Let’s Cook Something New: “DYI Bandanna Face Masks”

What? We’re cooking face masks now? No, we’re sewing them. It looks like we will be required to wear a face mask out in public due to the Covid-19 virus — at least in Louisiana. And, ideally, a person should wash his/her cloth face mask in hot, soapy water frequently. So, we’ll need alot of these face masks. Since I don’t have a “Sewing Blog,” I decided to share my original “recipe” for sewing an easy “DYI Bandanna Face Mask” on my cooking blog using a bandanna that I found in a drawer. This bandanna face mask is really simple to make. You only need a bandanna, two shoe laces and several pipe cleaners (or floral wire). Plus a sewing machine, measuring tape, pins and one safety pin. Oh yes, and an iron.

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Cookin’ in the Kitchen: Carrot Salad with Golden Raisins & Pineapple

A recent survey showed that carrots are our country’s third most popular vegetable after corn and potatoes. (I wonder if this could refer to raw carrots rather than cooked carrots?) I do remember that carrot sticks were packed in practically every brown bag lunch that I ever ate when growing up. I can’t say that I loved the carrots, but I did tolerate them. Recently, Marie made a delightful carrot salad which is a delicious way to serve this vegetable. Marie’s recipe combines carrots with golden raisins and pineapple for a flavorful combination. And I used pre-shredded carrots to make this an easy “one-bowl” recipe. So while we are cookin’ at home, here is an easy variation of Marie’s recipe.

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Cookin’ in the Kitchen: Easy Classic Coleslaw

While we are “cookin’ in the kitchen” and staying home rather than eating out in restaurants, let’s make coleslaw. This vegetable salad is very nutritious and we all need to try to boost the Vitamin A and C content of our meals to keep up immune resistance. Plus, my husband declares that this is the best coleslaw that he has eaten. We decided that this is due to a “secret ingredient.” The recipe has a couple of twists and is easy to make in one bowl without any fuss. Continue reading

Old-Fashioned Beef Pot Roast with Vegetable Medley

Last summer, I took a trip back to the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia for my high school class reunion. In addition to visiting with classmates whom I hadn’t seen in years, I made time to stop at the town’s farmers market. It is interesting that the farm vegetables which are ripe in Virginia are several months behind the ones that are ripe locally in Louisiana. Carrots, potatoes, beets and early English peas filled the stands in the market in Virginia in June. Of course, I brought back some of these vegetables. Although it is now winter again, some of these vegetables –such as carrots — are easily available all year around.

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Coconut Lemon Bars for Passover

I made this delicious “Coconut Lemon Bar” recipe in December using Meyer Lemons from my backyard citrus fruit tree. The combination of lemons, coconut and walnuts on a buttery crust made a great holiday dessert. These bars can easily be adapted for Passover and so I decided to make this dessert for our “virtual” Seder meal coming up this week.

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