By Marjorie Watkins How to live to be 100 years or better!1. Get plenty of exercise2. Also take a rest when you need it3. Choose healthier food.4. Boot sugar from your diet5. Choose your companions carefully.Words and Illustration by Marj after recently turning 100 This article first appeared in The Vashon Loop, probably in the…
By Marj Watkins with Suzanna Leigh This summer is predicted to be the hottest ever! Who wants to cook when the temperature is soaring? When she lived in the desert, Suzanna learned to do her cooking in the morning before the heat set in. So, roast a chicken in the early morning and use the…
By Cynthia Sadurni There are many versions of this classic dessert. Custard came to the new world via the Spanish Conquest and then transformed into the sweet, caramel-rich dessert we know today in the Americas. I have heard often that this dessert is finicky and difficult. Nothing could be further from the truth. With a little…
By Marj Watkins and Suzanna Leigh Suzanna: You are going to be 100 years old during Strawberry Festival this year! How long have you lived on the Island? Marjorie: We moved to the island July 1969. Our furniture was due to arrive the next day, so my daughter Jeannie and I went uptown to get…
Alert reader M.D. noted that our apple cake recipe, lacking any oil, milk, or water, might end up being unusably dry. Happily, reader C.H.L. wrote in about the recipe; she had discovered that there’s an entire genre of oil-free cakes. Finally, M.T. noted that these were likely rooted in the Great Depression times, when one tried…
By Joyce Kiefer Joyce Kiefer is a frequent visitor to Vashon, and the mom of editor Jane Valencia. She shared this recipe. Grandpa grew “young berries” in the backyard by the back fence. These berries were a hybrid of blackberries and raspberries. We had to do something with the abundant crop, so this cake was one…
By Lyndsey Braun-Palmer Everything spring-like is springing into action, including egg production! I’d like to introduce a favorite method for creating shelf-stable eggs – dehydration! Dehydrating eggs when you are producing more than you need is a great way to store this food essential for future use. Here’s my step-by-step guide. Ingredients Fresh eggs Instructions…
By Marjorie Watkins with Suzanna Leigh A favorite hot-weather meal inspired by our Danish relatives When I was a young woman, “Onkle Hans” came to America from Denmark to visit his cousin Lily, my mother-in-law. He always remembered that. When we were coming back from Crete in 1974, we went up to England and took…
By Marj Watkins One year, back when my husband was alive and well, we decided to visit Ireland for our vacation. We found our way to Dublin and rented a house a bit north of Dublin and near the bus stop. The bus was not due yet, but there was a restaurant beckoning a few…
By Andy Valencia This is a family dessert favorite, developed by my late mother, Denise Valencia. “Pecan Court” is the location of my childhood family home. Apple Cake – From Pecan Court