Taste of Home June/July 2015

p.s Big news. Our sister mag Simple & Delicious is hitting the newsstands mid-July! And it’s a cute totable size ready to tuck in your purse or slip into your beach bag. You can plan easy, awesome meals wherever your summer fun takes you. I hope you grab it and go. Growing up, my siblings and I were great friends with two families on our street, the Bateses and the Mahoneys. As kids we looked forward to neigborhood cookouts—chicken on the grill with good rolls and vegetables on the side. The chicken marinated in our fridge while we all worked in the yard or, OK, swam in the pool and shirked our duty at times. We came together for supper, and each family brought a dish. My youngest sister, Mary,…

When this homemade ketchup is bubbling on the stove, the aroma takes me back to childhood. One taste and I’m home again. PREP: 30 MIN. COOK: 11/2 HOURS + CHILLING MAKES: 1 CUP (16 SERVINGS) 1 tbsp. olive oil 1 medium onion, chopped 3 lbs. tomatoes (about 11 medium), coarsely chopped 1 cinnamon stick (3 in.) 3/4 tsp. celery seed 1/2 tsp. mustard seed 1/4 tsp. whole allspice 1/3 cup sugar 1 tsp. salt 3/4 cup red wine vinegar 11/2 tsp. smoked paprika 11/2 tsp. sriracha asian hot chili sauce, optional 1. In a large saucepan, heat oil over medium-high heat. Add onion; cook and stir until tender. Stir in tomatoes; cook, uncovered, over medium heat 25-30 minutes or until softened. 2. Press tomato mixture through a fine-mesh strainer; discard…

Red, White & Blue Frozen Lemonade Process 1 cup lemon juice, 1 cup sugar and 4 cups ice cubes in a blender until slushy. Place ¼ cup blueberries in each of four glasses. Add frozen lemonade; top with maraschino cherries. Makes 4 servings.…

1. Kalastyle Sea Salt Soap This all-organic soap smells like a sea breeze and, thanks to a touch of mineral salt, makes skin supersoft. $7 2. Quince & Apple Craft Cocktail Syrups Gussy up gin. Transform tequila. Class up any cocktail with small-batch real fruit syrups. $13 for 250 ml 3. Kate Grenier USA Magnet Set Eye candy for the kitchen, these patriotic pieces of “pop” art are made from recycled bottle caps. $14 for a 6-pack 4. Spam There’s a place deep in every American’s heart for this legendary can of awesomeness. Fun new flavors mean you’ll fall in love all over again. $3 5. Pyrex 100th Anniversary Measuring Cup It’s Pyrex’s 100th! Bake a birthday cake with the help of this limited-edition measuring cup inspired by the vintage…

“Miss Ava loves to bake brownies all by herself...with Grammy’s supervision, of course.” —DORIS JOHNSON TEMPLETON, MA LOOK WHO’S COOKING SEND PICS OF YOUR LITTLE COOKS Share snapshots with us at shareastory@tasteofhome.com. Please write “Kids in the Kitchen” in the subject line. My friend Kelly and I have known each other since we were 5. Our fathers were stationed at the same Air Force base in Oklahoma, and when we met—instant BFFs. We had no fences in the backyards, so it was just a long corridor of grass. We’d set up tents and camp. When my family moved to California and hers to Alaska, it was devastating. I spent two summers with her in Alaska. She and I camped there, too. We picked wild raspberries and paddled canoes. Her kids,…

SLOW COOKER Slow Cooked Strawberry Rhubarb Sauce PREP: 10 MIN. COOK: 6 HOURS MAKES: 10 SERVINGS 6 cups chopped rhubarb (½-in. pieces) 1 cup sugar ½ tsp. grated orange peel ½ tsp. ground ginger 1 cinnamon stick (3 in.) ½ cup white grape juice 2 cups halved unsweetened strawberries Angel food cake, pound cake or vanilla ice cream 1. Place rhubarb in a 3-qt. slow cooker. Combine sugar, orange peel and ginger; sprinkle over rhubarb. Add cinnamon stick and grape juice. Cover and cook on low for 5-6 hours or until rhubarb is tender. 2. Stir in strawberries; cook for 1 hour longer. Discard cinnamon stick. Serve with cake or ice cream. PER SERVING 115 cal., trace fat (0 sat. fat), 0 chol., 4 mg sodium, 29 g carb., 0 fiber,…