Oh my gosh - you speak my language of cooking pain! I, too, face many challenges trying to cook meals that my entire family will eat. One child is genuinely picky, one is ornery, and the middle one copies whichever sibling is currently in favor. Oy. I will definitely give these a whirl. Thank you!

Love reading the blog and am looking forward to your book. Thanks to your small batch canning ideas, I’ve put up 28 jars (and counting) of good things to enjoy throughout the year!

As a fellow food prep/cook swearer, I loved this post. LOVED it. Three picky-eaters plus a husband, and I have an idea about where you’re coming from (no allergies, tho, thankfully). Now I’m scanning the weekend fliers for a decent freezer.

I lurked today - what an interesting chat! And so fast, with many tempeh and tofu tidbits flying. I’m off to get the kitchen in order before marinading some tempeh for tonight’s dinner (per T/S comments, yesterday). Kim, I’ll report back to let you know how it goes. Can’t wait!

Oh gosh, SCRAPPLE? Eeek. Maybe it is because I’ve had inferior scrapple product (once), but I cannot leave this page without touting the fabulous pure maple syrups and raw honeys, milks, yogurts, cheeses, bacons, sausages, lamb, poultry and produce of every color, stripe, ripeness and variety to be found in the central mountain region of the state.

This is a beautiful essay. I have my mother’s copies of Julia Child’s books, and hope that I’ll page through them looking for a project soon. Thank you. Best wishes to you for a Happy New Year.

My mom gave me “The Joy of Cooking” when I had my first apartment during college. I wish that I’d kept her copy, with the stains and the dog-eared pages. So many of the tastes from my growing up are in the pages of that book, and I’m slowing rediscovering a few of them. Case in point: last year’s Thanksgiving was at my SIL’s home. The dressing tasted exactly like what my mom used to make and I discovered that it was a “Joy” recipe. Now, the dressing recipe is used in my home! Love it!

My tip is to roll with the punches. Even with all of the advance preparation, requests for RSVPs, setting a time to sit down, there is inevitably going to be something that goes awry, something taking too long to cook, extra guests showing up, etc. And that is okay! It really is! Open another bottle of wine, relax, and make the most of your efforts, family and friends whether they are planned or not.

Fabulous tips here, all of them.

Oooh, and one more: eat dessert twice! Have it the first time with everyone, and a second indulgence once guests have left, all of the dishes are cleaned up and the food is put away and it’s time to put your feet up.

Lemon Cornmeal Muffins with Berries by CentreofNowhere on Jul 16, 2009 at 1:55 PM PDT

I liked these muffins very much. Very easy to prepare, and the blueberries just look fantastic against the deep yellow corn/lemon muffin. I only had a standard cornmeal on hand, so my muffins were crunchy (like DL’s previous comment). I didn’t mind the texture at all, though my kids were not big fans. I’ll look for some finely ground cornmeal fo the next batch!

I’m sorry to have missed the chat this afternoon, but I’d like to vote “yeah!” for a baking-chat, especially with some insight into the different types of flours out there (white whole wheat, for one), gluten-contents, and baking with whole grainy goodness. I’m going to head on over to the King Arthur Flour site to see what I can dig up!

I am looking forward to seeing the movie, with my husband and several friends, all of whom need a little extra incentive to think a little more about how and why food gets to our table.

Almond Cookies by CentreofNowhere on May 19, 2009 at 6:42 PM PDT

Delicious taste but fall-apart crisp. I followed the directions, and my baking time was 17 minutes, but have had several other kitchen/baking problems lately. I seem to have misplaced my zen. Will definitely try again.

Wow ruth_117, that’s kindof strange. I mean, if your lasagna just omitted the meat, why was it “veggie” (and why did the label even matter?!). FWIW, my extended family is like that too. Usually I DO omit the ground beef or turkey in our lasagnas because it’s less expensive and it more or less TASTES THE SAME. :) Hang in there!

I am salivating at the thought of another O’Donnel title, and would also love a chance to pick up Helen Chen’s! A pre-congratulations to Kim on her hard work!

I, too, have a love affair with coffee and I empathize with your plight(s) to tame the caffeine-intake. Good luck, and please blog an update!

“always a good thing! Thank you...”

my “t” is sticking!

My oven has a convection mode. It has been most successfully used when I am baking multiples of something (read: cookies). As far as I can tell, I set the same baking temperature and maintain the same baking time as usual, but I can load the oven racks with 5 baking sheets at once. All of the cookies cook evenly.

Thank you Charlotte, for the yogurt link. Looks like I have a nice project for the summer!

I recently started a relationship with a family who is selling eggs for $3/doz. I feel great that I’m helping their son start up a business, and that I had a place to recycle all of my paper egg cartons (from the big grocery store) collected over the winter.

Charlotte, what is your yogurt-making method? I have access to raw milk, and instead of purchasing the farmer’s plastic quarts of yogurt, I’d love to make my own. Of course, the farmer’s is pretty good too. Thanks!