Our family July 2012
Liam, Maddy in back. Sophia, Oliver and Clare with Nana Clare July 2012
Welcome!
Nana Clare
Hi – welcome to my kitchen. I write about the light and dark sides of food.
My title is “Neurotic Food Whisperer.” I’m a hopeless foodie.
Yes, it’s a cliché, but our kitchens really are the heart of our homes. When you walk in the door and the scent of freshly baked bread greets you, it’s a warm embrace. Ditto for the spicy aroma of a stew or soup or the sweet tang of a cobbler. And if there are warm cookies on the counter, life is really good!
If you’d like a peek into some of the decorative painting projects in my home, check this out: http://www.nanaclareskitchen.com/decorative-painting-in-our-home/ I’ll be adding more in the future, so check back now and then.
My hope is that this blog will be a resource for you on your quest for healthy, fun and tasty foods.
Iowa sunset
I baked my first cookies 50 years ago and never looked back. My mother often relied on me to bake cookies or birthday cakes for one of my seven sisters.
Our household was hectic and chaotic, partly because of the sheer number of people (and animals) and partly because my parents thought organization was for sissies.
When I got married in the mid-‘70’s I possessed a dozen brownie recipes and one new cookbook. I realized I had a lot to learn and began to read and research cooking methods and healthy ingredients. My husband and I ran a little radio station in the Chippewa National Forest, in Minnesota, so I had a lot of quiet time while the music was playing and I used it to read cookbooks. I started collecting them while looking for recipes for specific ingredients like honey, oats, nuts or blueberries.
I worked in radio for many years and then completed a master of science in journalism and public relations when our three kids hit grade school. My career path then changed to public relations, but the pace was no less frenzied.
About eight years ago I left public relations and worked as a decorative artist. My soul was longing for a change of pace and it filled the bill. I hope you visit my page on the decorative techniques in my home. It only shows a few, but it will give you an idea of how much fun I had.
I do understand what it’s like to work full time and shuttle kids and still want to feed them healthy food.
Our kids have all grown and gone and we now have five grandkids. (As of November 20, 2011) My favorite times are when they all come home for a weekend (or longer) and we spend time cooking, eating, laughing, talking and arguing together.
Please leave comments and questions so that we can learn from each other.
Hi Clare,
We are having our sister winter get- together and decided to check out your blog,
great fun ! However we don’t use microwaves, how can we bake the muggins in a oven ? We have a great time in the kitchen together, brings back childhood memories. Colleen made orange cream yogurt out of goats milk last night that will be lunch with the cranberry, orange bread we made. Julie squeezed the oranges using my antique Juice-O-Mat, just like when we were kids, fun. We really enjoyed all your creativity and pics.
Karen, Julie & Colleen
Hi Karen, Julie and Colleen, I wish I was there with you. What a great idea making that orange cream yogurt. Sounds so good! As for the muggins, just follow the ingredients for one that you like and then put in a regular muffin pan. Bake at 350 for about 12 – 15 minutes. I’ve done this before and one muggin will make two or three regular muffins, depending on the size of your muffin pan.
Next time, can you have your winter get-together at my house? Miss you all. Clare
Hi hi. Just tried your recipe, cake in a cup. Taste really good and best of all, so easy to do. Thanks.
Thanks Lai Lai. So happy you liked it.
Thx for connecting with me on foodbuzz. I have added your feed to my reading list and can’t wait to learn more about you and your food.
Thanks CJ. I look forward to your blogs as well. Food creates so many bonds and memories. Peace.
Your site looks great! You are right – working full time with kids is a lot and it’s great to get yummy, healthy, and fast meals out. My daughter just turned 1, so I still have a lot more of that coming up
Looking forward to sharing recipes together!
Congratulations on your baby Katja. The first year is such a huge time for learning and adapting. Thanks so much for visiting my site. Peace, Clare
Clare, love reading your recipes and following you! You are amazing!
Teresa Simpson
Teresa, I’m so happy that you’re enjoying the blog and hopefully some of the recipes. Life’s an adventure. Please stop by again. Happy Easter, Clare
I would love to have your recipe for Cowboy Cake. I’m looking for easy recipes to make with my grandchildren when they come to visit.
Sonia, so sorry you didn’t find the cowboy cake recipe, but here it is: http://www.nanaclareskitchen.com/2011/12/27/cowboy-cake/ You won’t be disappointed. I think what really makes this one good is the coffee instead of water for the liquid and also the added dark chocolate chips. Happy baking with your grandkids. Let me know how it turns out. Peace, Clare
Great to see you and Ken Sunday morning. Your site looks good, not sure what you want to change. You need to send more samples with Ken to work. Keep on cooking.
Alan
Thanks Alan, I promise I’ll send something soon. I keep wanting to add more static pages, but they don’t show up anywhere and I can’t seem to get help on how to have them added to the header menu. Perhaps I have the wrong term. It was fun seeing you too. Clare
Thanks Michele, how fabulous that you are enjoying retirement so much. We’re on baby watch for #5 grandchild. Any day now…but he’s coming to Florida, not Iowa. Ah well, we’ll have to visit soon. Peace, Clare
Hi Clare
This looks great–now can you post some healthy nutritious meals for those of us who are retired and constantly on the run w/no time to cook. We are tired of eating out–all kidding aside congrats the site looks great and I will pop in from time to time–I always loved your cooking
Love to all the kids and you and Ken
Michele and Mike