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KARACOOKS

KARACOOKS

Good Food · Honest History · Strong Opinions

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KARACOOKS
KARACOOKS
Good Food · Honest History · Strong Opinions
  • Nine deep red saffron threads, a few with yellow-orange tips, scattered on a speckled cream stoneware plate: the first saffron harvest from the Creek House planter.

    Friday Roundup #46

    ByKara November 6November 6 Friday Roundup, Garden, Writing

    Eighteen trick-or-treaters, a blue wave I never thought I’d see in Texas, my first saffron threads, and a quick lesson on telling your holiday cactus apart.

    Read More Friday Roundup #46Continue

  • A serving of green chile rice casserole on a dark plate with a fork, the baked dish on a woven placemat behind it.

    Sharon’s Rice and Green Chile

    ByKara November 3October 31 Recipes, Holiday Menus, Writing

    Sharon’s rice and green chile went from ribs night in Baton Rouge to our Thanksgiving table. Assemble it two days ahead, and always make the double batch.

    Read More Sharon’s Rice and Green ChileContinue

  • The pool at Chateau Elan after dark, lit bright blue and filled with floats for the Lunar Tides floating sound bath, with the inn behind it.

    Floating Under the Hunter’s Moon

    ByKara November 2October 31 Personal, Writing

    Lacey and I floated on air mattresses in a heated pool at Chateau Elan for a full-moon sound bath, then closed it out with a spa day. A perfect two days.

    Read More Floating Under the Hunter’s MoonContinue

  • Two photos side by side of Thanksgiving pies lined up down the dining table: pecan, cherry cranberry, pumpkin, chocolate, and an apple slab pie, with plates and forks waiting.

    Eight Pies for Six People

    ByKara November 1October 31 Holiday Menus, Personal

    Thanksgiving is the only time I make pie, and I make eight of them for six people. Here’s how the pies just grew, one person at a time.

    Read More Eight Pies for Six PeopleContinue

  • Halloween yard decorations at night: the front door lit warm orange, red lights and candles among the headstones, and white ghosts standing on the dark lawn.

    How We Do Halloween at the Creek House

    ByKara October 31October 31 Our Creek House, Personal, Writing

    How Halloween went at the Creek House: a graveyard that grows every year, store-bought ghosts losing to the wind, and Callie supervising the whole thing.

    Read More How We Do Halloween at the Creek HouseContinue

  • Halloween decorations on the front step: pumpkins, a white striped pumpkin, and a flameless pillar candle under black spider webbing, with a yellow solar motion sensor peeking out of the evergreen at right.

    Friday Roundup #45

    ByKara October 30October 31 Friday Roundup, Writing

    Happy Halloween! A deer-proof motion sensor, ghosts losing to the wind, saffron still thinking it over, and what I’m reading, watching and eating.

    Read More Friday Roundup #45Continue

  • A wire basket full of yellow onions, red onions, and shallots, some still wearing their grocery store stickers.

    Friday Roundup #44

    ByKara October 23November 6 Friday Roundup, Writing

    The roundup that never went out: a late cemetery, saffron at 18 of 25, my first take on Carrie, and a backpost to keep the Friday Roundup numbers straight.

    Read More Friday Roundup #44Continue

  • Quart freezer bags of homemade ham stock laid flat on a granite counter, ready for the freezer.

    Ham Stock from a HoneyBaked Ham Bone

    ByKara October 22October 18 Recipes

    Ham stock from a HoneyBaked ham bone: the usual vegetables, a low oven overnight, and a little over 9 quarts for the freezer. Plus my 12-hour oven reset trick.

    Read More Ham Stock from a HoneyBaked Ham BoneContinue

  • Sharon's pecan cheese ball on a dark platter ringed with round butter crackers and woven wheat crackers, with a braided-handle spreader

    Sharon’s Pecan Cheese Ball

    ByKara October 20October 19 Recipes, Personal, Writing

    Sharon’s pecan cheese ball, the holiday appetizer that converts the “ew, cheese ball” crowd. The secret nobody ever guesses: pineapple in heavy syrup.

    Read More Sharon’s Pecan Cheese BallContinue

  • A navy Gwinnett Stripers sweatshirt folded on a stack of sweatshirts beside an open storage bin of sweaters on an olive comforter

    Sweatshirt Day

    ByKara October 19October 19 Personal, Writing

    Sweatshirt Day has no date, but you know it when it comes. This year it was September 27: the sweater bag came out, the AC went quiet, the window opened.

    Read More Sweatshirt DayContinue

  • A jar of homemade pumpkin spice syrup with a cinnamon stick, seen from above beside a mug of foamy homemade latte.

    Where’s the Pumpkin? Pumpkin Spice and the Art of Selling a Feeling

    ByKara October 18October 18 Food & Politics, Recipes, Writing

    Pumpkin spice was always pumpkin pie spice. How a dropped word, a pumpkin-free latte and a lot of scarcity sold us a feeling, plus my own homemade syrup.

    Read More Where’s the Pumpkin? Pumpkin Spice and the Art of Selling a FeelingContinue

  • Girls weekend charcuterie board on a covered deck near Tallulah Falls: salami roses, prosciutto, brie topped with pomegranate seeds, cubed cheese, crackers, apples, grapes, clementines, olives and cornichons, with a bottle of prosecco and two wine tumblers, woods beyond the railing.

    Friday Roundup #43

    ByKara October 16October 16 Friday Roundup, Writing

    A rainy girls weekend near Tallulah Falls, saffron crocus at last, a rabbit hole called Any Human Ever, World Food Day, and what I’m reading and watching.

    Read More Friday Roundup #43Continue

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KaraCooks
Good Food · Honest History · Strong Opinions

KaraCooks is written, cooked, photographed, and gardened by one person in Johns Creek, Georgia.

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  • Home
  • Recipes
  • Garden
  • Writing
    • Friday Roundup
    • What Got Lost
    • Cooking
    • Food & Politics
    • Personal
    • Our Creek House
    • Travel
    • Restaurant Reviews
    • Kitchen Disasters
    • Behind The Blog
    • Holiday Menus
  • What I Use
    • The Pantry
    • The Grill & Smoke
    • The Garden
    • The Everyday Kitchen
    • The Bookshelf
    • Keeping It Out of The Landfill
    • For the Animals
    • Coffee & The Bar
    • Behind the Camera
  • About
    • About & FAQ
    • Disclosure
    • Where I Stand
    • Recommendations