This morning when I opened the blinds in the kitchen garden everything looked so calm and sweet that I just had to pop out there and snap some photos for you.  I LOVE this time of year. It’s filled with so much hope! The perennials are beginning to emerge from their winter slumber and the seeds you’ve planted {and hoped you weren’t too early in planting} are starting to pop through the soil.  The birds are chirping and the sun is shining and there’s this feeling that this year’s gardening season is going to be a good one… Whether or not you plant a big garden or a s ..read more

A few weeks ago One Hundred Dollars a Month reader Laura shared her Trader Joe’s tomato and roasted red pepper soup recipe with me in the comment section {I made it, and it was fabulous!}. Then a week later, Tamera passed along her recipe for Trader Joe’s lentil bruschetta. And it too was another winner! And well, here I am again with another easy Trader Joe’s recipe because last week Laura was back with another of her favorite recipes to try; Trader Joe’s salmon spread. Holy cannolis people, was it ever delicious!!  Here’s the comment Laura left me on a previous post: One ..read more

I can’t remember the last time I was super sick… And let me tell you Bob, getting strep throat is no fun. No fun at all. Especially when you’re older and have a to-do list about a mile long.  Luckily though, after about 10 days of having to deal with strep + a cold/flu/cooties I have turned the corner. I’m only operating at about 70% right now, but I’m feeling much better than I did. I think it probably had something to do with all the {medically necessary} ice cream and chicken soup I consumed. Other than beans and weenies and a bowl of pasta, I’m not exactly sure what the HH survive ..read more

Eat More Fruits and Vegetables I ate quite a bit of pineapple and chocolate this past week. Not in its original form though. Chocolate. Is the cocoa bean a fruit or a vegetable? Anyone know for sure? Visit 24 {new} Bakeries / Coffee Shops On Friday I shared about our latest bakery adventure. All I’m going to say is some you win, and some you lose. Just because something looks good on the outside, doesn’t always mean it is on the inside.  On to the next one! New Bakeries / Coffee Shops I’ve Been To This Year: Ritual Bakehouse and Patisserie Caramel Patisserie Standard Bak ..read more

We were down near Salem, Massachusetts a few weeks ago and after reading the glowing reviews of Caramel French Patisserie online for the past year or so, we decided to pop by for an afternoon cuppa and a sampling of their gorgeous pastries.  And gorgeous they were! The look of their french pastries immediately reminded me of my all time favorite french pastry shop, La Maison Navarre in Portsmouth, New Hampshire.  I’ve had a lot of pastries over the years, and so quite honestly, the bar has been set pretty high by the really, really good pastry shops out there.  T ..read more

I planted a few rows of beets the other day in the kitchen garden and thought I would share some of my tried and true tips on how to grow beets for those of you who haven’t grown them before.  Basically, I LOVE growing beets! And I love watching them as they turn from little seedlings into leafy greens and then big bulbs of goodness throughout the growing season. In previous years I’ve planted varieties like chioggia, bulls blood and early wonder. But my tried and true favorite beet for roasting as well as canning and pickling, is the Detroit dark red beet. The size is un ..read more

Yesterday was such a beautiful day! I finally feel like we have turned the corner here in Maine and gardening season has begun. Albeit slowly, it has begun.   The radishes, beets, carrots, lettuce and peas are in, and in another week I’ll be able to get a row of cabbages in the ground. I’ve grown a lot of carrots over the years and every year I plant a few rows of carrots. Not so much for us, but for Lucy. Miss Lucy LOVES her carrots and she especially loves digging them up. This time around I planted a row of carrots and a row of radishes behind the winter kale. As soon ..read more

If you’ve got strep throat, does ice cream count as a medical expense? I mean, it seems pretty acceptable to me. What do you think? Yes or No. ~Mavis OTHER The post Does Ice Cream Count As A Medical Expense? appeared first on One Hundred Dollars a Month. This content was original published at One Hundred Dollars a Month and is copyrighted material. If you are reading this on another website it is being published without consent.         Comments Absolutely, yes! Get well soon. by Samantha I have had it recently too and I vote yes. Miserable i ..read more

Marker Basket $31.27 Hello Monday!  It was a bit of a mixed bag last week in the meal department, partly because I was finishing up the task of getting all my rug hooking patterns and wool dyed for the summer season and partly because we were both sick.  Some days I felt like making something to eat, and other days it was eating squirrel food {nuts and dried fruit}. We’re still not feeling 100%, but at least now I feel like we are on the mend and my days are not consumed with all things wool.  With all my major rug hooking projects behind me for the summer season ..read more

Eat More Fruits and Vegetables Currently craving a giant bowl of salt potatoes. Note to self: Buy baby potatoes this week.  Visit 24 {new} Bakeries / Coffee Shops I feel like I am a little behind on this goal but we did visit pastry shop #5 recently. The pastries were so pretty though, they deserve a post of their own so I’ll wait and tell you where we went and what we tried soon.  New Bakeries / Coffee Shops I’ve Been To This Year: Ritual Bakehouse and Patisserie Standard Baking Co.  Saltwater Farm Cafe Coffee Roasters of the Kennebunks Go On An Adventure My ..read more