"The Oregonian” newspaper recently had a contest on Twitter that involved tweeting (yes, that is now a verb) a recipe in 140 characters or less. Now, I love cooking for my family and I love talking but I’m not really crazy about tweeting – so short, so cryptic, and so much punctuation left out! I… Continue reading 2nd Place Winner in Twitter Recipe Contest
Year: 2011
Funeral Etiquette
We had to attend attend a funeral recently. Funerals are sad, but they are also a celebration of life. Funeral etiquette is something that no one talks about and you don’t really learn about it until someone close to you dies. This past week got me thinking about how no one really talks about funeral… Continue reading Funeral Etiquette
Preparing For Tomato Season
Spring is fast approaching which means vegetable and tomato planting season. I’m a novice when it comes to vegetable gardening but I do have a few tricks to share. These tomatoes are from last year’s garden. It was a horrible year for tomatoes in Portland in 2010. Hopefully, this year will be much improved! Here’s… Continue reading Preparing For Tomato Season
Piano Lessons
Music lessons for kids is a major financial and time commitment. Piano lessons at our house are a big indulgence in our financial budget. Money to pay for the lessons, time for practicing, and the actual lessons themselves all take effort. Piano lessons mean piano practicing. Our kids spend a lot of time practicing here. … Continue reading Piano Lessons
Readers’ Questions
I’m calling this round of questions, “Kirsten’s Questions”, because all of these questions come from my friend, Kirsten Hope. Kirsten and I met when our daughters were in the same kindergarten class, several years ago. Kirsten and I both launched WordPress websites this year and have collaborated on our WordPress babies sites for the last… Continue reading Readers’ Questions
Frugal Decorating with Cherry Blossoms
I love to decorate my home and make it lovely. Fresh flowers are too expensive for this frugal gal. I prefer to bring nature inside and "force" it to be part of my frugal decorating program. Cutting branches from spring blossoming trees, putting them in a vase with warm water, and waiting a week will… Continue reading Frugal Decorating with Cherry Blossoms
Pantry Basics for the Home Cook
Cooking at home requires a well stocked pantry, along with all of the items in your refrigerator. The home cook needs to be prepared with basic ingredients. This list is what you should keep on hand and make sure you have plenty of. These are my basics. This list isn’t all I keep in my… Continue reading Pantry Basics for the Home Cook
Credit Score 101
If you’ve ever had any interest in understanding how your credit score is determined, this video is for you. My brother, Peter Werner, an attorney for a credit union in Bend, Oregon put together this excellent video about credit scores. The video is funny, informative, right on target, and clever. He performed this at an… Continue reading Credit Score 101
Beet Salad Recipe
Here is the prize winning recipe for my beet salad. This recipe placed 2nd in "The Oregonian" Twitter Recipe Contest. It's easy, tasty, and one of my favorites. I adapted it from Bon Appetit, April, 2007. The entire meal is, “Grilled Flank Steak with Sauteed Beet Greens and Creamy Horseradish Beets" and is delicious. I've… Continue reading Beet Salad Recipe
Food Waste: Not Here
I’m amazed at the number of blogs whose main topic is food waste. Maybe I’m completely out of it (my kids would agree…), but I had no idea this was such a problem. We never have food waste. If food is not eaten, I freeze it. We rarely even have food go bad to the… Continue reading Food Waste: Not Here
Go Gingham 