Just~One~Donna

Summer is a wonderful season for salad lovers with all the fresh fruits and vegetables coming to market.  I tend to fall into a rut with my salads, making the same old salad over and over again.  Do you do the same?  In the past week, I've noticed beautiful watermelon displays in the produce section of my grocery store.  With watermelon hitting its peak over the next few weeks I thought I would branch out and try a salad made with watermelon as the star ingredient. Grilled Watermelon and Goat Cheese Salad A Grilled Watermelon Salad for Summer I've seen lots of watermelon salads over the years in magazines, on television cooking shows and on Pinterest.  Today's recipe is inspired by all those other watermelon salad recipes but was made with tasty ingredients I had on hand.  I encourage you to do the same. Your pantry and refrigerator may not contain the same ingredients I had on hand to make this salad.  Feel free to be adventurous with other ingredients yo

Boston cream pie is a favorite dessert in my family.  If you were to ask Hubby, he'd say I don't make it nearly enough.  This chocolate Boston cream pie came about for that reason.  The other day I noticed I still had a chocolate layer cake in my freezer from a chocolate mousse cake I had recently made.  The texture of the chocolate cake from that recipe was one I thought would work well with the pastry cream of a Boston cream pie.  I was right. Chocolate Boston Cream Pie Chocolate Boston Cream Pie This chocolate Boston cream pie is made completely from scratch but don't let that scare you away. The only difference between this cake and a traditional Boston cream pie is the substitution of chocolate cake, drizzled with a vanilla syrup, in place of a yellow cake. There are three easy steps to this cake.  Consider making the cake ahead of time.  You can make the cake in advance and freeze it, like I did.  The cake thaws quickly and you'll find it easier to cut

One of the things I like least about this time of year is the pests.  I'm talking about the insects and critters that wreak havoc with my home and garden. The pest of the month is the carpenter bee.  Last month the battle was with ants and in April, we were fighting the annual infestation of winter moth caterpillars that are trying to kill my beautiful weeping cherry tree.  Those battles seem to be behind me and for now, the focus is on the pesky carpenter bees. You might be wondering what the heck a carpenter bee is.  I never even knew they existed until a couple of years ago.  You can see the backside of one in the picture below.  They might be mistaken for a big bumblebee, but their abdomen is shiny black in comparison to the fuzzy abdomen of the bumblebee.  You'll often see them hovering in the air around the roofline of your home.  If you see them, you'll want to pay attention.  They may take up residence in your home. The Backside of a Carpenter Bee What is a

I love, love, love cupcakes primarily because they are little personal cakes.  I like how cute they look. I like the portion control.  I like that I can eat a whole cake and not feel guilty.  These Boston cream cupcakes are the result of my quest to turn Boston Cream Pie, one of Hubby's favorite desserts, into portion-controlled, individual servings. Boston Cream Cupcakes turn Boston Cream Pie into a little less of a guilty pleasure.  Don't they look yummy?  I love how glossy the chocolate ganache topping looks! Mini Boston Cream Pies Boston Cream Cupcakes I've always thought of Boston Cream Pie as a fussy dessert to make.  I don't like fussy desserts or any fussy recipes, for that matter. In reality, the recipe is pretty straightforward and while the cupcakes are made in three steps, each step is fairly simple.  You can even spread making these cupcakes over a couple of days if you like. First, you will make the pastry cream because it must chill for at