I was very excited last week when I snagged perfectly ripe figs to make fig and caramelized onion jam! I’ve made six batches of jams and jellies this season, but I couldn’t resist making one more! Rows of neatly stacked jelly jars filled with their jewel-like contents are gorgeous to behold! My mom’s basic recipe […]

What would we do without our small kitchen appliances? How often do we take for granted that the toaster keeps popping and the blender continues to spin, our lives are made so much easier because of these mini wonders! It has been very hot where I live in Northern California. Turning on the oven is […]

Busy times call for easy, quick and healthy meal options. How about having your entire meal roasted on a stick, no clean up! Shish kebabs are  actually a Turkish dish, “shish” refers to the stick and “kebab” is the meat.They have traveled around the world, so many varieties of shish kebabs exist. Meats such as […]

This week my Irish colleague was wondering why you don’t have to use added pectin to make tomato jam. I had never thought about it. I pulled out my gramma’s recipe. Sure enough! No added pectin! Tomatoes are more complicated than they look; however, gelling them is a conquerable challenge! Tomatoes contain an enzyme called […]

LIVERMORE FALLS — As we look forward to fall, Treat Memorial library would like to remind our patrons that we are open for browsing and computer use by appointment only Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays. Everyone must comply with safety guidelines. We also have curbside service Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays. Log into your account, reserve […]

Looking for something to give the kids for breakfast? Something that is hearty and fills the bill for nutritious and delicious? Well, I found it and all the “cooking” will be done while you are sleeping! Notice I put parenthesis on the word, “cooking” and that is because the refrigerator will do the job for […]

I am not a medical expert, and alternative treatments are not a complete substitute for medical advice. I am simply a food writer with an avid curiosity and a penchant for researching anything to do with food. As promised, I’m sharing this week some uses for essential oils. I’m becoming alarmed at the variety of […]

Hound Dogs

Are you looking for a new salad dressing that is different, but not too different and adds some value to your nutritional plan? My go to dressing these days is olive oil and red wine vinegar. It can’t get any easier than that but sometimes it’s just fun to try a new dressing for your […]

Keeping our immune system healthy has always been important, but over the years, especially when we think we have good health anyway, we get slack and forget just how important it is for the first line of defense in fighting disease. As I introduced last week, essential oils can be a right way of repairing […]