Good Things by David

My Favorite Cheeseburger I just want to take the time to wish every single one of you and your loved ones a Happy Labor Day weekend.  Don't forget to take advantage of the season's produce before it's gone by throwing a barbecue!  Juicy burgers, plump tomatoes, tasty salads, refreshing drinks and scrumptious desserts, are just some of the things we all enjoy during this time.  Enjoy the bounty with your friends & family. I'm going to be grilling cheeseburgers and making some blueberry pies to serve with vanilla ice cream.   Enjoy! David  

Using squeeze bottles for royal icing at home has been something I've resisted because of my preference for piping bags.  Piping bags have always been my inclination for cookie decorating projects throughout the years, but lately, with people reaching for those squeeze bottles in greater numbers, I thought I'd give them a try.  I visited a local kitchenwares store that has so many wonderful products for baking, cooking, grilling, as well as entertaining, to buy my first bottles. With a few options ranging from basic bottles with piping tips, to more elaborate accordion-style ones in vivid colors, I decided on the basic set.  After getting them home and washing each bottle & component thoroughly, I set about making some sugar cookies.  The  Heirloom Sugar Cookies  were perfect for cutting and baking some uniquely-shaped cookies.  Then it was onto making some  Perfect Royal Icing ,  which is such a great recipe created by,  Ja...

If you collect vintage and antique dinnerware and kitchenware items, it helps to keep a few things in mind if you want to use them for preparing recipes and serving meals.  Washing these heirloom pieces after you're done is just as important as making sure they're adequately prepared for food before using them.  The items we spend a significant amount of time and money to collect should be properly taken care of, because we want to keep them in top condition for many more years to come.  Delicate china, glassware, stoneware, earthenware and ironstone that has survived decades can continue to do so in your very own home if you're cautious. Over the course of my keeping home, entertaining and enjoying the antiques I own, I've had a few mishaps with my antique & vintage dinnerware due to simple errors on my part.  These accidents could have been avoided if I had just paid closer attention to what I was doing at the time.  When I look back at those instance...

Now is the time to take advantage of the last blueberries of the season, unless of course, you're talking about the wild variety.  We seem to love adding tasty berries to just about any breakfast item and there's a reason why.  Blueberries are delicious and mouthwatering when they're fresh from the farmers market, but frozen blueberries are just as good (as long as they were good to begin with) when added to pancakes, muffins and waffles.   This particular recipe for blueberry muffins is very special, because it was recently handed down to me by the Bonnes, after I happened to notice a photograph of them on a breakfast platter.  Teresa tells me that the recipe was made quite often by her mother while they were growing up in Indiana.   It comes from the Duneview Fruit Farm in Michigan where Teresa's mother and father used to visit every so often to partake of the wonderful blueberries and peaches.  I'm told that the recipe was printed on a 3x5 card ...

I was recently organizing my home office because I wanted to remove clutter and streamline the way I blog and take care of business around our home.  My "office" is not the typical one with a dedicated room and a great big desk you might come to expect from a household.  It is an unobtrusive, out-of-the-way space that you wouldn't know was there unless you opened a couple of doors, but it is nonetheless a very cosy space that allows me to do everything without taking too much room.  I don't have to reach far to locate documents, photographs, scan images, make copies, print items, download information or write my posts for the blog, because everything is located in one area. What you must understand, however, is that I don't really sit down during the day unless I'm eating.  There is always something to do around the house, whether it's baking, cleaning, cooking, making calls or talking to a worker, so mobility is key for me.  At my home office, be...

I love combing through antique markets, antique fairs, tag sales, vintage shops & flea markets whenever I have a spare moment.  Sometimes I plan a trip just to make sure I attend a particular market in a particular city and believe me, I'm not alone.  Don't ask my why I love these types of markets, I just do.    Over the years I've come to learn a thing or two about how to prepare for this type of shopping, and I think it's important for the potential buyer to be aware of these tips when visiting shops, fairs and markets that deal in the old & vintage. If I'm determined to peruse a market or store with plenty of time on my hands, I like to be prepared for the unexpected finds which may be found when digging through displays.  Mistakes in the past have cost me lost opportunities to buy items which I will never forget, and near accidents have almost cost me a purchase or two while transporting them home.  Let my lessons serve you in the future and ...