Get the most from your gruel

It’s been awhile since I’ve posted, and I apologize.  Mostly we have just been eating out of the freezer or making some of our winter standbys, which we posted last winter.  I’ve been very thankful for the canned peaches and pears that I put away in the summer (and vow to can twice as many…

The Quest for Oatmeal Bread

I have been on a quest for the perfect oatmeal bread. When we moved to Bainbridge Island, I finally felt like a local on the day that I casually ordered Blackbird Bakery’s toast and jam. (All of their pretty pastries out front distract the frugal customer or casual visitor from the island’s best kept secret…

How to Dehydrate Apples

Dehydrating is a great way to preserve the flavors of summer and fall. The hardest part is the emotional part – taking delicious plump fruit and willingly committing it to becoming a dry, shriveled memory of itself. I put a lot of cherries away this summer and, though it was hard not to gobble them…

Homemade Granola

Hot oatmeal. Isn’t it just a perfect breakfast? I used to hate it, but I must admit that I’m a convert. It’s warm. It fills me up so that I don’t look at the clock and say, “Really? Only 10AM?” But who has time for oatmeal in the morning!? So, here is my answer to…