You may remember last month when I shared the delicious Spiced Pumpkin Loaf recipe. Each month I am pared up with another blogger and asked to pick a recipe off their blog to create and write about. It’s a win-win situation. I find out about a new blog and a get to make a new recipe at the same time! This month I was pared up with Jess’s blog Simple, Clean & Homemade. Her blog is relatively new, she started it in March 2012. It was a challenge to herself to try out new recipes that she never though she......

I love the different seasons. I especially love spring with the abundance of green everywhere and the fresh fruit, which starts to appear in the garden and at the farmers markets. Although it’s still a little early for strawberries in Vermont, this fresh spring salad with berries is perfect for that first dinner cooked on the grill. We ate this salad with grilled chicken the first night and the next night I served it with slices of grilled chicken on top of the salad. Both were delicious. Spring Salad Salad Greens Fresh Strawberries Fresh Raspberries and Blackberries ½ cup slivered......

I never really thought about the number of different ways to sweeten your food. In the last few weeks I have reviewed Maple Syrup, Honey, Corn Syrup and Agave Nectar. This week I will take a look at the sugars. It’s amazing the various sugars that are created from sugar cane and sugar beets; White Sugar, Powdered Sugar, Brown Sugar, 
 Sucanat®,
 Turbinado and Raw Cane Sugar. What is the difference between these products? Granulated White Sugar – This is the sugar most known to consumers, it is the sugar found in every home’s sugar bowl, and most commonly used......

May in Vermont started off with some glorious weather, warm and sunny. The grass started to turn green; the daffodils were in full bloom. It was just beautiful. This week is a different story. The week has been cool and cloudy. Despite the frosty mornings the creeping phlox is creeping along. My garlic is up and doing very well. Won’t be long before I’m cutting the scapes and making garlic scape pesto! My oregano is back and ready to be used in cooking once again. The rhubarb patch has burst from the ground and is almost ready to be picked.......

What does it mean to be thrifty? According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary thrifty is (1) thriving by industry and frugality, (2) growing vigorously and (3) given to or marked by economy and good management. It isn’t just about being cheap or even saving money. It’s about living a happier, healthier and greener life. This is the life I am striving for. In many areas I feel like I am succeeding and in other areas I need to keep working! Being thrifty can mean learning to make your own fresh mozzarella cheese and realizing just how easy this is. The thought......