We make a fantastic spiced quince jam from Christine Ferber's "Mes Confitures". I love that book so much -- it's completely transformed how I make jam. The quince recipe is a bit involved, but wo...

Love it!

I'm no expert just an occasional jam maker, but it seems to me that the rubber ring Weck jars would be safer than any jar that has a clasping mechanism keeping the lid down on the jar (Ball, Fido, ...

This isn't very helpful, I know, but my Indian grandmother makes the most fantastic smooth tomato chutney. It's a bit like the curry ketchup you sometimes get in Germany. God it's good.

@gourmandizzy Re: round v. oval, I like to use my big oval dutch oven for browning or braising game birds, pork loins, pot roast...anything with an oblong shape. Also, the oval shape is jus...

Tigers tents = no sleep for me. But then again I'm a huge wuss. Lovely tents, though.

Wine rack is from Ikea, I believe.

Do you have a secret trick for making your cross hatches on the top so perfect? My usual squish-with-fork approach makes for a nice homey look, but yours look fab.

I've made a very simple rhubarb tart a lot this spring where the key is maceration. I slice the rhubarb into thin rounds on the diagonal, toss with sugar and a scraped vanilla pod and let it sit f...

I just made these for the first time last weekend. I boiled the shelled beans for ~3 minutes in salted water, then tossed them with lemon, salt, olive oil and fresh oregano. Delicious!

As others have said, I'd go with Ikea for under-counter cabinets, butcher block countertops, sink and faucet and doing the assembly and installation yourselves. I've assembled Ikea kitchens before...

Love this. Such a good idea.

Yowza! Those look fantastic. My poor thighs.

Wow, this is interesting. I'd never thought about these issues before -- good post. I used to live in Cambridge, MA and would moan about how ridiculous it was that we couldn't buy w...

My husband and I are more backpackers than a car-campers by nature, but the era of the backwoods campfire seems to be over, alas. So, when we camp we're working with a whisperlite stove, an ultral...

Kim made that sofa herself, actually. Here's the link to her DIY post: http://desiretoinspire.blogspot.com/2...

I made a batch of gorgeous but EXTREMELY bitter vin d'orange with Seville organges and rose wine last winter that's been aging in the bottle for nearly a year now because I haven't figured out a wa...

I've been thinking about bamboo as a privacy screen for our tiny paved side yard for a while now, but what's always stopped me has been the price. Around here (SF bay) I haven't found it selling f...

Hey! My Serbian friend taught me the same method, art! The detail you can get in the leaf silhouettes is fantastic -- delicate veins, edge texture. So beautiful. The one time I made them myself...

This is making me wish I had a Czech grandma too!