at home with ann

Part of our CSA share last week was picking hot peppers. Colin, who has made it quite clear that he doesn't like peppers, going so far as to fish them out of a salad, or his mouth,  would not listen to my suggestion to steer clear of the jalapenos.  Instead, he took a few bites out of one raw.  He has since told me several times that it was "picy." With a whole bag of jalapenos on hand, I considered my options.  Chopping and freezing to add to chili and cornbread is always good, but I also wanted to try my hand at poppers.  It's a safe bet that any attempts by me to deep fry would likely end up in a kitchen fire, so the oven baking method seemed like a good approach. Baked Jalapeno Poppers modified from SkinnyTaste 8-12 jalapeno peppers 4 oz. cream cheese, softened 4 oz. monterey jack or cheddar cheese, shredded 2 scallions, sliced 1/8 teaspoon paprika 1/8 teaspoon garlic powder 1/8 teaspoon chili powder salt and pepper 2 eggs, beaten 1/2 cup ...

As we do every year, we celebrated my Mom's birthday by all going to my parent's house and helping clean up their yard and put in their garden.  Similar to last year, everyone worked very hard, especially Jon and John, and I hung out with Colin and avoided all yard work.  My day consisted of running after Colin while he used a bat to hit a ball around the yard, drew on the driveway with chalk, tried to eat chalk, moved chalk to various areas where chalk doesn't go, chased the cat, and ran through the dirt.    The birthday girl requested Strawberries and Cream Cheesecake for dessert, and I happily obliged.  This might be my favorite cheesecake of all time, which is saying something. I know the whole water bath thing seems like just one more step, but I've found it really does work to prevent cracks, so it's worth it.    Strawberries and Cream Cheesecake original recipe from Martha Stewart Ingredients 1 pound strawberries, hulled 3 Tablespoons...

This is a ridiculously easy dish to make, and works well as an hors d'oeuvres to bring to parties.  I double check the spelling of hors d'oeuvres every time I write it lest you think I'm a moron.  I can also tell you from experience that it is a good addition to appetizers-for-dinner night.  I hope we're not the only people who do that, because it's amazing.  It's the perfect way to justify chowing down on cheese and crackers and the like because it's a meal.  Anyway, I've wandered off topic again. I made my own pesto for this, but you can certainly use store bought as well, making it even easier.  I've also done a variation where I subbed goat cheese for some of the cream cheese. Pesto Bruschetta 1 french baguette, cut into 1/2 inch slices (you can toast, or not ) 8 oz. package cream cheese, room temperature (light cream cheese works well here because it's a little easier to spread) 1/4 cup pesto (start with a couple tablespoons and adju...