Author Archive: My Kitchen Wand

What else keeps you refreshed on hot summer days better than watermelon? Maybe the addition of an herb known for its ability to aid in cooling the body, mint! I was prepping for a class on using herbs and decided to give the combination a try. Simple ingredients, simple steps and refreshing on what is […]

The other day, I posted a cream of wheat pudding with fresh fruit recipe on Facebook, It has been a popular dish in my family for at least three generations for those over the top summer days when cooking holds no appeal and no one has an appetite. I promised a variation on the theme […]

With the weather being so different this year, the berries have been at least a month early. Freezing strawberries and raspberries is not my first choice but blueberries are another story entirely. I am told July 13th is also Pick Blueberry Day! so perfectly magical timing. Unsprayed and straight from the farm, my friend shared […]

Lughnasadh will be here soon and with it, traditionally, in Ireland at least, the first of the bilberries. In the spring when the birds return, communities would go out looking for eggs. At this time of the year, the search was for the first of these berries. Bilberries look and taste very much like the […]

A little while back I created a post on the simple, non distillation method for making rosewater. The next question naturally is, ” what do I do with it?” There are always recipes like the Oranges in Cardamon & Rosewater Syrup  and Mediterannean sweets like basboosa and baklava. Beyond cooking, rosewater is also used in […]

July 10 is Teddy Bears Picnic Day! and “If you go down to the woods today you’re sure of a big surprise. If you go down to the woods today you’d better go in disguise! For every bear that ever there was will gather there for certain because today’s the day the Teddy Bears have […]

The best kitchen purchase I have made in the past few years was this 4 inch spring form pan. It is great for a couple of reasons. One, community includes people we are living on their own. People who do not have a need for a cake that serves ten but still enjoy the occasional […]

Chocolate Day is Tuesday, July 7th and unless you have an air conditioned kitchen at your disposal it is just too hot where I am to temper chocolate. So instead I was thinking along the lines of a cold pie and the idea of adding a little kick began to bubble. I am not a […]

When I hear numbers like over 30% of our food ends up in the garbage I am concerned about what that says. What are our levels of respect for the food products we use and the energy it takes to grow, harvest, transport, process and deliver nutrition to our tables. ” In my kitchen filled […]

During the hot European summer months of old, women avoided sweltering kitchens by cooking early in the day and then shutting everything down before it got unbearable. This dish is for one of those ” I do not want to be cooking in the kitchen” days. I spent years cooking for young male boarders and […]