cathyboettner

Fall Fiesta

We had our oldest, his fiancee, and some of his teammates at our house for The Head of the Hooch last weekend. On Saturday, they expected to be late and some people thought they might be back earlier than others, so I planned to do chicken burrito bowls. I wanted to do a tablescape thatContinue reading “Fall Fiesta”

Bright and Cheerful Thanksgiving

Many of the colors that we associate with Thanksgiving decorations are browned down versions of yellow (ochre), Orange (rust or russet), and Red (maroon). This table uses clear bright tones of these same base colors along with a hefty dose of blue. The inspiration for the table was the Villeroy and Boch Bonjour Madame saladContinue reading “Bright and Cheerful Thanksgiving”

Roasted Pear and Rosemary French 75

I learned about this drink at an event (a drink mixing class) I worked on for a non-profit a couple of years ago. It was, without a doubt, the best drink that I have ever had anywhere, bar none. I’m going to make them for Thanksgiving and we are going to need a BUNCH ofContinue reading “Roasted Pear and Rosemary French 75”

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”