Today I am blessed: I am sitting on a big porch facing the lake with a hot, but bearable heat wave. The occasional hum of a boat in the distance adds to the atmosphere and doesn’t detract. With the breeze being just right, the almost 90 degree heat is perfect.

After a wonderful breakfast of locally-laid, perfectly-poached eggs, bacon, amazing bread with excellent crust and topped with delicious, homemade grown grape jelly, life right now is good!

The birds and the bees are singing in harmony, chattering in one big conversation. It makes you wonder what they are buzzing about. Perhaps the same thing I am thinking, in this moment, life is good.

As I lounge, the computer is off the table and on my lap. This is an indication of vacation, my mind wanders to lunch and dinner. I could easily pass on lunch, but not dinner.

I have been thinking a lot about asparagus; as to me it is best here in New England. Something about the flavor is just right.

The three states that produce the most asparagus are California, Michigan and Washington. This commercial industrial asparagus is nothing to sneeze at, yet it does not hold a candle to the more classic strains of the vegetable when grown and harvested by the hands of the local farmer.

My goal was to taste test some new-fangled way to make or change asparagus. My ideas all failed, and in the end, what I love about asparagus, is that asparagus, whether steamed, grilled or oven blasted is always perfect. Clearly there is no need to make changes.

I am also overwhelmed by my desire to make chocolate sauce to put over vanilla ice cream and strawberries, dolloped with whipped cream and our magical topping mix.

Making a chocolate sauce whose consistency is thick enough that it doesn’t just slide off the mound of ice cream and thin enough so you can ladle or squeeze it from a bottle at the same time is a little more difficult than one would expect.

Rich, full-flavored chocolate, with hints of vanilla and citrus in a viscosity that is perfect for the mouth and for the ice cream is the desired goal.

Dinner was Harissa Chicken, with a little more charring than desired ( I liked it), potatoes, and the grilled asparagus. The vanilla ice cream topped with chocolate sauce was perfection for a simply beautiful holiday!

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There are a million fudge chocolate sauce recipes out there. Find one you like and then modify it to perfection. What really matters to make it right is the quality of the ingredients. This makes enough for a small party or to have enough for at least two weeks...or less.

See the Katie's Fudge Sauce With Lemon Bitters Recipe here!

A few drops of this lemon cocktail flavoring will add a delightful background note to your cocktail - every time. Perfect when you just don't want to bother with the lemon slice, or to add that bitter essence to your lemonade or Arnold Palmer and cut the sweet flavor just a tad.

Fee Brothers is one of three remaining bitters makers in the US that had its start before prohibition and the Great Depression. It started in 1863, when Magaret Fee converted the family butcher shop in Rochester, New York into a delicatessen and saloon. Soon thereafter, son James opened a liquor and grocery store, and then moved into making, importing and distributing wine. In 1881, James died of heart failure, and the business was passed to James' brothers, and the name was changed to Fee Brothers.

In 1920 when prohibition hit, the Fee Brothers had to become creative to survive. Besides producing altar wine, they started making wine and beer in individual's homes - which was still legal. They also started making flavorings, including Benedictine, Chartreuse, Brandy, Rum and dozens of cordial syrups which could be added to homemade alcohol to flavor it.

By 1933, the prohibition was lifted, but then the Great Depression took its hit. The company shrunk, and was then passed onto cousin John. Soon many of the liquor products were dropped and John decided to concentrate on wine and cordial syrup sales. John also developed an easy-to-use concentrated product called Frothy Mixer. It gave a delicious lemon flavor to Whiskey Sours and Tom Collins and an attractive frothy “head.” This became very popular along with the motto, “Don’t Squeeze, Use Fee’s.”

Fee Brothers slowly began to grow again. But, as the 1950s approached, the wine business was receding, so John slowly exited that portion of the business and concentrated instead, on the non-alcoholic products which were gaining in popularity. And in 1953, two years after John's death, his son quit his job at Eastman Kodak and took over the family business. Jack knew very little about how to produce and market drink mixes. However, he started with the already established Frothy Mixer and from there continued on a never-ending quest to develop the Fee Brothers lemon bitters and other new products. Before long, new products such as Grenadine and Bitters began to appear on the display shelves in the Fee Brothers front office. Soon Fee Brothers was again hiring employees to help keep up with the orders.

Jack, his wife Margaret, their eight children and some very dedicated employees helped Fee Brothers get through the next two decades. Fee Brothers became nationally known, selling to bars and restaurants all over the country. They continued to expand their operations, although with that growth, they continued to stay focused on making a clean and quality product. By 1991, three of Jack's children, John, Ellen and Joseph were all working in the business, expanding the company and bringing the company into the modern age.

Now, at the beginning of the new millennium, the fourth generation of Fee’s is looking ahead with positive anticipation. The product list boasts over 80 drink mix products including the newest additions, such as their lemon cocktail flavoring. Fee Brothers’ market stretches from coast to coast in the United States, and their products are also shipped to such far away places as Austria, The Virgin Islands, and Korea.

Shop now for Fee Brothers Lemon Bitters here!

This easy-to-prep and then wait-to-become fudge is a gosh darn good simple treat. But be forewarned, it will use up most of the jar of Nocciolata. Using a grocery store version is much more economical, especially if you are sharing!

See the Hazelnut Creme Fudge Recipe Here!

Marinate the chicken overnight in a ziptop bag and bake in a tight-fitting pan to keep the thighs in liquid. A simple and easy recipe with very little hands-on time required.

See the Honey Harissa Chicken Thighs with Worcestershire Recipe!

How Paula discovered this recipe is a wonderful story and shows how she lived to learn these recipes that she shares in her cookbook. This one is from the Rif Mountains, where the people do their own thing. Having at least one of her cookbooks in your library is essential!

See the Chicken with Prunes Rif Style - Djej Bil Babcock Recipe here!

Chutney is a much-loved condiment and is relished in England and everywhere, except here. I have been trying to go back in my mind as to why we have such an aversion to chutneys here. I can’t find anything (a blank mind is a terrible thing to waste).

Overall, this is a winner; it is friendly, it is a condiment that can be put on a sandwich, or combined into recipes for an acceleration of goodness.

To the nose, there is an aggressive jump up into your nostrils as you smell cardamom, turmeric and hot peppers. This is followed by a feel of citrus that turns into acid.

Leave the cover off and the acidic volatiles evaporate and what remains is the cardamom, turmeric and the hint of pepper. There is also a nose of pickling.

There is a tinge of excitement for the mouth, not knowing what is going to happen! There are three main groups here. The initial whole mouth texture is the mango, which is the underlying taste, though you would be hard-pressed to exclaim: I taste mango!

Then there is the “sauce” which is smooth like a nice thick syrup, and it contains all the flavors.

There is the sweetness of the mango and sugar, and there is the sour sweet of the lemon and lime, and there is the melding of all the spices. It’s pretty tasty!

A mouthful is a lot to take in. There is a sour element that can make your eyes close, but only for a brief moment. The mango is in little pieces that are soft and that disappear quickly. The little pieces of red pepper are (not hot) interlopers of chewy bits, perhaps the only thing that doesn’t feel like it dissolves on its own.

Overall though, it is a combination of everything into one. In use you would never view it as separate elements, only as one glorious flavor.

It’s the complexity of all the flavors that makes it tongue smacking good!

In this weird world, food combination rules are out the window. I had chicken I was dicing up for my cat, and decided to slice myself some pieces. I had a hot dog bun (not a good one) that was going to go stale, so I toasted it, put mayo on it, then the dry chicken and topped it with mango chutney.

Under normal circumstances it would have been bearable, but not worth eating. Instead, the mango chutney brought some life into an otherwise bad sandwich. It was a good test.

Just imagine what it would be like with Kerelan Mango Chicken!

Shop now for Hawkshead Relish Mango Chutney here!

Open the jar and on the top you see a smooth ice rink of jam.

Dip your first spoon in and you are submerged in a sea of jelly.

The taste is all blackcurrant. It is 55% blackcurrants, 45% unrefined brown cane sugar and a little pectin.

It is not sweet in the typical sweet jammy way. Instead what you get is the blackcurrants that are no longer puckery, close-your-eyes, sour.

And you can, with your eyes open, taste all the blackcurrant flavor. A bit of blueberry, rich color and sour/bitter that bites at the back of your throat.

Blackcurrants are considered a powerhouse of goodness: good for your immune system, blood flow, gut health, kidney health and your eyes.

Full of vitamins, most notably C, with 4 times the amount as the orange. The other vitamins contained in this little berry are A, B-1, B-5 , B-6, and E.

This jam is perfect for spreading to your heart's desire on toast, or on a wonderful Effie's Homemade Oatcake, added to your morning yogurt and oats, and absolutely perfect for your game fowl.

Shop now for La Trinquelinette Blackcurrant (Cassis) Jam!