When you spend a lot of time in the kitchen cooking and baking, you realize you use certain items a lot. And you also realize you sometimes make a bit of a mess as you go. We used to use a lot of paper towels but have been trying more lately to grab for a kitchen towel to clean up instead. It’s good to keep some extras around. We also have quite a few aprons and one of our favorites is our handmade shibori kitchen apron.

It’s a really cool apron with 2 front pockets. It’s a nice length too, with an adjustable neck and a tie at the waist. It’s handmade in the US of 100% washable cotton and naturally dyed using berries and flowers. It comes in eight bright color choices - since it was hard to choose a favorite , we bought a few in lime green, raspberry pink, and cocoa brown. Even the colors sound yummy, don’t they? It’s by far one of our favorite cool kitchen accessories.

While it might seem far away, it’s never to early to start thinking of your Easter dinner and dessert menu. Will you be serving family favorites or trying some new dishes? I like to do a little of both to mix things up. I usually cook a pretty classic Easter meal served with a delicious new side dish or two. I think though the desserts are my favorite part of the meal - they can really be a lot of fun and quite special.

There are so many wonderful pies and pastries to serve for dessert that I tend to overdue it on quantity. I’ll always make a fruit pie or two and a variety of pastries. I also like to make one of my grandmother’s recipes each year, like her custard layer cake or almond ring. There is nothing quite like a scrumptious, made-from-scratch dessert served with a rich coffee to complete a perfect meal.