by Karen Creamer | Mar 21, 2023 | Book Reviews, books, Connection
I knew almost nothing about this book before requested it from the library. I don’t even remember how I heard about it but it was next in the pile, and so I started reading it.
Right away, Small World had my attention because it mentioned a place that I had actually worked, The Walter E. Fernald State School, one of my first jobs after I became a nurse.
A bit later in the book it mentions Paragon Park and Nantasket Beach. My parents met there, and my grandmother had a house in that area for many years. We often visited her for Sunday dinner when I was younger. Keep reading
by Karen Creamer | Mar 14, 2023 | (it's all about the) food, Comfort, recipes
Is there anything better than homemade chicken soup when you aren’t feeling well?
Recently when I wasn’t feeling well, I was dying for a cup of hot, homemade chicken soup, but not just any homemade soup. I wanted MY homemade chicken soup. The problem was that I felt too awful to make it for myself.
I decided to plan ahead to give myself the gift of soup for some time in the future when, for whatever reason, I need it but am not able to make it for myself. Now that I’ve done it, it feels comforting just knowing that it is there in the freezer, and all I have to do is add the pasta (ditalini or pastina!) or rice to it. Keep reading
by Karen Creamer | Feb 28, 2023 | (it's all about the) food, Comfort, Connection, family, italian
With the supply of pastina at an all time low, I’ve been thinking about other staples in my diet that have been around since childhood.
Spaghetti is one of them.
I usually buy DeCecco Angel Hair Spaghetti (cooks in 2 to 3 minutes!) but they didn’t have any at the supermarket, so when I was looking for the Prince Pastina (and striking out again), I saw the Prince Spaghetti and thought I’d by a box for old times’ sake. This also reminded me of the commercial from back in the day, of Anthony running through the streets of the North End in Boston to make it home on time for supper. Keep reading
by Karen Creamer | Feb 21, 2023 | at camp, Clarity
After much research, we bought a Vermont Castings Alpine C3 Wood Stove. It was the perfect stove for our situation (on paper, at least), but in real life, not so much. You see, most of the time, the smoke emptied out into the camp via the door, bottom of the stove, or stove pipe.
Not good.
The installers came out to look at it a couple of times. The first time, they noted that the heat blanket in the stove had melted, so they replaced that. The next time they noted that the stove was cracked. They replaced it, and it did work for a short time after that. Keep reading
by Karen Creamer | Feb 14, 2023 | (it's all about the) food, Connection, italian
We were looking for new places to try for Italian food.
After doing a search of nearby restaurants, I came up with Calzolaio Pasta Company in Wilton, Maine
Eggplant Fries
Wait. What? Eggplant fries?
In the spirit of adventure, my husband agreed to try them. I love eggplant but he does not.
These things were amazing! They were a little crispy but light and the gravy that came with them for dipping was almost as good as my own. I would have bought some if they sold jars of it.
Everything else was excellent as well. The bread. The Angry Meat Pizza. The Chicken Parmigiana. To me, the mark of a great restaurant is that there are so many things that sound so great that you want to try them all. Keep reading
Karen Creamer
