Home Show Cooking and More

The cooking continues this weekend on stage at the Knoxville Home Design and Remodeling Show, with more scrumptious dishes by the Sisters of the Skillet, Knox Heritage Cookbook and Blue Sky Cafe.  It was a fun Saturday morning for our family as we demonstrated light, yogurt-inspired recipes from Stonyfield Organic.

FlourSackMama.com was able to share how we make Stonyfield's Spring Herbed Pasta plus Fruit and Yogurt Soup (my husband still thinks it's a smoothie, but that's okay). Then we handed out more coupons for East Tennessee folks to try some free yogurt.  It was easy to cook on the smoothtop range from Pattersons Home Appliances.  What a great opportunity to share with folks about the range of simple living stories we feature online!

I couldn't resist buying a copy of the new Sisters of the Skillet Favorite Recipes cookbook, chock-full of good Southern cooking, from salads to sweets.  How could any loyal Vol fan not love their Big Orange Molasses Cookies?  The recipe's in there.  And it's for a good cause, with all proceeds going to Knoxville's Ronald McDonald House that gives families with seriously ill children a place to stay.  RMH Executive Director Sue Beverly says, "With 100% of our funding coming from donations and fundraisers alone, your purchase of this cookbook will make such a difference and will touch the lives of so many in need."

My kids explored the Fire Safety House at the expo, learning safety tips and earning an honorary firefighter's hat.  Thanks to the Knoxville Fire Department and the Red Cross for the ways they're helping East Tennessee families.

My girls' favorite destination was the Imagination Forest play center, where they tested out several kitchen toys.  They assembled fabric sandwiches, chopped wooden food and decorated cupcakes over and over again.  Imagination Forest's Miki Hammat is an experienced K-8 teacher, who feels good about helping children learn with quality toys like Melissa and Doug products.  "Back to basics," emphasizes Hammat, "it's things that children can manipulate and withstand their enthusiasm for playing."

Of course, we found these activities amid rows and rows of home improvement vendors, offering anything you could imagine for your home.  The show runs until  8 o'clock Saturday, then 11:00 am to 6:00 pm Sunday at the Knoxville Expo Center near I-75 and Merchants Drive.

I appreciated both of my special kid-sized helpers on the cooking stage.  Okay, one of them wasn't on the stage much, but she was still adorable in her new, homemade apron!