Category: Radiant Life

Connect 2 Rooms With a New Door

Dear James: My living room is adjacent to the children’s bedroom. I would like to add a door between the two rooms. How can I open and frame the new door opening?—Carla T. Dear Carla: Adding an additional opening between rooms is a relatively easy and popular project. By installing the proper type of door,…


The Family Table: Memories of Albania: Simple Dishes, Beach Picnics, and Food Rations

Submitted by Elda Capuni-Lemmon, Apalachin, New York My childhood food memories are of simple cooking, big and small family gatherings and celebrations, and food lines and rations. I was born in communist Albania, which remained so until 1991. Food diversity was limited, so every family cooked very similar dishes. Climbing my apartment building’s stairs, I could…


This Homemade Oat Milk Takes 5 Minutes to Make

Easy, homemade, and as flavorful as anything you can buy in a store, our basic oat milk recipe can be prepared in any blender. Even without a fancy high-speed appliance, this recipe is done in five minutes flat! Homemade oat milk doesn’t have added oils and stabilizers like most of the store-bought brands, yet it…


Use Pet-Safe De-Icer Instead of Rock Salt This Winter

Q: Icy sidewalk season is here. I’ve heard rock salt is hard on dogs’ feet, but I’m not sure what to use in its place. Can you suggest a de-icer that won’t harm my dogs? A: Look for de-icers labeled as safe for pets. These products are also safe to use around children. Rock salt…


A Cake That’s Worth the Wait

What do Pat Benatar, George Foreman, and I, your humble columnist, have in common? We were all born on the same day: Jan. 10! I only know this because someone gave me a 768-page book simply titled “The Portable Book of Birthdays.” Good thing, too, or I’d never have known that, according to the book’s…


This Easy Frittata Recipe Is Perfect for Brunch, Lunch, or Dinner

Frittatas are like omelets, only easier to make—and they taste great hot, warm, or cold. This vegetable-packed version is spiked with Mediterranean flavor and paired with a cool salad of lemony cucumbers and tomatoes with creamy avocado. Spinach-Mushroom Frittata With Avocado Salad Active Time: 45 minutes Total Time: 55 minutes Serves 4 For the Salad…


Créme Brûlée With a Citrusy Surprise

It’s citrus season, and there’s no better way to embrace it than with blood oranges. Despite their graphic name, blood oranges are sweet, delectable, and unique. They are smaller than standard oranges, with mottled orange and rose-hued rinds. When peeled, their interior reveals segments streaked in brilliant crimson, ruby, and port wine colors—hence their name….


Appliance Maintenance You Can Do Yourself

It was Christmas Eve several years ago. Everything was ready. Our overnight company would be arriving in a matter of hours. I opened the refrigerator to discover the inside had reached a balmy 70 degrees Fahrenheit. This could not have happened at a worse time. Away to my computer I flew like a flash, straight…


Champagne Season Has Only Just Begun

It’s Champagne season—a line you might think indicates that this article is being published two weeks too late. And sure, sparkling wines usually are reserved for toasting at Christmas and New Year’s. Once those holidays have passed, most people believe the season for them is over. For me, it’s just beginning, and it lasts all…


Discover Dynamic Eau Claire

Chances are if you don’t have relatives to visit, a child in college or business to transact in Eau Claire, Wisconsin, you may have completely overlooked it as a travel possibility. If that’s the case, you’ve missed an important slice of Americana and a mid-size city in the throes of a renaissance. The next time…