Recipe: Chocolate coconut muffins (wheat-free, gluten-free, low sugar, low carb, paleo)

I’ve got nothing against wheat, but it’s fun to mix things up a little. I found some coconut flour at Trader Joe’s and have been playing around with different recipes that use it. Coconut flour can’t be substituted one-to-one for wheat flour; it expands a lot when mixed with liquid, so you generally need to use less coconut flour than you … Read more

Recipe: Slow-cooker chicken noodle soup

I haven’t been around much lately thanks to a project that’s been keeping me busy, but things should start returning to normal in a month or so. In the meantime, a person’s gotta eat, so you’ll still be seeing some recipes from me – just not daily posts. This chicken soup happened when I roasted a chicken that I apparently hadn’t … Read more

Quick dinner for one: Fancy tomato soup recipe

This is a more adult version of the classic – more sophisticated and better for you than condensed Campbell’s, but just as quick to make. It also tastes phenomenal. I used home-canned tomato juice as the soup base, which guarantees very tomato-y flavor (Brandywines are my favorite for juicing). But this recipe will work with tomato juice from the grocery … Read more

Recipe: Blueberry corn muffins (wheat-free, gluten-free, whole grain, low sugar)

My friend Tania requested I do a wheat-free muffin recipe. I love corn muffins with sweet or savory add-ins, and lately my favorite edition has been blueberries. Juneberries (serviceberries), blueberry lookalikes that grow freely in many parts of the United States and Canada, can also be a nice addition.   When I am making corn muffins for myself, I usually include some … Read more

Growing wheat grass for your cat: an illustrated tutorial

My cat Lilo has a bad habit of eating fabric. One of the things I’ve done to help dissuade her from this habit – besides making sure that every bit of fabric not upholstered to something or currently being worn by a human is out of her reach – is to grow wheat grass for her. She enjoys eating it … Read more

Better photos with free photo apps

If I were a truly awesome blogger, I would take all my photos with an actual camera in natural filtered sunlight. But given that it’s the middle of winter, sunlight isn’t always easy to find when it’s time to take a photo. And it’s easier to upload photos to the web using my phone than with my actual camera, so I use my … Read more

Recipe: Cranberry-buckwheat muffins (low sugar, low fat, vegan option)

I was in the mood for something made with buckwheat, and while racking my brain for flavors that would go well with it, I hit upon cranberries. I almost always have a bag or two of whole, unsweetened cranberries in my freezer – I tend to buy several pounds in autumn when they are cheap and toss them in the freezer. … Read more