Special family recipes bring back memories any time of year, but during the holidays there is nothing more comforting than to gather around, even help make, time-honored homemade food. Three women who are known for their baking and cooking — Dalieth Johnston of rural Grand Junction, Jodi Hoskins of rural Rippey and Traci Beger of […]
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Tis the season for decorating, shopping and last, but not least, eating. What is it about the holidays that bring out the inspired chef, cook or baker in us? Is it the nostalgia of sharing an age-old, secret family recipe for such a special occasion? Is it the joy of discovering new tasty treats with […]
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Christmas is synonymous with food — from the huge family gathering for the feast on Christmas Eve to the cozy breakfast on Christmas morning or that special, home-cooked meal at Granny’s. But often, that food has greater meaning — around it, family and friends bond, and memories are made. Food is a way for us […]
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Christmastime means several things in the Lyford household, but when it comes to food, there is always pudding. Barbara Lyford is known for making her chocolate and plum puddings. And this isn’t the Jell-O pudding you mix up from the store. It’s a thick, made-from-scratch pudding that cooks until it is almost the consistency of […]
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There’s a reason Norman Rockwell loved to paint the American family in the kitchen. We are home, most of all, in the kitchen, and Rockwell knew it better than anyone. His images — a soldier, home from war, peeling potatoes with his mother; a family, chatting away at table as Grandma in her apron carefully […]
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Any time Jeanne Fitzgerald wants to remember some of the food her mom made while she was growing up, she turns to the family cookbook she and her sisters made for their mother. “Those are still the same recipes I make over and over again,” Fitzgerald says. Inside the “Family Secrets: Schmidt Family Recipes” cookbook […]
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As is its history and its way, the Heartland Presbyterian Church is organizing another exciting and enriching trip that will help a community in need. The church has a group go on a mission twice a year — once in the winter and once in the summer — and is now planning its Winter Delegation […]
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What a difference a year makes — just ask Emma Sorensen. Although this is her second year of teaching, it feels like her first. Last year, she was doing reading and math intervention for third to fifth graders at Hanawalt Elementary in Des Moines. She pulled students out of their classrooms for short periods of […]
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Enthusiasm is one of the most powerful engines of success. When you do a thing, do it with all your might. Put your whole soul into it. Stamp it with your own personality. . .” (Ralph Waldo Emerson) This past month Norwalk lost a respected educator, coach and community leader, Dave Mineart. He put his […]
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She’s open all the time now! It’s not just a specialty business, an in-home sensation anymore. She’s got a downtown storefront, regular hours and more cheesecake than you could ever dream of eating. Now open on Central Avenue, the Fort Dodge Cheesecake Lady has flavor sensations more bountiful than Santa’s elves. How could I choose? […]
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A group of eighth grade volunteers is now leading the way with a new project that is truly fulfilling the Greene County Historical Society’s mission of keeping local history alive. The project, “Growing Up Greene,” highlights the fact that we all have stories to tell. It was the idea of the society’s Education Outreach Committee […]
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Dennis Williams and Bob Martin, both of West Des Moines, crossed paths years ago when they both were members of a Ford Model T car club, but their friendship was cemented about a decade ago when Martin hauled a 1936 Ford pickup truck he bought online to Williams’ garage for repairs. “The truck didn’t run […]
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