This Dec. 8, 2016 photo shows Valentine’s cupcakes at the Institute of Culinary Education in New York. This dish is from a recipe by Elizabeth Karmel. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)

Cherry cupcake is just the thing for Valentine’s Day

This old-fashioned cherry cupcake is just the thing for Valentine’s Day. I’ve updated a cake that my mother used to make for my sisters and… Continue reading

This Dec. 8, 2016 photo shows Valentine’s cupcakes at the Institute of Culinary Education in New York. This dish is from a recipe by Elizabeth Karmel. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)

Pioneer Potluck: About filling the memory jar. A sauna story.

Nikiski, Alaska 1986 to 1990 Building Christmas memories Christmas Eve 2016   Memory Number One: We once lived in a small log cabin with one… Continue reading

Preserve the past, safeguard the future with heirloom keeper recipes

For the holidays over the past few years, my friend, Lainey Smith, of Bluffton, has baked me a cheese pie made from a special passed-down… Continue reading

Worry free one-pan meals

Worry free one-pan meals

For enthusiasts of one pot cooking (and who isn’t during the busy holiday season), Cook’s Country “One-Pan Wonders: Fuss Free Meals for Your Sheet Pan,… Continue reading

Worry free one-pan meals

Ricotta Cheese

Equipment8 quart covered stainless steel saucepot with heavy bottomThermometer (one that goes from 0 to 220 degrees)Large strainer or colander for draining curdsCheesecloth, or linen… Continue reading

Sausage Lasanna

Do not use nonfat ricotta or fat-free mozzarella here. You will need a 12-inch ovensafe nonstick skillet for this recipe.” – America’s Test Kitchen. Photo… Continue reading

Breakfast Pizza

Servings: 6 6 slices bacon8 ounces (2 cups) mozzarella cheese, shredded 1 ounce (½ cup) Parmesan cheese, grated4 ounces (½ cup) small-curd cottage ¼ teaspoon… Continue reading

This November 2016 photo shows chicken and vegetable stir fry in New York. This dish is from a recipe by Katie Workman. (Sarah Crowder via AP)

Warm up from the cold with chicken stiry-fry

After the holidays, our appetites can go in a couple of different directions. On the one hand, after a steady diet of stuffed birds and… Continue reading

This November 2016 photo shows chicken and vegetable stir fry in New York. This dish is from a recipe by Katie Workman. (Sarah Crowder via AP)
Christmas spice cinnamon cloves nutmeg and ginger

Christmas spice cinnamon cloves nutmeg and ginger

The spices of the season include cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg and ginger. They are fragrant and exotic and anything made with them smells of Christmas. You… Continue reading

Christmas spice cinnamon cloves nutmeg and ginger

Pioneer Potluck: About Alaskan Christmas trees and doggie treats

Year, 1985 to 2016 Christmas trees and Doggie Treats.   For the past few weeks I have been writing about Christmas trees from the time… Continue reading

Pioneer Potluck: About Christmas Trees

From the Colorado farm to the Alaskan way of life We have had various types of Christmas trees through the years. Colorado trees are full… Continue reading

  • Dec 13, 2016
  • By Ann 'Grannie Annie' Berg
  • LifeFood

Recipe for a happy Christmas found in thrift stores, consignment shops and speciality retailers

There’s a remedy for folks who find shopping for Christmas gifts stressful, especially at this late date. Even if you like hunting for holiday presents,… Continue reading

Make a good first impression with stamped cookies

Buttery and rich, shortbread and sugar cookies are among the most popular of all the holiday cookies of the season. Straightforward and clean, the taste… Continue reading

Pioneer Potluck: About an abducted Christmas tree

Christmas 1979 Anchorage, Alaska Reminiscence of Christmases Past Christmas 1979 was looking very bleak and lonely. Being the youngest child, I was the only one… Continue reading

Nordic-Ware cookie stamps

For best impressions, Nordic Ware suggests making cookie doughs “from scratch” for use with their cast aluminum cookie stamps, an easy task with this being… Continue reading

recipes 12.07

This is the best in the whole world and we make it every year for Christmas and Halloween My sister sure has a good eye… Continue reading

stamped shortbeard

Yield: Approximately 15 (3-inch) cookies1 cup salted butter, softened2/3 cup confectioners’ sugar, sifted2 cups all-purpose flourCoarse (sanding) sugar for sprinkling on cookiesCookie paint, optional (recipe… Continue reading

Geo stamped cookies

Yield: About 1½ dozen (3-inch) cookies1 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature1 cup packed brown sugar (For the purposes of this recipe, I used granulated… Continue reading

Greet the season – with tomatoes and basil dishes

Even as we move deeper into the holiday season, after nearly a week of Thanksgiving leftovers, many of us wouldn’t mind turning the calendar back… Continue reading

Pioneer Potluck: About chopping down the Christmas Tree

Northern Colorado 1940’S This last Sunday, part of a sermon by Craig Fanning, about chopping down a tree for Christmas, was reminder of how we… Continue reading