4 July 2023 Native to western South America and Central America, the tomato was discovered in 1519 by Hernán Cortés. That Spanish...

Mid-February 2023 Peanut butter and jelly: It’s as American as apple pie, but apple pie, at least the store-bought kind, ain’t what it used to be. Nope. The Peanut Butter and Jelly Sandwich in America has been turned into — courtesy of The Corporation — PB&J, Inc. Yes, the ampersand separating three letters strikes again! Admittedly, I am a finicky eater, and I’ve been very picky — choosy, in fact, about the peanut butter that I eat. I never chose JIF, as a mother, or otherw

30 December 2022 When I was industriously labouring in Office World at the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Dead Week was the name that one co-worker gave to the week between Christmas and New Year’s Eve. Generally speaking, Dead Week in federal-service, that would be the U.S. Government, refers to that period of Use-or-Lose Annual Leave. Those vacation hours must be used by the employee before the end of the year, or he’ll lose it. Me, I used my “annual leave” on a monthly, if

7 November 2022 This recipe has been altered slightly to allow for the inclusion of a sprinkling of dried cranberries. The prep work is...

28 March 2022 Grocery shopping is, of course, and, of late, a shock to the systems: financial, emotional, moral, and culinary. Today, I...

Spring 2020 Goodness Gracious! Mother and her cookies have crumbled! I knew from the moment I saw this warning on the packaging: NEW...

August 2019 Update The decade’s end is approaching, and I see no sign in sight of the advertising geniuses having re-built that span...

January 2019 I used to call this culinary creation The Paste-ee, not Past-ee, to tease my husband. This recipe is one that I found in a newspaper, long ago. It is the Cornish pastie, and it is a cultural treasure of the Cornish people. The history of the pastie goes back to the days of mining in Cornwall, England. Each miner would carry his pastie in a lunchbox, a metal pail that had a space specifically designed for this meat-and-potato pie. The miner would heat the metal p

July 2018 Update Because of my aversion to Digital Yellow Journalism, I have taken to asking Dear Husband for any crisis updates, news...

December 2017 Recently I saw this advertising ploy on a package of cookies that I usually enjoy: Unapologetically Delicious . First, I...

March 2017 Céad Míle Fáilte! The Feast of St. Patrick is enjoyed in my home as a religious event, a cultural commemoration and a celebration of spring. As we March into Spring, I would like to offer readers my traditional recipe for soda bread, along with the accompaniments of the St. Patrick’s Day Feast. The Milligan soda bread for St. Patrick’s Day is easy and traditional, courtesy of “Mrs. Fleming’s Irish Soda Bread.” (I do not know the identity of Mrs. Fleming, other than