“Eleanor and Park”
He loved how much they loved each other. It was the thing he thought about when he woke up scared in the middle of the night. Not that they loved him – they were his parents, they had to love him. That they loved each other. They didn’t have to do that.
16-year old Parker “Park” Sheridan lives in a suburb outside Omaha, Nebraska with his parents and younger brother, Josh. Next door are his paternal grandparents (his maternal grandparents live in Korea where his mother is from). A tight-knit family, the Sheridans “were practically the Waltons” although Park feels somewhat disconnected from the love fest his parents share between themselves. Read more 
Crunchy Nut and Seed Granola Clusters
The granola bar is at one end of the granola spectrum and on the other end is loose granola. Popular as both a cereal and snack food, granola in its two major forms is the go-to food for those who want a nutritious meal or snack on the go. But, what if you want a granola that is more substantial in texture than a cereal but not as rigid as a bar? The answer is the granola cluster: chunks of loosely held together pieces of granola that have the texture of a bar but the flexibility of a crumbly cereal. Read more
Fruit Bliss
Fruit Bliss is a family of preservative-free, soft and moist dried fruit that is juicy and delicious. Made only with non-GMO fruit and water, these naturally sweet fruits are loved by both adults and kids and are a healthy alternative to dried fruit that has been preserved with sulfites. You won’t find any hard, powdery, or overly chewy pieces of dried fruit in Fruit Bliss because real pieces of dried fruit rehydrated with water ensures that every bite of Fruit Bliss is an all natural, pure and healthy snack. There are no added sweeteners, artificial colors or flavors added to this gluten-free nutritious snack food. Read more
Kamut: The Ancient Grain in Modern Times
Kamut is the trademarked name of Khorasan wheat – a grain whose name refers to the northeast region of Iran, where it was widely grown. Popular in ancient times and especially in Egypt, some people refer to Kamut as “King Tut’s Wheat” because legend holds these grains were found in the tombs of pharaohs. Kamut is an organic, non-genetically modified ancient wheat variety (although many gluten intolerant people can easily digest Kamut) that is delicious and nutritious. Read more
Purely American Foods: Soups, Stews, and Chowders
Several years ago, I stopped buying canned soups and started making my own because I wanted to have soups with no additives and a lower sodium content. Most soups are relatively easy to make but have two challenging aspects: time and flavor. Cutting up vegetables is time-consuming but if a food processor is used, the chopping and mincing is a snap. Onions, celery, and carrots are three very common vegetables used in soups and my mini chopper dices these vegetables in seconds. Read more
“Tenth of December”
George Saunders is a master short story-teller whose talent is skillfully displayed in The Tenth of December, a collection of ten short stories that was recently published (2013). A writer who seems to be writing about the mundane aspects of life – work, buying a puppy, planning a birthday party, or picking the kids up from school – Saunders is, in fact writing about the big picture: parenting, corporate greed and power, entitlement, human rights, mental illness, and despair. With George Saunders, there is always a message that says something about our culture and what we value and that’s what makes his short stories so thought-provoking, hilarious, and often heart-breaking. Read more
Storage Solutions: The Mason Jar
There are only a few products as useful today as they were 150 years ago and the mason jar is certainly among the elite group of old-fashioned products whose innovative design still stands strong. Invented by John Landis Mason in 1858, the mason jar was awarded a patent because the glass body with the 2-piece lid (the flat top and hollow screw-top lid)- provide a hermetic seal allowing fresh food – especially fresh fruit and vegetables – to be preserved for future consumption. Read more
Organic and Natural Sugars
Until recently, I didn’t think there was really that much difference between refined sugar and organic sugar but there is a big difference and one worth knowing about. Bone char (which are primarily pelvic bones from cattle that have been ground, heated, and charred) is often referred to as a natural carbon and is widely used by the industry to filter sugar through an absorption process giving sugar cane that “pure” white color we’re all used to seeing when we open a bag of refined sugar. Not all sugar companies use bone char to process sugar – some use other carbon systems – but many do so the easiest way to avoid bone char is to buy organic and natural sugars. Read more
The LenkaBar
York, Pennsylvania may be well-known as “The White Rose City” but many people don’t know that York is also the home of Lenka’s Fresh Snacks, the maker of LenkaBars: granola bars made with organic granola and fresh, natural ingredients. It all started in Mom’s (Lenka’s) kitchen six years ago with her recipes for homemade granola bars that called for the freshest ingredients. The popularity of the bars grew and although LenkaBars are now made in a commercial grade kitchen, Lenka still makes the bars using her unique recipes in small batches. Read more
“Pastoralia”
Pastoralia is a collection of six short stories by George Saunders, a professor at Syracuse University who teaches creative writing in the MFA program, and a writer of essays, short stories, novellas (a narrative that is longer than a short story but shorter than a novel) and children’s books. Published in 2000, Pastoralia is Saunders’ second short story collection (the first being CivilWarLand in Bad Decline published in 1996) and my first introduction to his work. After reading Pastoralia, I was blown away and had several thoughts: Read more
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