Earlier this week I mentioned my new cheesemaking kit. Well, “shake butter” is the first recipe in the kit…which is only slightly odd, since it doesn’t actually require anything FROM the kit to make it.  It’s SUPER simple, and requires three things:

• A clean, empty 16-20 oz water bottle;
• 4-5 oz heavy whipping cream; and
• A working arm.

To ( Read more... )

Earlier this year I bought a Groupon for a cheesemaking kit.  It’s their base kit, but with it & the booklet that comes with it, you can make butter, cream cheese, ricotta, mascarpone, mozzarella, chevre & queso blanco-basically most fresh & soft cheeses.

Those of you who’ve been reading here for a while know I did a stint as a cheesemonger down ( Read more... )

I have a genetic affinity for pickles.  Seriously, it’s in our DNA.  My grandmother (who’s house was the primary congregation point on weekends) would buy dill pickles by the case because my cousins & I went through them so fast.  Granted…there were a lot of us.  My mom is the middle of 15 (yes, FIFTEEN) kids, a good ol’ Midwestern farm family, and ( Read more... )

I love the springtime/early summer.  Flowers are blooming, weather is warming up, the sun is shining…ice cream is selling like crazy…

…and of course, the pollen is everywhere, and the grass (and weeds) are growing so fast that we can’t keep up with the mowing…

But on the up side, strawberries are on sale!!!  Ninety-nine cents a pound!


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If you’ve been reading this blog for a while, you know that I started using a FitBit in January to start helping me to be more accountable for my health.  And so far, it’s my little miracle machine, and I’ve lost 15 lbs so far this year!. I wear it everywhere and check it throughout the day, making sure I’m hitting my goals for steps, miles, ( Read more... )

This is the brain-child of myself & my coworker J.  When J started at our office, it was a few weeks before we realized we shared something in common-LOUISIANA.  His wife’s family was from Abbeville (just south of where I lived in Lafayette, if you’re not familiar with the area). What a coinky-dink!  We quickly became friends as we reminisced over ( Read more... )

Last weekend the Hubs & I went to the Sertoma Cajun Cookoff here in Springfield.  My awesome friend Tara got us two free tickets and I was just itching to see what was there.  I’ve thought about entering, but I wanted to check out my potential competition first.


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This spaghetti squash recipe is all over Pinterest, and I was itching to test it out.  As a kid, my absolute favorite thing on the planet was going to Olive Garden & getting the Fettuccini Alfredo.  You know…back in the day when “carbs were good for you” I had a hollow leg and had absolutely no idea what calories were. All I knew was that cheese ( Read more... )

Welcome to Missouri in March-yesterday it was 70 degrees, today it’s snowing.  Tomorrow, it will be 50 degrees.  The day after that?  Locusts, probably.  But we might as warm our bellies with some delicious gumbo while it stays cool outside!

I got a pressure cooker for Christmas last year, and imagine my joy to find a recipe for shrimp gumbo in ( Read more... )

I hope you are all taking advantage of the break in the SnowPocalypse/ SnowTastrophe/ SnowMaggedon weather!  We are loving this warm up in the weather-though it also has us scrambling to get things ready over at The Scoop since the park across the street has been PACKED!  Apparently Spring Fever is in full effect & the only cure is fresh air & ice ( Read more... )