It’s funny because it isn’t the smell exactly - it’s the aeration of the product that releases the unpleasant funk. Like when you do the wine thing? And it’s funny that I find it offensive because I adore peas. But I guess actual peas and pea protein powder are two different things. My husband likes the Beyond Meat…

Yes. I’ve seen him live three times - first in a small bar back in 2012 or 13? My husband and I went to Shoalsfest last year. Muscle Shoals isn’t too far from us (though the festival was actually in Florence). 

I’m a pescatarian and I do not like Beyond Meat burger or grounds. There’s some kind of off-putting taste that hits you as you inhale. I do like their bratwurst - on a bun with beer cheese, sauerkraut and dill mustard. Yum. My husband (a meat eater) loves these. I have to limit him to one and then sometimes he’ll…

Jason Isbell is a songwriting genius - also great on guitar and vocals. If We Were Vampires is especially appropriate right now.

Come Dine With Me (a UK series) available for the most part on Youtube. It’s fun to see the various personalities, menu and home decor as the participants invited the other contestants to their house for dinner. 

Beer and Benedryl and a white noise machine. My husband uses the Sleep with Me podcast.

Another use for Wondra flour is dusting on fish for pan frying. Years ago I watched Eric Ripert do that on a brief segment and now that’s how I pan fry fish - make sure fish is very dry, sprinkle on seasoning, dust in Wondra, pan fry in olive oil, finish with a butter baste and hit with lemon just before serving.

I just cleaned out the fridge for pasta yesterday - my daughter gave me some basil and dill from her garden and I had a rapidly deteriorating large tomato and a few frozen shrimp. I made shrimp orzo with all that and lemon, butter and feta. My daughter had also given me a bag of mixed greens from her garden, chopped…

I’ve been taking Stella Mayo on several walks a day. She’s just about recovered from her CCL surgery, but still can’t be left to her own (dubious) devices. So, we walk and talk. She knows that when I eat I will give her a bit of what I’m eating. My husband doesn’t, so she leaves him alone. Although she’s isn’t a beggy…

Did you know that if you get the evaporated milk very very cold, along with getting your bowl and beaters cold, you can whip skim evaporated milk into something approximating whipped cream? Back in the 80's - when my children were small - I’d make sweetened evaporated milk whipped cream and dollop it on canned cinnamon…

I’ve tried to cook them them. Um...yeah. Whatever I made I realized there are better varieties of fish (or canned fish) to use in those recipes. I’d love to try fresh sardines sometime!

I do this pretty much every time I go to the Asian markets. If our Thai market older woman is there she will ask me what I plan to do with an ingredient she knows I don’t normally buy, and then tell me how to use it. She doesn’t normally steer me wrong...except for the one time when I bought a jar of “dipping sauce”…

I’m very encouraged by stories of exes with kids who manage to get along - move ahead with their own lives - while still understanding that their connection with their ex, if they have children, won’t ever go away. I think very highly of those who can deal with that and do what’s best for the “family” unit even if…

I’m going to paint - walls. It might sound strange but I find painting relaxing and so satisfyingly IMMEDIATE! One of my best friends is a professional painter and when I worked with her, I learned how to do paint like a pro (no tape), so it’s all just cutting and rolling, productive leg work on the ladder, with NPR…

These days, soup of any kind is appealing and also seems like proper preparation for any trouble ahead.

The deviled eggs pictured look bland. Pickles (preferably a mixture of finely diced cornichons and dill pickles), finely diced shallots or onion, fresh or dried dill, dijon mustard, Kewpie mayo, salt, pepper and smoked paprika on top. Boil two more eggs than you need so that you can add the yolks into the filling for…

My MIL (age 82) died very unexpectedly in early January. She was all packed for an around-the-world cruise with her boyfriend. We held a 45 minute service and then a four hour catered reception with an open bar. The kind of party she would have wanted to attend. We figured we’d never buy her another birthday gift,…

I threatened to change our Amazon password after my husband ordered 3 boxes of cereal from Whole Foods Delivery. $21 with tip! He thought it was “only” $11! On top of that, we are not in hot zone, and we do have fabric masks and hand sanitizer and plenty of groceries - pancake mix, eggs, potatoes, salsa, tortillas,…

Well, I think there are times when removing a wall makes sense for modern living. For example, we have friends who live in a 60's ranch. Their front room was probably originally intended as a “formal” living room. The rest of the house is cut off from that room and that means a large portion of their home is…

We just bought a house in an historic neighborhood near our daughter and SIL in a city an hour and half away from where we currently live. The house was built in 1903 (but the mechanicals, siding and windows have been updated). I love the quirky layout where you can tell rooms were added on, porches closed in, etc.…