If you are needing a bit of cooking adventure or are shopping for the chefs on your list, specialty olive oils and balsamic vinegar might be the ticket. Recently, friend Deb and I spent a...
Snowflake Cookies with Royal Icing
The Cupla Sisters avoided decorating holiday cookies with Royal Icing until meringue powder became available. The old recipes called for raw egg whites which was okay for gingerbread houses and other items we did not intend to eat. Yes, the...
Cinnamon Roll and Pecan Bread Pudding
If your household is like mine, we always have a few cinnamon rolls left over after brunch. There are fewer people to eat them and we are all more aware of calories. The following recipe was created...
Stunning Holiday Trees
Although I may be a semi-minimalist, when it comes to decorating the holiday tree, more is just right. Some overseas factory is kept in business supplying the fifteen strings of clear lights it takes to...
Dubuque Arboretum & Botanical Gardens
Bridge Over Still Water
Every season is beautiful at the Dubuque Arboretum and Botanical Gardens. Even now, when robins have fled, waterfalls are silent and the koi pond is frozen, vignettes remain to please the eye. ...
Really, Really Sweet
We are both away from our kitchens this week, so our something sweet isn’t really edible unless you are an adventurous grazer. My Cúpla sent a beautiful bouquet to me on our birthday. The lilies were color spritzed with...
Barn Tour
Cooper's Barn by Charles City Iowa
Cúpla Sister and I have gone on Iowa drive-abouts and barn tours. “Why barns?” you might ask. Barns built by our grandfather and great-grandfather were our first playgrounds. The hay loft was our forbidden cathedral...
Easier Than Pie Pumpkin Tarts
Pumpkin is usually not my favorite flavor – probably because is not chocolate. Recently, however, Cúpla Sister and I were talking about the pumpkin cheesecake with gingersnap crust I used to make and I got...
Afternoon Escape in Southeast Iowa
We went “down south” to our little farm in Van Buren County this last week. No visit to V.B. County is complete without a swing through the Des Moines Riverbank village of Bentonsport, a once thriving...
Ganache Covered Chili Mango Brownies
Dessert for Salon du Chocolat week had to be something special. I looked through my pantry for inspiration and saw candied chili mangoes and a gluten-free brownie mix. Mangos and chili are friends with dark chocolate...
A Taste of Chocolate and Soho
Main Salon at Kirkwood Center
Salon du Chocolat extravaganzas of deliciousness are being held this week in Paris, New York City and twenty other metropolitan locations around the world. None are near us (heavy sigh) but not to worry. We enjoyed lovely chocolate...
Taste of Fall Cookies
Sweet Potato Oatmeal Cookies
Have you noticed how food cravings change with the seasons? Suddenly soups are appealing and my desserts of choice contain spices like cinnamon, ginger and cloves. I purchased a jar of sorghum at the St....
Jewel on the Upper Iowa River
The Upper Iowa River flows through the southwest edge of the Driftless Area. Limestone bluffs that wall the river provide beautiful scenery for canoers. Check rivers level before your canoe trip or you might carry your...
Baked Pears with Almond Sauce
Baked Pears with Almond Sauce
Fall in Iowa does have benefits beyond gorgeous leaf colors. Fresh and locally grown pears are available and at peak flavor. We think a perfectly ripe Bartlett pear is dessert all on its own. Still,...
Great River Road South
Mississippi River at Lock and Dam 12 in Bellevue
Perfect weather on one of the last calendar summer Saturdays just had to be honored with a road trip. We headed south on the Great River Road through some of the most beautiful Mississippi River terrain...