Coming to terms with cooking: Letter E
It is always interesting to find what kind of information is available online. So far, cooking terms have been very plentiful. When it comes to the letter "E,"…
Stories by Jan Burgess
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Finding paradise on earth
Thinking back, I remember a time when a friend called me asking for help with a program she was presenting. I was delighted to say yes. I immediately went to m…
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Coming to terms with cooking: The letter D
Moving along through the alphabet to the letter D, one of my favorite food items comes up. It is not a cooking term, but it is in my house at all times. I enjo…
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Roadside flowers
While we live in Arkansas and love it here, we have members of our family who are either in Wisconsin or in a suburb of Portland, Ore. For lots of reasons we d…
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Coming to terms with cooking: The letter C
When it comes to cooking terms, the letter C has some so ordinary they don't even need to be mentioned except in passing. Cut, chop, cube, crush and coat would…
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Coming to terms with cooking: The letter B
If I were to list those terms that begin with the letter "B" and are interesting enough to include this month, it would go something like this: baste, beat, bl…
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Rocky soil can produce fruit
Sometimes it is fun to reflect on events of the past.
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Decisions, decisions, decisions
Making decisions has never been my strong suit. My husband would be the first to agree with me after living with "I don't care" for 50-plus years.
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Coming to terms with cooking
When my husband read my column, he suggested that perhaps it might be informative to write something about cooking terms. The more I thought about this, the be…
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The sound of music
It seems that almost everywhere one goes in Bella Vista there is music of some kind. It can be a chorus, such as the men s, women s or a barbershop, it can be …
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The wonder of the season
When the holiday season rolls around and Christmas carols are everywhere, perhaps it is the old familiar lyrics that bring poetry to mind.
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Holidays bring baking traditions to the forefront
Holidays are fun times with all the accompanying traditions and memories.
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Simple Faith: A celebration of life
We have all heard the saying that every cloud has a silver lining. There are lots of ways to interpret that, but for me it means something good comes out of a …
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SIMPLE FAITH: Fun in the sun
There are times when thinking back on the adventures of my younger years causes me to smile. Before moving to Bella Vista, I lived in Wisconsin, and so most of…
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More Than a Kitchen: Clove's uses go beyond kitchen
Last month was the spice anise. This time around it is cloves.
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Simple Faith: Remember price paid for freedom this Memorial Day
Holidays come and go, and over the years most of us have celebrated a lot of them.
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More Than a Kitchen: Ancient anise continues to spice up life
Anise, native to the eastern Mediterranean region, is one of the oldest spice plants used for both culinary and medicinal purposes.
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Simple Faith: Life’s little ups and downs
If I were to say life has its ups and downs, we could all bring to mind our own examples.
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More Than a Kitchen: The cold facts about refrigeration
Since this column is supposed to be about “More Than a Kitchen,” I have decided to take a break and write a bit about refrigeration.
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Simple Faith: Words are wonderful things
Words are wonderful things, and it is fun to think about what they can do. They come in all sizes. They can be short or long, good or bad or, in today’s t…
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The gift of friendship
Christmas is a time when gifts abound.
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Christmas ideas for cooks and crafters
Now that my alphabet series is complete, I thought it might be fun to do a series on herbs and spices.
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More Than a Kitchen: Z is for zucchini
With the letter Z, I reach the end of my al- phabet series.
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Simple Faith: First impressions
There have been times when I have given more than a passing thought to first impressions.
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More Than a Kitchen: W is for waffly goodness
Well, waffle makers were not around in the Neolithic age, when a rustic flat cake made of cereal pulp had to be cooked on heated stones.
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Simple Faith: Exit signs on highway of life
When friends or family announce they are coming to visit for the first time, I am always so excited.
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More Than a Kitchen: T is for tasty tomatoes
When I think of fruits versus vegetables, it often comes down to sweet versus salty.
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SIMPLE FAITH: Close to the heart of God
What is this thing we call heart?
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More Than a Kitchen: Q is for quirky quiche
Well, the choices for the letter Q are pretty few and far between. Quince is interesting, but it is not always readily available.
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Simple Faith: A walk with God
Have you ever noticed how a little disappointment can sometimes turn out to be a blessing in disguise?
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The potato is one hot topic
Recently, I combined two letters into one month.
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Simple Faith: The blessings (?) of technology
Sometimes when I ponder the world that Jesus lived in, it seems to have been a simpler time.
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More Than a Kitchen
Now that Christmas is over and life is returning to normal, I am back to the alphabet and the letter “P.” I considered peaches, pears, plums, prunes and popcor…
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Simple Faith: An ode to snowflakes
This poem was written to recognize the beauty of the winter season, and to thank God for the gift of snowflakes.
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Behind the glass
For me, nature’s beauty can only come from the hand of God, and the time of year when his creatures are most visible is winter.
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More Than a Kitchen: ‘O’ my, it’s time for olives
Here comes the letter O and with it, olives.
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N is for Noodles
After “m is for marshmallows,” which had a sweet focus, I am moving on to “n is for noodles,” which are anything but sweet. However, they are a staple in many …
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Don't let the well run dry
What started as several days of a warm, sunny summer eventually became weeks without rain, which finally approached serious drought proportions.
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Hot flashes ... who cares?
The other day, while standing in line with my basket of groceries, I glanced at the books and magazines displayed along the checkout aisle.
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M is for marshmallowy goodness
Summer is pretty much here, and while one season for marshmallows might be past, another is in full swing.
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J is for jelly with a jalapeno twist
With the letter J, jalapeno jelly came to mind.
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More Than a Kitchen 'I' is for ice cream
You scream, I scream, we all scream for ice cream. How many of us can remember our childhood and not recall the ice cream treats of summer? Whether they came i…
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Simple Faith — Lent, a time to rejoice
As I look out upon the landscape at this time of year, that period between winter and spring, I think of the word “expectant.” The world seems balanced on the …
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More Than a Kitchen | Vampires beware:: G is for garlic
Now that I have arrived at the letter “g,” it was a tough choice between ginger and garlic, but the winner turned out to be... garlic.
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Simple Faith | A recipe for life
Occasionally, I have the opportunity to bake a dish for a potluck event held somewhere here in Bella Vista. In fact, I belong to a Mexican Train group that gat…
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More Than a Kitchen | F is for Flour
The new year begins with column No. 6 in my food alphabet series, and I have chosen flour to represent the letter F.
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Simple Faith | New kid on the block
My husband and I have been cat owners for more than 20 years.
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More Than a Kitchen | E is for Egg
It is interesting that in my alphabetical journey, the letter “e” arrives around Christmastime. It would be better if it came at Easter since I have chosen egg…
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Simple Faith | Best laid plans ...
Just like many of you, I frequently find my level of happiness and my spiritual peace are in direct proportion to the episodes unfolding in the lives of my chi…
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More Than a Kitchen | B is for banana
Now that I am using the alphabet for column topics, this is my second month and I am at the letter B. What better “B” ingredient than bananas!