All of us have had those times when we have volunteered to bring cookies for a potluck or snacks for some meeting, only to realize the night before the event that we really aren’t in the mood or don’t have the time to bake even the simplest drop cookies. So we shift our thoughts to…

Some of our old family recipes go back to generations of frugal Midwesterners and further to New England roots, but others have even more interesting back stories. The origins of this cake fit in that latter category. Back before food stamps, “commodity foods” were distributed to clients of our county’s Department of Social Services. With…

Over the years, I have compiled a large number of recipe cards, enough to fill four or five long card files like the kind you used to see in libraries. My primary source of recipe inspiration these days is via internet searches, but there are times when it is fun to review the old tried…