Milk, citric acid, salt, rennet, a stainless steel pot and a thermometer are what you need to make your own cheese.

Say ‘cheese’ for a food science experience at home

Prairie Fare: Summer Vegetable Frittata

Mom, I want to learn to make cheese,” my 17-year-old daughter said. “Cheese?” I responded, wanting to be sure I heard her correctly. “I love cheese. I think it would be a good 4-H project,” she replied. She certainly knows how to get my attention and mentoring. I hadn’t made cheese since I taught basic

green beans

Spillin’ the beans about getting kids to eat vegetables

Prairie Fare: Snappy Green Beans with Basil Dip

If I placed all the green beans I cut as a child from end to end, they’d probably reach from Fargo to Jamestown. Maybe the trail of beans only seems to have covered 100 miles. I became quite efficient at cutting beans after modifying my cutting techniques. I tried several different knives and finally decided


Tips on naturally recycling your kitchen wastes

Tips on naturally recycling your kitchen wastes

Prairie Fare: Spinach Artichoke Dip (Slow Cooker)

Julie, Julie, how does your garden grow?” people often ask me when inspired by my maiden name. Yes, that reminds me of the “Mary, Mary, quite contrary, how does your garden grow?” nursery rhyme. Fortunately, people leave out the “quite contrary” part. Well, they usually do. This year, my garden has hosted rabbits enjoying buffets

Foods that help you take care of your eyes

Foods that help you take care of your eyes

Prairie Fare: Asian-Style Cobb Salad and Avocado Egg Cups

Mom, I’ll help you,” my 11-year-old daughter said. I think I detected a smirk on her face. “No, I can do it,” I replied with a bit of determination in my voice. “No, really, I can do it for you,” my daughter persisted. She definitely had a smirk on her face this time. I squinted,


juicy barbecue steaks

Do you know the four Cs of grilling success?

Prairie Fare: Southwestern Marinade recipe

While growing up in Minnesota, having a “barbecue” meant having a bun with a cooked mixture of ground beef, ketchup, brown sugar, mustard and some spices. In school, we called these sandwiches “sloppy joes” if they were served on slices of bread. Then I moved to North Dakota, where people talked about having “slush burgers.”

glass and pitcher of milk

Have you applauded a cow lately?

Prairie Fare: Cheesy Tortilla Mini Pizzas

As I finished my glass of ice-cold milk, I thought about my now 20-year-old son’s comments many years ago. He always has enjoyed milk. When he was a toddler, we would hear his tiny voice saying “want milk” in the early-morning hours. He wanted his milk and cereal pronto. One day, as our toddler gazed


rhubarb on a cutting board

Can rhubarb become toxic?

Prairie Fare: Rhubarb Cake

Do you remember the “telephone” game? You might have played it when you were a kid. In the game, one person whispers a message into the ear of the person next to him or her, then that person repeats the message to the person next to him or her and so on. By the end

exercise weights

The many advantages of strength training exercises

Prairie Fare: Rock and Roll Beef Wraps

Did you notice the amount of weight on the machine?” my husband asked. I was trying to push the handles on the weight machine forward. I would have had equal success moving a wall. I had plopped myself onto the seat of the weight machine without looking at the settings. I knew better. Starting with


banana bread

Banana and bran recipes with appeal

Prairie Fare: Banana Bran Muffins and Mix-and-Bake Banana Walnut Streusel

I noticed a very ripe banana on the dresser. I had not put a banana on my dresser, but I got the hint. “I could smell that banana from the hallway,” my husband said. I had been unpacking my suitcase after a trip out of state, and I had not unpacked the conference bag we