Ruth’s Pie

For Luke’s birthday he did not want cake; he wanted pumpkin pie!  Being a great mom, Ruth pulled out all the stops and make this great pie. She made it with fresh Burkinabe pumpkin and despite missing some spices like ground ginger it tastes as good as it looks.   She also makes a fabulous [...]

Meals, memories

For us, most often a meal is memorable because it was good.   Several years ago, when we were spending time in the Adirondacks on a regular basis, our group of friends decided to take a supper cruise on Raquette Lake.  It was a leisurely affair, and as the captain took us around the lake’s perimeter [...]

Baking in Burkina; English Muffins!

Breakfast foods are hard to come by here unless you make your own.  The baguettes are dry and do not last; croissants are found downtown which is a drive for a morning meal, and I am not a fan of cold cereal.  So, bagels, cinnamon rolls, toast and English Muffins need to be made, you [...]

Bagels Encore!

Hello All: Just a quick post to show more bagels!  Luke likes them as do I, so I need to either make more or teach him! For this batch, I found that  rolling out the dough into a long tube and then making a circle by joining the two ends and having the dough really [...]

A cold rain!

Not a good day to be in Foxborough watching the Patriots and the Titans, although we know some boys can’t resist! But a great day for some lively bluegrass music (Sierra Hull, on the recommendation of a well known Berklee administrator) and some kitchen fun.  Yes, I am still harvesting kale. I suffered through the [...]

Chili Contest!

Well thanks to Al Sims and some of my ingenuity, I was crowned Chili Champion of Ouagadougou, 2009! There were seven entrees ranging from a black bean veggie to a chock full of meat,  hot and spicy (my entree).  One other entree was a white bean and chicken chili.  The judging was done by the [...]

Southern cooking

Our fabulous visit to Kiawah Island, SC, was a chance to try some great low-country cooking.  Steve’s birthday dinner at Jasmine Porch was a treat.  The fried green tomato appetizer was lovely and they brought a special birthday dessert with complimentary glasses of champagne.  We all enjoyed eating (and drinking) at the King Street Grill where [...]

Cinnamon Rolls!

As a son of Mary Laing Estabrook, I inherited her sweet tooth!  Cookis, cakes, brownies are all things for which I have a weakness!  One item I bake a lot are cinnamon buns or rolls.   I have made regular cinnamon rolls with a powdered sugar fondant which have been well received.  The receip is [...]

Apple Turnovers – A Fall Treat!

Aromatic apples and cinnamon sauteing in a skillet really connects me to comfort food. Tucking these sweet bites into some light and flaky puff pastry, well – it’s quite delicious and easy.  Okay, maybe if you are making your own puff pastry, not so easy.  I took advantage of the ethnic market nearby to purchase [...]

Our camp kitchen

Visiting Julia Child’s comfortable, warm and unpretentious kitchen (see previous post) at the Smithsonian inspired us to put up a photo of our workspace.  When we were remodeling, the kitchen came out larger than planned because of an error in the plans; however, it turned out fine, as we can have four or five people [...]