Category Archives: food

A new/old appliance

January 13, 2021Columns, Family, food, funsusanmanzke

If you have an unheated enclosed porch, you have a refrigerator/freezer, depending on the winter weather. It has to be enclosed otherwise wild animals might raid it.

This column is an account of the time I used our porch as an extension of my refrigerator.

Our children didn’t raid the soup and stews that they found on the porch. It wasn’t until they discovered that I was cooling chocolate candies out there that the goodies became endangered–Bob liked to make a stop there, too, for a quick snack as he came into the house.

This winter, I’m using an unheated closet next to the porch as a beverage cooler. It works perfectly, too bad I don’t have a lot of company these days who would enjoy a perfectly cooled drink.

Christmas cookie baking octopus

December 22, 2020Christmas, Columns, Family, foodsusanmanzke

A few times a year I left the kitchen and let Bob take over. One time was making pie dough and another time I left was for Christmas cookie baking. I wasn’t good at either and the commotion drove me nuts.

This column covers cutout cookie baking. It was better for all of us if I stayed away. Everything just frustrated me.

I still don’t like cutting out cookies, but I love eating them. Most cutouts break for me. I’m all in when it comes to drop cookies though, especially chocolate chips.

A surprise

December 16, 2020Family, foodsusanmanzke

I was in the living room, working on another gnome, when Sunny reacted to a noise.

It turned out a delivery had been dropped off for me and it wasn’t something I had ordered.

Here’s what I got.

Thank you, Tara, for the yummy surprise.

A working mother’s hands

November 25, 2020Columns, Family, foodsusanmanzke

As I looked at my hands I was reminded of my mother’s.

Hands don’t have to be beautiful to be able to show love.

If your hands are stained and callused they show that you work, yet they are lovely.

Veggies for a treat?

November 23, 2020Bob, Columns, Family, foodsusanmanzke

It was not easy getting our children to eat vegetables, raw or cooked. And Bob was no help as you will hear in this column reading.

To get good food past our crew, it had to be hidden inside stews and soups and cut into miniscule pieces.

I allowed them to pick out one vegetable that they hated, but they had to eat the rest. Otherwise, their stew would consist of meat, potatoes, and gravy.

I hope you like this remembrance.

Susan Manzke

Writer, Speaker, All-Around Good Person