cathyboettner

Spooky Halloween Table

I found a bunch of pieces of Independence “Millbrook” dishes at a couple of stores and somehow, the pattern reminds me of Tim Burton’s work, so of course I had to do a Halloween table with them. I started with a white tablecloth and a pretty fall shawl with lots of Halloween colors in it.Continue reading “Spooky Halloween Table”

Canned Apples

I love Mutsu (also know as Crispin) apples, and I bought a bushel of them. In retrospect, buying that many was silly because it’s way more than 2 people can eat. I have already made applesauce and apple butter, so I thought I would can them. This is my first time canning apples. I planContinue reading “Canned Apples”

Sweet Potatoes Two Ways

We dug our sweet potatoes last night and at first I thought it was going to be a puny harvest, but the last few plants we dug up had some crazy big sweet potatoes. The skin on these was really scarred and I wasn’t sure if they were going to have something wrong with them,Continue reading “Sweet Potatoes Two Ways”

From the Garden–KALE

I got an earlier start on my fall garden this year compared to other years and it is doing well. So well in fact, that I went ahead and picked my first batch of kale. I planted Lacinato kale because I prefer it over the curly variety–it’s much easier to wash because it’s flat. Here’sContinue reading “From the Garden–KALE”

Sweet Potato Harvest

I need to get the beds where I grow my sweet potatoes put to “bed” for the winter by adding more compost and covering them thickly with mulch to keep the weeds at bay, so it was time to dig sweet potatoes. The deer really love sweet potato leaves and they hit these beds reallyContinue reading “Sweet Potato Harvest”

The Ancient Basement–the New Storage Room

When I last posted about the storage room, we had really just started working on it. You can find that post here: https://cathyathomeontheriver.com/2025/10/10/the-ancient-basement-were-back-at-it/ . Basically, we had made an opening for the door; did the rough in for the little bit of electrical that was required; and did the framing. My husband is still workingContinue reading “The Ancient Basement–the New Storage Room”

Sweet and Salty Peanuts

I have been making these for a long time and have literally made hundreds of pounds of them over the years. This is another easy one. I have found that the best place to buy raw spanish peanuts is our local Indian grocery–great quality and really good price. 4 1/2 cups raw spanish peanuts (youContinue reading “Sweet and Salty Peanuts”

Preserving Mushrooms

Last fall when we were buried in mushrooms, I borrowed my mom’s dehydrator and I dried them and they are in a jar with several oxygen absorbers to keep them fresh. This year, I wanted to preserve them in a way that was easier to pull out and use. I thought that I would canContinue reading “Preserving Mushrooms”

Bacon Onion Beef Burgers

I started making these a few years ago and my husband LOVES them. Because they are a little bit of a pain, I usually make a ton of them. I am giving you my proportions, but you can easily divide and add more of some things and less of others to suit your tastes. 6Continue reading “Bacon Onion Beef Burgers”

Another storage solution for a difficult to store item

We bought a tent a while ago–it was about the same cost as to rent one and now we have it for other events. The problem is that we didn’t want to store it in the house, and leaving it on the floor of the garage was also a problem. I found some heavy dutyContinue reading “Another storage solution for a difficult to store item”