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Let’s Cook: A Helpful Ring

Last summer, I was doing a bit of cleaning in our attic and came across a box of telephones that we had saved. In the box was Jan’s coffee brown rotary dial phone that she had when she taught in Wolford, our pink princess telephone from our pink bedroom, and a unique green phone that had been used at our studio in Rugby. In fact, all phones that we had ever owned were in this box. Lots of memories came floating out of that box, and it was for that reason I couldn’t toss them out. So back in the attic they went. In November, I retrieved them and used them in a program to celebrate ...

The holiday cookie swap is an evergreen tradition, a terrific way to share sweetness and celebrate community (and lighten our holiday baking loads!). The premise is simple: Each guest is tasked with bringing a few dozen home-baked cookies. At the party, everyone gets to sample and share, and ...

Prairie Fare: What ingredient swaps work in recipes?

“I made your recipe, but mine doesn’t look anything like the photo,” the caller said. “I’m not sure what happened,” she added. After we talked a while, I figured out the rest of the story. She was making a muffin recipe, but she was missing a few ingredients in her cupboard. She began substituting the recipe ingredients with other items she had on hand. I counted five swaps as she described what she made. She had invented a new recipe. She said the end product was “edible.” She laughed as we visited about her kitchen experimentation. She said she would give ...

Prairie Fare: Let’s not waste food during the holiday season

“Mom, what if raw meat juice dripped on a pear in my fridge?” my daughter asked in a text. “If I wash it, will it be safe to eat?” I like when my young adult children finally think I know something. I thought about the potential organisms that might be in the meat juice. Meat juice could contain Salmonella or E. coli, for example. In some cases, ingesting just 10 cells of a microorganism can make you extremely ill. Sometimes foodborne illnesses can be fatal or have lifelong health consequences. Could the juice have permeated the peeling through a blemish or cut and ...

Simple steps toward reducing waste this holiday season

By KATHERINE ROTH Associated Press With concern about climate change growing, this holiday season is a chance to try celebrating in more planet-friendly ways. Simple changes to the way we gift wrap, send cards, decorate and entertain can cut out a lot of waste. (And often save money in the ...

Home, as we know, has become more central to many of us during the pandemic, and that means outdoors as well as in. This holiday season, designers and retailers have suggestions for updating window, door and yard decorations. Trends include sustainability, naturalness and coziness. NATURE ...