I am completely unabashed about my caffeine consumption--as it relates to coffee, at least. With seven kids and my husband now home as a full-time patient (read: hospital bed, walker--the works), I find coffee to be a necessity--a lifesaver even--lately. Even without all the neediness going on here, I'd still want my coffee in the morning.

My husband is just as much a coffee lover as I am. In fact, we like coffee so much that we've had several sets… Read More

I love tomatoes. Never is there a time when I am asked what food is my favorite that I waver from the standard answer, "Tomatoes are the food of the Gods." I love them for so many reasons. The smell of them as they are growing; a cross between marigolds and citrus with a breath of Heaven thrown in. The way they look--round and red--my favorite color and shape. The flavor of a perfectly ripe tomato is bliss… Read More

The kids are headed back to school next week here in Pennsylvania whether I'm ready or not, and beyond all the usual to-do in getting ready, one thing I know I'll need to be prepared for is the empty tummies that return home daily. They come barreling into the house ahead of me after our walk home and barely wait until my feet have crossed the threshold before asking for a snack. I'm not sure why that 3 hour stretch… Read More

High School Musical 2 is premiering at the end of this week. My kids adored the first, and I'm sure they'll adore (and, much to my chagrin, memorize each and every song of) this newest release. The kids will most likely be watching at their grandma's house this week. There's nothing like a premiere party, and since High School Musical is set in Albuquerque, I came up with these fabulous appetizers with a Southwest… Read More

The first few days of my husband's hospital stay were a complete blur. They aren't much better yet (read updates on my personal blog, Cooking with Anne), but I'm getting better at dealing with them. The day of the accident I ate breakfast, found out he was hurt, ran to the hospital and didn't eat again until 8 p.m. The next day I stayed home since he was in surgery earlier in the day and would be too… Read More

I've been thinking about what to post next here, but my mind isn't exactly on food right now. I could probably pull together some type of 'fluff', but blogs are supposed to have a personal edge--agreed? Since adversity is part of being a family, I'm going to share what is going on in my life at the moment before getting back to food-as-usual.

On this past Thursday, my husband, who is an ironworker, fell 26 feet from the roof of the… Read More