I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving! What made ours even warmer was the gorgeous weather in Charlotte. It felt like spring time! This was a very special Thanksgiving because my parents and sister and her family all relocated to Charlotte earlier this year. We had a great potluck spread and my sister hosted. [...]

I was late to the cast iron cooking game. I think I thought it was too heavy, not necessary, and required a lot of maintenance with tasks like seasoning and hand washing. My impression was wrong and it turned out to be a game changer! Yes, it is heavy. But that weight allows for more even [...]

There was a time when extra overripe bananas meant the pleasure or pressure to bake. Once I made the banana ice scream recipe from the Vitamix cookbook, I realized that bananas were just as useful frozen as any other frozen fruit. This is an easy way to preserve those spare bananas without them sticking together! [...]