My grandmother, Sadie A. Shafer made the best carmel sauce for us when we were growing up. Unfortunately for me, I didn’t get her recipe before she passed away. But fortunately for me, she taught me to love cooking and to experiment with foods. So I think I have come up with a sauce pretty close to hers.

3/4 cup butter
1 1/2 cups firmly packed brown sugar
2 tablespoons water
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup heavy cream
1 tablespoon vanilla extract

Combined the first 4 ingredients in a sauce pan and cook over a medium heat until the butter is melted.  Bring to a slow boil while constantly stirring for 2 minutes, lower the heat and add cream and vanilla.  Cook for another minute over med heat.  Remove and when cool enough pour into a glass container.

I love to cut up crisp apples and drip into the carmel sauce or try your hand at Cindy’s vanilla ice cream with carmel. Simple and delicious!

We all love it, do it and regret it! Ahh, Thanksgiving dinner, it is simply the best holiday.  You know the drill, preparing all day for your families favorite dishes, setting the table and blasting through the first plate so you can have room for seconds before your stomach has even digested the first.So now that we’re on the other side of Thanksgiving, it’s cleanse time. This is a little recipe I first had in Botswana and adapted for home.  Give it a try, it’s tasty and healthy.

Ginger Lemonade Cleanse

1 ginger root

1 8 quart pot of water

2 whole lemons

1/4 cup of honey

Peal and cut the ginger into small pieces.  Place in pot of water and bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer for 10 minutes. Pour through a mesh strainer, add the juice of 2 lemons and honey.  Pour into a pitcher, add ice and refrigerate. Besides the cleansing aspect of this concoction, there are real health benefits to ginger, honey and lemon.  These three ingredients help with digestion, nausea, infections and poor moods.

Since Joanna has been harvesting her tomatoes, it inspired me to make some homemade tomato soup. Tomato soup is probably the easiest of all soups and  paired with a grilled cheddar cheese sandwich, it’s hard to have anything better. I didn’t have any ripe ones from my own garden so I had to resort to store bought. When using fresh tomatoes, dunk them in a boiling pot of water for a few minutes until you see the skin split.  Drain and refresh with cold water. When the tomatoes are cool enough to handle, gently peel off the skin, split and remove the seeds. Don’t stress about getting all the seeds. I then chop them through my kitchen aide while sauting the garlic in olive oil. Add to the pan and cook down for 15 minutes. I needed to add a large can of crushed organic tomatoes since I didn’t have enough fresh tomatoes.  Finish with fresh chopped basil and cheese. I made this version with garlic, basil and parmesan cheese but you can have lots of variety with  a tomato base. If you like a creamier version, simply add a little cream or half and half.

Tomato Basil Soup

1 lb fresh tomatoes plus on large can of crushed organic tomatoes

4 garlic closes chopped

3 tablespoons olive oil

1/4 fresh basil leaves chopped

1/4 cup of grated parmesan cheese

1/2 cup vegetable stock to thin the soup

1/4 cup of cream, optional

Visit our cookbook for other super simple soup recipes!

Soon after the attack brought down the twin towers, my husband and I visited the site to pay our respects.  It left us deeply saddened and upset.  We hadn’t been back again.

Last Saturday, first thing in the morning, the whole family took the subway from Brooklyn and visited the memorial.  There is still a sense of sadness and loss, but it is tempered with hope.  There are long lines, that move quickly and quietly.  No NY hustle and bustle here, people from all over the country and the world have come to honor the memory of those who died here.

You will have to pass through security, much like in an airport, but more civil, and no one complains or rushes you.  Once inside there is something that unites the visitors,  I heard so many different languages, you’ll see people of all ages and nationalities sharing a deep sorrow and finding peace.

Peace, you won’t find answers here, you’ll find a place to make peace and to reflect.  So many selfless men and women gave their lives here in an effort to save others. The memorial is a beautiful tribute and a reminder of that which makes us human, which makes us one.

If you’re planning a trip to NYC this summer, pay a visit, it’s a very different element of the NY experience. It is still a work in progress, the museum is not yet open to the public, and there is still a lot of construction going on around it, in some ways, that makes it all the more meaningful.

Admission is free, but you will have to get a visitor’s pass.  You should do this on-line, although you can get them at the visitor’s center.  Bring an ID.