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I slept like a baby last night. This is because on Monday I made a batch of “bittersweet chocolate pudding”. Are you wondering how sleeping like a baby and making pudding are associated? I’ll get to that in a minute. It all started when I was checking to see what was in the pantry and […]

I had never heard the phrase “butter fricky” until last Thursday – have you ever heard it? Last week in my pre-school class we baked biscuits and made honey-butter. I baked the biscuits, Pillsbury frozen ones, which I happen to think are pretty darn tasty, while the kids were in library time. After they returned […]

Ok, I know some of you might be thinking, “does she know bees have stingers?”. Yes, I do know that. However, that small fact does not interrupt my excitement concerning the arrival of my bees. The good news is; today the fence was painted by my adoring husband, we secured the fence panels to complete […]

If you haven’t noticed by now I have spring on the brain. I will tell you I love winter. I really like coats, mittens, furry boots, and toasting my tootsies by the fire. I like swirling warm, amber cognac in a snifter and sipping it by the fire. I love to ski down wide, snowy […]

Thank goodness for freezers! Last summer I was trying to figure out what in the world to do with over 150 pounds of fresh peaches. One method was to peel, pit, cut up and sprinkle with a little fruit fresh stuff, then freeze them in zip-lock baggies. I am so pleased that I preserved them […]

Hello Orange Bee visitors! I am refreshed from my long weekend of relaxing, visiting, shopping, and reading. This past weekend I was in west Texas where spring was in the air. With temperatures in the 80’s I enjoyed flip-flops and warm breezes. I admit as much as I like to try new recipes and cook […]

Yesterday I met one of the queen bees who will moving to my “Bee Yard” next weekend. I was invited to join my bee mentor, Mr. Floyd for another inspection of his hives. I was pleased that he offered an extra bee suit to adoring husband, allowing him to see what all the […]

Hello Orange Bee readers! I am writing today to let you know I will be taking a break over the weekend to travel with my family. I will be back next week with more delicious recipes and interesting (hopefully) stories for your entertainment. Meantime, check out my “Bees & Honey” page for a new story […]

Garlic has been used as both food and medicine in many cultures for thousands of years, dating back to when Egyptian pyramids were built. Garlic is mentioned in the Bible and the Talmud. Garlic was consumed by ancient Greek and Roman soldiers, sailors, and rural classes as a cure-all. The practice of hanging garlic, […]

Last night we followed our Valentines evening tradition and headed to Keller’s drive-in. As I mentioned in my Valentine’s Day post it is an old timey drive-in complete with car-hops who still look like they did in the 80’s. They call you “hon” and “sweetie” and they don’t even know you. It’s a composition […]

February 14, the day of love. I was challenged with deciding what to create to show the love to my family on Valentine’s Day. It’s not that I don’t have a zillion yummy dessert recipes to choose from or half a zillion that I’ve never tried but want to. No, that was not the problem. […]

Yesterday began at 6 am. This time of day is not my favorite. I like it best when the alarm has a 7 in front of the other numbers, whether they are :00 or :20 or :45. But yesterday it was 6:00 straight up. Miss T was required to be at her school by 6:45 […]

Did you know that Brussel Sprouts are an ancient vegetable? Possibly grown in what is now known as Belgium in the 13th century, Brussel Sprouts could be America’s most disliked vegetable. The first recorded writings about Brussel Sprouts date to 1587. Brussel Sprouts are one of the few vegetables to originate in northern Europe. They […]

After I posted the gumbo recipe my Mom, who is quite familiar with the business of making gumbo called to say she wanted to clue me in on a change my Dad had made to his gumbo recipe, which had not been added to his book. Here’s the story. My Dad had a taste for” […]

If you are not from Texas you may laugh at us Texans’ totally shutting down every time we get ice and or snow. Laugh all you want but apparently we are not equipped to handle too much of the white stuff so we close our schools to the joy of all students, deplete our grocery […]

Isn’t that beautiful? Fresh shrimp ready to be peeled, cooked and eaten. As you know by now these shrimp are destined for the Super Bowl of Gumbo. That is not truly the name of this gumbo but it seemed so fitting to turn it into a puzzle. None of you guessed – nor even attempted. […]

S_ _ ER _ _ _ L _ _ _ _ _ _ _ The puzzle above is a “same name” puzzle, like a “Wheel Of Fortune” puzzle. Did you ever watch that show? I do, some evenings. It is the only program I can watch during dinner – the whole family gets […]

I’ll start by saying, “I did not win any ribbons”. Actually there weren’t any ribbons given out, there was a quick announcement of the winners and everyone went back to stuffing their faces with chili. There were over 60 entries in the cook off and 2 winners were selected by a method not known to […]

The headline says it all. Today I am entering my first ever cook off of any kind and it’s a chili cook off. Cook offs are not new to me although entering one is untried. I’ve attended my share of chili and gumbo cook offs. Never heard of a gumbo cook off? Well, where I […]

Today is an oatmeal day. Temperatures dipping markedly below freezing, winds are still blowing through and the world of The Orange Bee remains covered in ice. After a quick jaunt on the treadmill I made a steamy bowl of oatmeal with raisins, nuts and brown sugar. It warmed me up through and through. I am […]