Author Archives: cathyboettner

Our youngest is moving into an unfinished apartment, and his brother already raided the basement for a bunch of furniture for his first grown up apartment, so we had to get creative…. I used to have a workbench in the garage at the farm and then in the basement in this house. Recently, it hadContinue reading “A Recycled Work Bench Top turns into a Super Cool Kitchen table”

This is something that our former neighbor gave us, and we just loved it. It is especially good with smoked meats and fantastic on smoked sausage or kielbasa. It is really easy to make. Step one: Prep your banana peppers. (I used about 20 to 25 very large peppers) Even though banana peppers are notContinue reading “Hot Pepper Butter”

Our tomatoes are starting to come in and I picked up a few more when I went to the Mennonite market in Delano, TN. Last year I started roasting my tomatoes for my tomato sauce and it made a big difference in the taste. Here’s how I do it: I wash and cut up myContinue reading “Homemade Pizza Sauce”

Stromboli patty (or meatball) recipe: 2 lbs hamburger or ground turkey 1 1/2 cups marinara sauce 3/4 cup Italian style dry breadcrumbs 2 eggs 2 tsp Italian seasoning 2 tbsp garlic salt 20 oz turkey Sweet Italian Sausage with casings removed Place all the ingredients in a stand mixer with the paddle attachment and mixContinue reading “Stromboli Sandwiches”

I went to the grocery and was lucky enough to find a couple bouquets of white spider mums (which are a favorite of mine). I placed them in the blue vases from the table that I posted earlier this week. I added these cool swirly things that clematis flowers turn into along with some yellowContinue reading “Flowers for the Fourth”

Mike is normally all about the chocolate desserts, but when it gets to be blueberry season, he switches gears and is more into fruit pies. One of his very favorite recipes is Blueberry Cream Pie. This year I started with a homemade crust that I have published here before. Pastry: 2 3/8 cups all purposeContinue reading “Blueberry Cream Pie–Our traditional Independence Day dessert”

My mom had potato plants that came up from a handful of potatoes that didn’t get harvested last year and we dug them up this week. Mike and I had already planned on having a vegetarian curry this week, but it went in a different direction….. Ingredients: Head of cauliflower cut into bite sized piecesContinue reading “Vegetarian Red Thai Curry”

I got started early on my table for Independence day. I started with a blue and white checked cloth and layered a neat handmade square cloth in red, white, and blue. I used my black lanterns, blue vases (which will be filled with yellow, white, and red flowers), and white starfish. I pulled out someContinue reading “Fourth of July Table”

Well, summer is upon us and things are happening in the gardens…some is going well, some not so much. My fig trees are both leafed out now, but it is clear that one is WAY behind the other. On a happier note, the birds have been less interested in the strawberries lately and my husbandContinue reading “A Garden Update”

My maternal grandmother used to make bread and butter pickles and I remember how the house used to smell when she had just made them–like summer. I started making them several years ago and that smell brings back memories of my sweet grandmother. She always put celery and onions with the cucumber slices, so IContinue reading “Spicy Bread and Butter Pickles”