I have decided to share stories about my grandmother's cooking,

Towards the end of summer and going into fall, my grandmother was doing her canning of all the fruits and jams for winter to include peaches, pears, apricots, making peach marmalade, peach jam, apricot preserves, and something special that was called spiced clingstone peaches, it was made with cloves and cinnamon and it wasn't unusual to eat an evening meal of just spiced peaches and homemade bread and butter and sliced cheese.

She also made dilly beans? well the adults liked them and made things like pickled chutney, sweet pickles and bread and butter pickles and would use them for the holidays to serve with meats and other meals. My palate didn't care for them then but would sure like to try them now, if only had her recipes.

{Foodista Chocolate Covered Strawberries}

Chocolate-Covered Strawberries

I have always loved the way strawberries look when they are dipped in chocolate, whether you dip them in white chocolate, sweet chocolate or dark chocolate, they are always a hit and great for any get together, especially Valentines, what and easy dessert or for making your loved one a special treat.

There easy and fun to make, Recipe: Chocolate-Covered Strawberries

Ingredients

6 ounces Bittersweet chocolate chopped
3 tablespoons Heavy cream
1 tablespoon Butter
10 lrg Strawberries with long stems

Preparation

Step 1

Line a baking sheet with foil or waxed paper.

Step 2

In the top of a double boiler set over hot water melt the chocolate, stirring. Add the 3 tablespoons of cream and the butter and stir until smooth. Holding each strawberry by the stem, dip into the chocolate mixture allowing the excess chocolate to drip back into the pan. If necessary, add additional cream to the chocolate to achieve desired coating consistency. Transfer the coated strawberry to the lined sheet and repeat process. Allow the chocolate to cool and then chill the strawberries until chocolate is set, about 20 to 30 minutes.

Step 3

This recipe yields 10 chocolate-covered strawberries.

Tools

Foil
Baking sheet
Double boiler

Recipe compliments of Foodista

                                                

{Share Your recipe & Cooking Story}

Since reintroducing the  newly remodeled cooking blog I have a co-author, Glenda Cates, we are ready to have guest posts about food, a recipe you can share, perhaps something for valentines or just a favorite one, a story about how you share your recipes, a company that you represent and can share a review with us or video.  

We are also looking for giveaways, for future blog hops, if you are interested in a little blog publicity, we would be interested in hearing from you, please contact us at:

Email: karrenh@gmail.com  

 Subject: Cooking Post

Save Time in the Kitchen

Making healthy, South Beach Diet-friendly meals doesn’t have to take up a lot of your time. There are many ways you can save minutes in the kitchen and still eat nutritious, delicious food. It’s just a matter of having the recipes and ingredients on hand and learning a few shortcuts.

So, if you’re feeling time-pressed and daunted by the idea of preparing healthy meals, here are simple time-saving tricks to help you get started:

Always read through the recipes you plan to make to be sure you have all the ingredients prepped and assembled before you start cooking.

As soon as you get home from the grocery store, prep fruit and veggies and separate them into individual containers to use during the week. Always keep a bag of prewashed greens on hand to create a healthy salad in minutes.

Instead of mincing garlic each time you need it, throw whole cloves into the food processor. Refrigerate any leftovers in a plastic container and use within one week.

Cook once so you can eat twice (or more). On Sunday, for example, prepare enough food for two or three meals so you can freeze some in microwavable containers and enjoy the leftovers throughout the week (and take a night or two off from cooking). If you’re grilling, grill extra for lunch the next day.

Stock your kitchen with easy noncook foods to grab for snacks on-the-go, like canned or pouched tuna, plain low-fat or nonfat yogurt, or ready-made hummus.

Prepare veggie crudités once a week and keep them in the fridge to snack on or chop to add to soups, salads, and more.

Clean as you cook — rather than stacking the dishes in the sink to clean after dinner, wash pots, pans, bowls, and other kitchen utensils as you’re preparing the meal.