food

If you have Pepin Heights' Honeycrisp 100 Percent Fresh Pressed Apple Cider, don't drink it if the "use by" date reads Feb. 9. The Minnesota Department of Agriculture and Pepin Heights Orchards are advising consumers to avoid the cider after department laboratory tests found some...

I can't believe it is 2012 already, but I am so grateful I made it through 2011. Starting the cold, nasty winter in two hospitals, swing beds and nursing homes I missed most of the worst weather but enjoyed the late spring, nice summer and fall like weather that lasts through December....

When our families and friends gather during this holy season, let us pause for a few moments and reflect on that special gift over 2000 years ago. God sent his son who is the reason for the season. He was born in a manger but honored by kings, shepherds and commoners alike.

During the past few weeks I've seen so many cars with live Christmas trees tied on their tops. The media has warned people to give the trees at least a gallon of water before putting them up because of our dry growing season. Many of the tree lots are bare around the area.

Serving ham during the holidays has long been a tradition. Today, choosing the right one can be challenging because of so many options. When my mother prepared ham for dinner, she would go downstairs or to the freezer and bring out a big home-grown, cured and smoked ham. Years later...

During the past week my arthritic joints reminded me fall is over and winter is here.  We live in Minnesota and know November brings this change with the white landscape, cooler temperatures and icy roads. As we look in our rear view mirror, the high school volleyball and football...

Next week we celebrate Thanksgiving, a celebration that has been held since 1621 when colonists of Plymouth and members of the Wampanoag Indians gathered to share food and give thanks for survival after so many perished during that first harsh winter. Today family and friends still...

Nov. 11 we celebrate Veteran's Day, a day to honor our brave men and women who left their homes and families to protect the freedoms we take for granted. Many came home while others paid the supreme sacrifice. During the year, you can spot a veteran at a parade or event. When the...

Reading about the Rosemount Haunted Wood Trail in the Town Pages last weekend, I thought about how Halloween changed over the years. When we were young we would plant and nourish pumpkins in the garden all summer. Because they were part of our winter food supply, the four of us had...

It's hard to believe two weeks ago we had the air conditioning on and now we need heat. Some years we enjoy an Indian Summer and Harvest Moon while other years it comes and goes too fast. I talked to my sister up North and she said it was too warm to harvest sugar beets and now a...

Last week we drove past several pumpkin fields. Most years there are hundreds of pumpkins of all sizes in the fields and large piles at stands for children to pick from.  This year stands are few and far between, while most pumpkins neatly arranged and priced on  benches or wagons. Because...

Several weeks ago we were having lunch out when two overweight women came in carrying a screaming child. The child looked to be about 4 years and was huge, not just plain porky. He couldn't fit in a booster seat so either sat on his haunches, was laying screaming on the floor or...

During the summer most of the family cooking is done outside on the grill but once school starts there is so much that needs attention. I see parents going home and the pizza car is right behind them several times a week. Stop at the deli around closing and parents rush in for meals...

The Irish celebrate St Patrick's Day on March 17 but the Germans celebrate Octoberfest with festivals that run from  Sept. 17  through Oct. 7 every year. Oktoberfest, as it was spelled, started in 1810 as a regional celebration in Munich after the marriage of Prince Ludweg. It...

I can't believe it's been 10 years. A decade ago on a clear, sunny September morning, life as we Americans knew it changed forever. I remember pictures of the first plane hitting one tower. The horror and shock from the direct hit was only a small part of of the terror that rocked...