I’ve posted so many dessert and cookie recipes lately, this site is starting to seem out of balance…at least to me, since my preference is still for the more savory/veggie parts of the meal.  While the rest of my garden is still more in the planning than growing stage, my tiny patch of asparagus is…

As I mentioned in an earlier post, I had the good fortune to buy mayonnaise at a super-bargain price; since I don’t usually use this for sandwiches, salads, or really anything else, I started exploring how else I might be able to use my purchase. The natural place for me to start was a chocolate…

As promised, here is one more in my “series” of mayonnaise-based baked goods. This is an adaptation of the oatmeal cookie recipe I found long ago in a very old church cookbook from my mother. That recipe, using raisins instead of chocolate chips, is here:  http://frugalfastfun.blogspot.com/2014/05/old-fashioned-oatmeal-raisin-cookies.html As with the Double Chocolate cookies I entered here…

Years and years ago–okay, decades and decades ago–I bought a cookbook that has been a great reference over the years. I haven’t strictly followed any of the recipes in it for a long time–and in fact, based on the many notes I added to these pages, I wonder if I ever baked any of these…

Another beautiful day of rain, bringing all the green leaves out in their full glory. Perfect for making yet another pot of soup before warmer weather turns our thoughts to more summery menus. As with the best of homemade soups, this recipe uses what I have on hand. I have been careful to measure what…

A few days ago I posted a recipe for a rich devils food cake made with mayonnaise. As I noted there (http://frugalfastfun.blogspot.com/2014/05/an-old-fashioned-recipe-with-great.html), I rarely have mayonnaise in the house, but I found a bargain price on a two quart jar of the stuff, so I have lots to experiment with. After making four of the…

Over the years, I have come to rely less and less on cookbooks, using the internet for lots of my inspiration. Still, I cannot give up a huge collection of hand-written recipe cards that have overflowed from that little card file box I started out with to three, then four, then five, long file boxes…

Do a web search for “chocolate mayonnaise cake” and you will find dozens of sites with very similar recipes, along with almost as many comments relating the cake to memories of those made by mothers and grandmothers and various other assorted relatives from the past. Few people can explain any source for the unexpected use…

Homemade soup is something most of us really like, but it can often seem like just too much effort. If all that chopping and preparation intimidates you, this recipe might be a good one to try. Yes, there is some prep work but the end result of perhaps half an hour (and probably much less)…

Egg main dishes are wonderfully versatile, serving well as a contribution to a breakfast or brunch potluck and taking on center stage for a quick weeknight dinner. This weekend I had the opportunity to make two stratas that demonstrate the wide range of dishes possible with eggs at the base. Our brunch would have fresh…