A Woman Sconed

Bread of the Month: Looking to a ‘kids' cookbook for baguettes

By rahoward, on August 31st, 2021

I sort of stopped paying attention to kids’ animated movies (Disney Pixar, etc.) after I saw “Ratatouille” in 2007. The level of artistic excellence in this film brought it to another level. And its theme of following one’s passions no matter what made it seem as appropriate for adults as children (even more . . . → Read More: Bread of the Month: Looking to a ‘kids’ cookbook for baguettes

Cookie of the Month: Bringing best of everything to bars

By rahoward, on August 27th, 2021

A couple of years ago, or so it seems, I saw a video recipe for something that looked extra delicious. The recipe, from Bob’s Red Mill (https://www.bobsredmill.com/recipes/how-to-make/cherry-lime-butter-bars/), featured an almond-y cake type of crust (made with almond flour, lots of butter and lime zest). On top was a filling of a cream cheese . . . → Read More: Cookie of the Month: Bringing best of everything to bars

Cookie of the Month: Comforting with softness and sprinkles

By rahoward, on July 31st, 2021

Nearly every grocery store I’ve ever entered has had some version of a Lofthouse cookie. It seems to be standard to carry these ultra-soft, ultra-sweet vanilla cookies topped with fluffy frosting in an array of pastel colors, embellished with a finish of sprinkles.

I’ll admit that I’m neither much of a frosting nor . . . → Read More: Cookie of the Month: Comforting with softness and sprinkles

Bread of the Month: Feeling fully corny with muffins

By rahoward, on July 31st, 2021

Around the end of May, my usual love and admiration for all things corn amped up a bit.

I mean, I’ll put corn in anything, but I took it to an extra corny level as corn season approached, exploring recipes related to my favorite vegetable. Working ahead on my column for Kansas Country . . . → Read More: Bread of the Month: Feeling fully corny with muffins

Bread of the Month: Oiling up an herb-y scone

By rahoward, on June 30th, 2021

Sometimes, all the planets (or ingredients and time of the year) align in order to make the right recipe. I was recently thumbing through my original favorite scone book, “Biscuits and Scones,” (Clarkson N. Potter; 1988) by Elizabeth Alston. You would think I had made every recipe in the book, but far . . . → Read More: Bread of the Month: Oiling up an herb-y scone

Cookie of the Month: Snazzing up the snickerdoodle

By rahoward, on June 29th, 2021

My first snickerdoodle was given to me by a primary schoolmate, not much older than I. The cookie was pale golden perfection, much like its baker, who was, despite her young years, full of enviable poise, confidence and beauty (who later in high school became, of course, quite popular, a cheerleader and homecoming . . . → Read More: Cookie of the Month: Snazzing up the snickerdoodle

Cookie of the Month: Imagining carrots in more than cake

By rahoward, on May 24th, 2021

There are many mystery recipes in my mom’s little cedar recipe box. The sources of many of the handwritten cards remain unnamed, although I know that if my mom took the time to write down a recipe, it came from someone. More than that mystery, I don’t have a firm recollection of her . . . → Read More: Cookie of the Month: Imagining carrots in more than cake

Bread of the Month: Growing a garden-topped focaccia

By rahoward, on May 17th, 2021

During the last year or so, new kinds of gardens began appearing all over food social media. These garden-scapes have continued to grow and blossom, many of them becoming beautiful works of art. They are all edible…and their foundation? A bed of delicious, moist, dimpled, oily and flavorful focaccia, a favorite type of . . . → Read More: Bread of the Month: Growing a garden-topped focaccia

Cookie of the Month: Taking lemon bars to tart level

By rahoward, on April 30th, 2021

Lemon bars bring up good memories…they were among the first treats I ever prepared and took to share with others. I was a freshman in high school, in Latin class (yes, Latin…do they teach it anymore?), and since we were (surprisingly) a small group, we often got permission to bring and share goodies, . . . → Read More: Cookie of the Month: Taking lemon bars to tart level

Bread of the Month: Tossing strawberries into muffins

By rahoward, on April 25th, 2021

One would assume my April making of Strawberry Banana Muffins came out of a seasonal bent. Strawberries, though found year-round, are often on the docket of spring-to-summer baking projects, coming into prominence as early as April in California. But, to be honest, my muffins came almost completely from a need to use up . . . → Read More: Bread of the Month: Tossing strawberries into muffins

“People ask me: "Why do you write about food, and eating, and drinking? Why don't you write about the struggle for power and security, and about love, the way the others do?" . . . The easiest answer is to say that, like most other humans, I am hungry.”
--M.F.K. Fisher

"It was in a yellow limestone church in Stockdale, Kansas, a crossroads town, that I sat dreaming during summer Sunday sermons, not of heaven or hell, but of the good dinner to come."
--Clementine Paddleford