Kelly Times Two

A friend of mine has a son and a daughter-in-law who are planning a trip to Amsterdam in a month or so and she asked me for some suggestions or recommendations of places to visit.  I was not a tourist when I lived there in 1984 and 1985 as a missionary, but I have been back to visit three times since then, and now that she's asking about it,  I want to go again! Lucky! I'm jealous. They are going to LOVE it.  I have some ideas of how they can spend their time, and don't know if a real Dutchman (or woman) would agree.  They probably would because they're so easy going and love Americans.  At least all the ones I know do! I'm assuming they will be using mass transit. Here is my list of a lot of things they should do. There are a ton of day trips they can book. Even though it will be chilly and perhaps (most likely wet and/or snowy/rainy), a bike tour is so Dutch. They've got to do one. Just go prepared with rain boots and warm clothes. The weather d...

My friend, Cami, asked me yesterday if I have a good meatball recipe.  I asked her if she meant something to go in spaghetti and meatballs, for example, and she said yes.  I don't usually measure when I throw meatballs together and I don't always put the same things in, so basically, I guess I don't really have a go-to meatball recipe.  I thought I'd experiment today with something and see how it turns out.  I normally only post things on here that I like a lot and make often.  Oh well, it's got to be better than those frozen factory-made ones that taste alright.  Here's what I concocted for a huge batch of meatballs, with the intent of freezing them and taking them out as needed for spaghetti, or for my kids to plop inside their ramen noodles to add some meat, or for meatball sandwiches, or just a little easy-access protein snack to have handy.  My fingers are crossed that they're more than edible. (Okay, here's the review. They're tasty!  Noth...

I don't intend for this to become a food blog exclusively, but that seems to be an easy subject for me lately.  One of my family favorite recipes are these fluffy, warm, there's-no-place-like-home dinner rolls.  When we lived in Taiwan, I made them almost daily and my family devoured them.  I'm so, so glad I have my real oven to bake in now, rather than my Costco countertop oven that did okay, but just not great.  It was like a grown up Easy Bake Oven.  Anyway, this is a relatively simple recipe, tweaked a bit from what my homemaker extraordinaire sister, Julie, gave me.  Before we get started, let me suggest you do yourself a favor and buy some decent yeast.  Good yeast is the secret to any bread concoction, in my opinion.  I use Saf instant yeast and store it in the refrigerator or freezer and it will last a long time.  I keep mine in a plastic storage container.  Fresh flour makes a difference too.  I like Gold Medal all-pu...

1/2 cup butter 1/2 cup sugar 1/2 cup brown sugar 1 teaspoon baking powder 1 teaspoon baking soda 1/2 teaspoon salt 1 teaspoon vanilla 1 egg 1/2 cup coconut 3/4 cup quick oats 1 cup flour Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cream sugars and butter together, then add remaining ingredients, mix well. Drop small scoops onto a cookie sheet, allowing space for spreading. Bake for 9 to 11 minutes, then cool slightly before removing to cooking rack. Makes about 3 dozen chewy, buttery, coconutty cookies. This recipe came from my favorite food blog, Mel's Kitchen Cafe, but she makes a much larger batch and I get bored by so many trips to the oven.