This is the time of year that we are always looking for inspiration to tempt our palates. The holidays are over and summer’s bounty of fresh veggies is a long way off. So on these long winter days and nights, we peruse our library of cookbooks for ideas that will stave off the ennui of dinner doldrums. Lately we’ve been experimenting with the slow cooker and found two great recipes. The first was for BBQ Beef Brisket, which turned out to be our new favorite way of cooking that particularly flavorful, but tough cut of meat. Last night we tried Crockpot Barbeque Chicken (notice a trend here?) and...

This year February has 29 days rather than the usual 28 because 2012 is a leap year. Every year divisible by four is a leap year (except those years divisible by 100, which are not leap years unless they are also divisible by 400, when they are again leap years. Confused? Read on.)

The purpose of...

I am watching the snow fall this morning from the kitchen window of our Inn here on Cape Cod. This will be the first appreciable snowstorm of the season on the Cape, a season that has thus far been unseasonably warm. We have enjoyed a significant number of days well above average temperature for this time of year and abundant sunshine that left our lawn green long past its typical winter dormancy.

This past week we hosted a couple from Virgina up to visit their daughter who was camping at