Food Adventures of a Comfort Cook

Meringue Cookies are a holiday favorite. Mary Cokenour photo
It is December 1st as I am writing this and, being the ultimate holiday month, time to plan out what sweets to make for sharing. Correct, for sharing. Each year I endeavor to make enough treats to give out to those who have provided services throughout the year. There are also the folks that Roy...
Giving thanks for many things with pepper stewak and onions. Mary Cokenour photo
Essentially, what is the holiday of Thanksgiving all about? This made me recently wonder due to Thanksgiving being notated on my wall calendar, but for different countries. I knew about the holiday happening in the USA and Canada, but more countries than those two? Our basic definition is an...
Lemonade chicken and baked potato. Mary Cokenour photo.
Currently I am reading Ghostly Awakening, by E M Leya (a Salt Lake City, UT resident), which is about assistant medical examiner, Lance who is involved in a near fatal car accident and receives a severe head injury. Finally able to return to work, he suddenly starts seeing ghosts, and worries he is...
Pot roast dinner and gravy brings it all together. Mary Cokenour photo.
Gravy making, why does it seem to be so complicated? Growing up, the only gravy I remember having at a meal was at Thanksgiving time, and it was not homemade, but came out of a can. During my first marriage I would watch my, then, mother-in-law make a slurry of flour, garlic powder and water, pour...
Muffins are an awesome November treat.  Mary Cokenour photos
“Do you know the Muffin man The Muffin man, the Muffin man Oh, do you know the Muffin man Who lives on Drury Lane?” This song, or nursery rhyme, was first published in 1820, but its origin story goes back farther than that. It is based upon an urban legend about a baker in London’s West End, a poor...
Dos, the new sushi chef at Ja-Roen Thai & Sushi in Monticello. Mary Cokenour photo
Saturday night is “date night” for Roy and myself. Often times I cook up buffalo wings, mozzarella sticks, hand cut fries, homemade pizza, even do all the work required for authentic English style fish n’ chips. Then we pick out a movie, usually a mystery, horror, sci-fi, or comedic mystery,...
Momma’s little baby loves shortenin’ bread. Mary Cokenour photo
“Put on the skillet, put on the lid Mama’s gonna make a little short’nin’ bread That ain’t all Mama’s gonna do She’s gonna make a little coffee, too Mama’s little baby loves short’nin’, short’nin’, Mama’s little baby loves short’nin’ bread Mama’s little baby loves short’nin’, short’nin’ Her little...
Side dishes have many uses, including variety and balance, accomodating preferences, extending a meal, and more. But this batch of candied sweet potatoes mainly serves to provide gustatory pleasure.  Mary Cokenour photo
The “side dish” – what exactly does that mean? After laying out the main meal, then come the sides, sort of like an afterthought. It’s sort of like, “Hey, we have all these extra cans of green beans about to expire. Let’s gussy them up and serve them with dinner!” Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines...
Pumpkin pancakes are a seasonal treat.  Mary Cokenour photo
“Each year, the Great Pumpkin rises out of the pumpkin patch that he thinks is the most sincere. He’s gotta pick this one. He’s got to. I don’t see how a pumpkin patch can be more sincere than this one. “You can look around and there’s not a sign of hypocrisy. Nothing but sincerity as far as the...
Apple Candy, from a recipe in A Melting Pot of Pioneer Recipes, are one of the favorite old Mormon sweets.  Mary Cokenour photo
The inspiration to go through various cookbooks, dedicated to Utah, was once again due to autumn knocking at the door. Typically, we wait to see if woolly caterpillars will give us any hints as to what kind of winter will be around the corner. If a few, not too much snow; if an abundance, better...

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