egg noodle casseroles in junior high home economics class more than 40 years ago — I have now drawn even with you. Turkey noodle casserole got me there, last week. “Casserole” has seemed like the perfect kind of public supper dish, to me through the years. I have […]