I’ve been in California for over a week helping my mom recuperate from knee surgery. This trip has been not been like my usual jaunts to California filled with friends and frequent trips to my favorite haunts. No, this trip has been all about my mom. (And bread, the bread must go on!)

I’ve actually been doing quite a bit of cooking, trying to make whatever appeals to my mom. There has been meatloaf. Two kinds of soup– chicken noodle one night, potato-leek just last night. And then there was this applesauce. I know what you might be thinking, is she really going to give us a recipe for something so base?  Well, I am, but this applesauce was so simple, so delicious, it had me knocking my forehead, exclaiming why had I not thought of this before?

My mom was ensconced in pillows, her knee elevated, watching the Barefoot Contessa, when [...]

I know that it’s almost Thanksgiving. (Gobble gobble, to all of those omnivores out there!) Most of you already are busy planning and cooking your meal. You will have the much-loved side dishes to be paired with the turkey: stuffing is a definite, most likely you’ll have mashed potatoes, maybe you’ll indulge in some creamed onions. While baking an additional pot of baked bean, might be too large an undertaking for you this holiday, I must leave you with this one final recipe before we sign-off for turkey day.
Beans? You might be saying. She’s leaving us with a bean recipe? Yes! These slow-cooked beans were that good.

I hadn’t had baked beans in years. And, come to think of it, I don’t know that I had ever eaten a true pot of baked beans. The baked beans I had eaten came from a can. They were shiny, and coated in a [...]