All posts by Annie

Barley and Lentil Soup with Swiss Chard

Barley and Lentil Soup with Swiss Chard

In a time when the economy has been a challenge for most everyone, I’ve been reading about different suggestions on how to live more frugally. One way is to cook at home more. Well, I’ve always done that and I’ve always tried to be smart about buying produce in season (which are normally on sale and also fresher) and stocking up when meats go on sale.

But I also firmly believe that eating cheaply doesn’t mean giving up on flavor or variety. I think that if we all just chose to cook more from scratch and use less processed or packaged foods, we’d be able to stretch our money further and also live a healthier life.

Continue reading Barley and Lentil Soup with Swiss Chard

Corned Beef, Carrots and Colcannon Recipe

corned beef, carrots and colcannon

All my life growing up, my mom would make corned beef for us out of a can. Corned beef was like Spam, except it was beef instead of pork. To me, corned beef was something you’d fry up with some egg (like an omelet) and then sandwich between two slices of buttered bread with a squirt of ketchup. It was delicious. That was the only corned beef I knew. I never knew any other kind existed.

The first time I had real corned beef was in Hawaii, when I was with my dear friend, June. She had invited me to her house for some corned beef and cabbage. I was happy to have it, and was expecting what my mom had made me all my growing up years. Continue reading Corned Beef, Carrots and Colcannon Recipe

Blueberry Muffins Recipe

Blueberry Muffins

These days, I don’t bake as much as I used to. I just can’t afford the sugar and calories anymore. At least while I was a graduate student living in a graduate dorm, I could always pass out my baking to all the hungry students and not eat them all myself.

These days, I’m being more careful to only bake when I have an occasion to bring them somewhere or when I have people over. Otherwise, being a stay-at-home mom, these baked goods somehow find their way into my hands and quickly into the safest place possible (my tummy! ^_^).

So even though I love to bake, I’ve resigned myself to doing it occasionally rather than as often as I would like. Last night though, I really wanted to bake even though I had no reason to (seriously, do we ever really need a reason?) nor any occasion for it!

Continue reading Blueberry Muffins Recipe