Blue Ribbon Bagels

In 5th and 6th grade, I did a short stint in the local 4-H club.  4-H, for my non-American readers, is a club where children basically learn farming and homemaking skills.  I lived squarely in the middle of the suburbs, so our 4-H club focused solely on cooking and sewing.

When it came time to enter our own creations in the county fair, for whatever unfathomable reason, I chose to make homemade bagels to enter.  So for a few weeks, my patient parents dealt with batches upon batches of practice bagels filling up our kitchen counters.  My main problem was that some of

Homemade Crockpot Granola

Two Christmases ago, a magical device appeared in some of the stores in the big capital city here.  It was called a "multivarka" which translates to "multi-cooker".  Is it possible?  Could it be?  I had a wonderful suspicion that a multivarka was actually a crockpot.

My husband, who is pretty good at Christmas shopping, had a long conversation with a salesperson and confirmed that yes, a multivarka is indeed a crockpot.  And guess what I got for Christmas...

Now, what to make with my new appliance?  My sister recommended a recipe that had earned her accolades and won friends -- crockpot granola.  This was perfect, since I love granola.  Also, the

Coconut Shrimp Curry

I grew up in the Seattle area.  Seafood is part of the backdrop of growing up there.  Shrimp pasta, grilled salmon, fried clams, and crab legs that you crack yourself before dipping the sweet, delectable meat into clarified butter.  Ok, now I'm salivating.

Where I live now, good seafood is hard to come by.  I scrape by on McDonald's Filet-o-Fish sandwiches and bags of frozen white fish originating somewhere in Scandinavia.  But sometimes I

Snickers Ice Cream Pie

The fourth of July is my second favorite holiday.  (Christmas wins every time). But I love the Fourth for so many reasons.  It's the picture of what America wishes it was -- family all around, small town parades, apple pie, potato salad, fried chicken, all generations together, and a grand display of flash and bang and beauty.  

It's a summer holiday, so things are just less fussy.  There is no formal attire for the Fourth of July, no posed family portraits, no fancy food.  The food for this holiday is the kind that you can eat with your