I've been having this really weird problem with my iBook for awhile, where it will boot up, but then it shuts down almost immediately. Then it won't boot up at all. But if I leave it for a week or two, it boots again, then shuts down again. I thought maybe the internal battery was going dead or maybe the memory was bad, but I swapped everything out and nothing changed. I finally removed the HDD and used another computer to wipe it. Then I installed OS 9. Walla! It works again. Which leads me to believe that the problem may have been caused by Tiger. Weird, huh? Any thoughts/helpful hints would be most appreciated.

Making Delicious Cinnamon Toast.

I made the most delicious cinnamon toast for breakfast this morning. It's pretty tricky, but if you follow the recipe exactly, you can share this wonderful treat with your loved ones, too.

First you will need some kind of toasting device. I like to use the oven... yes, the oven because it slow toast the bread. Use the broiler but don't get too distracted or your delicious bread will burn. If you are in a hurry -- say on a Monday or a Tuesday or a Wednesday or a Thursday or a Friday -- then using the toaster is perfectly acceptable. But on a weekend, you should use the oven. Take your time. Savor the moment.

Choose a nice artisan bread. I find ciabatta a little too chewy -- great for sandwiches though -- so I usually will make it with either foccacia or french or italian long loaf bread -- like what you might use to make garlic bread. Sourdough is also a delicious choice. The tangy flavor of the bread blends delightfully with the crusty sweetness of the cinnamon topping. Raisin bread is another favorite. Cranberry nut is good too. I find banana bread already sweet enough, so I don't use that. In situations where you are pressed for time, use good old white bread or whole wheat breat. I love the many variations of whole wheat or whole grain store-bought (When I was a child, I used to know a little girl who called it "boughten bread." I wonder what she's doing today?)

Next you need butter. Not margarine. Not that imitation stuff, but good creamery butter. If you really want to splurge, use European butter: Irish, Danish, French even German. They are very rich and add an exotic zing to your toast. Mostly because they came from overseas. But you can also get that fancy "super-gourmet" feeling by using small dairy butter from Wisconsin or Vermont, or a great local dairy in your area. If you're feeling particularly industrious, make your own butter. Heavy cream in a butter churn and some arm-building churning and you'll have delicious homemade butter.

Of course you need something sweet to carry the cinnamony goodness. I tend to like sugar, either white or light brown. Now you should get pure cane sugar and not sugar made from sugar beets. Some people say you can taste the difference between cane sugar and beet sugar. I can't. But I buy the cane stuff just in case. Do not use the artificial stuff. It might blow up. You do not want to be rebuilding your house because you thought you'd save a couple of calories with some stuff in the pink, blue or yellow packet, and then all of a sudden, "BOOM!" Your house blows up. Use the sugar.

Finally, you need cinnamon. You cannot grow this yourself. You must get it in the grocery aisle. Make sure you get it from a reputable spice merchant. If anyone approaches you on the street with cinnamon for sale and wants you to take a sniff, run. Run straight home and do not come out for three days. (Of course that might screw up your plans for making cinnamon toast, but better safe than sorry.)

Turn on the oven. Sometimes I'll use the broiler, but you have to stay right with the oven otherwise your toast will burn. The "bake" mode on the oven is slower, but more predictable. (Oh, and make sure the oven light comes on so you can see your toast turn golden brown.)

Slice bread as thick as you like, but not too thick or not too thin. Too thin makes crackers. We want toast. Spread slices with a layer of butter. Yummy. Make the butter layer not too thick, but just enough to give the sugar mixture a place to cling to.

Mix some sugar with some cinnamon. This is a matter of your personal taste. I like mine cinnamony, but not too much. But do not forget the cinnamon otherwise you'll just have sugar toast, which is a treat unto itself.

Sprinkle the sugar cinnamon mixture on the buttered slices. Go all the way to the edges of the bread. Put the bread in the oven. I like to use a baking tray but I have seen people put the bread directly on the oven racks. But be careful, if your bread falls through the racks, you might have to start over.

Wait and watch the bread toast. When it is a golden brown as you like, carefully remove the delicious cinnamon toast from the oven. Use oven mitts. I like to put them on right when I put the bread in the oven and while I am waiting for the bread to toast, do the famous cinnamon toast dance. I do not have time to teach it to you now, so just improvise your own dance. Wear your oven mitts. Safety First!

When the toast golden brown and crispy, bubbly goodness, remove from oven and serve. Be careful if you eat it right out of the oven standing over the kitchen sink as it will be hot. But the crumbs will fall in the sink, so clean up is a breeze.

Enjoy your delicious cinnamon toast with your favorite morning beverage. I like mine with hot coffee now, but I used to like ice cold milk. Sometimes hot tea is good, because when you are sick, it can calm an upset stomach. By the way, did I mention that cinnamon is good for your arteries? Who knew? I read it in Dr. Oz's book.

Well, that's today's recipe. Enjoy, everyone!

Here's some great summer meal ideas for those hot days when you just don't want to cook.

Cook Outside

Don't just use the grill -- you can plug in your crockpot or roaster oven outside on the patio, sidewalk or porch. You'll keep your house cool and not use as much electricity as you would if you used the oven or stovetop.

Use the roaster oven outside in the summer to reheat leftovers or bake burritos. Put meat or beans in the crockpot outside. But if you do this, and there are kids in the house, make sure the appliances are out of their reach.

Here's a surprise -- you can also bake bread or desserts using your slow cooker outside! Search the Internet for slow cooker recipes to try. There are plenty on the Web, so you're sure to find something you'll like.

Serve Cold Cuts

A healthy, light summer meal can consist of a plate full of sliced veggies, cheese, slices or cubes of cold seasoned meat, a green salad or slaw, and toasted whole grain bread or a cold grain salad. Light and satisfying, it's a great way to serve summer meals.

To prepare the seasoned meat, use your favorite seasonings, like salt, pepper, and herbs; or try a fruity or zesty marinade. Then cook it outside in the slow cooker or roaster oven. Do it a day or many hours prior to serving. Chill it thoroughly. Then, pull off pieces or slice it as desired and serve. Most meats — chicken, beef, lamb, pork — lend themselves to eating cold, as long the cuts are small and tender enough to chew.

A variation on the cold meat idea is to make a “salad” out of canned or pre-cooked meat. For instance, start with canned wild-caught salmon. Turn it into a salad by combining it with your favorite healthy oil, vinegar and spices, and then serve that alongside a cold grain salad, with toasted whole-grain bread, or with tortilla chips. See my Wild Salmon Salad recipe for more information.

Toss Up A Cold Grain Salad

Grain salads have been around for awhile, and they are yummy! Cook a pot of rice, quinoa, millet or other grain, and then chill it. Several hours before dinner, put a good quantity of the chilled grain(s) in a bowl and toss it with other ingredients and a vinaigrette dressing.

The other ingredients might be — sliced olives; artichoke hearts; diced veggies; cherry tomatoes; shredded cheese; cold and cooked beans such as great northern beans, black beans or pinto beans; toasted chopped nuts or seeds; and/or diced meat.

For the dressing, sprinkle some herbs (Italian seasoning is wonderful, or dill with onion powder), salt and pepper on the ingredients. Then drizzle vinegar — either balsamic, rice or raw apple cider — on it. Add a heart-healthy oil such as extra virgin olive oil, grapeseed oil, or red palm oil* to the bowl, along with a smidge of toasted sesame oil. Toss the grains, other ingredients, vinegar, oil and seasonings together thoroughly. Adjust seasonings to taste. Chill for a couple of hours to let the flavors mingle. A cold grain salad is a delicious side to any cool, summer meal. See my Cold Quinoa Salad recipe for more specifics.

Whizz Up a Smoothie

During the summer, when many, many deliciously sweet fruits are in season, why not have a smoothie for lunch or breakfast? If that’s not enough to satisfy, eat it along with a whole grain muffin.

Smoothie making is extremely flexible. Start with the fruit that is on hand or readily available, at least some of it on the sweeter side, such as banana, pineapple or blueberry. Some or all of this can be frozen. Place it in the blender container. If your blender is not that heavy duty, you’ll want to help it along by cutting up the fruit into smaller pieces that it can handle. Refer to your blender’s instructions for further guidance.

To these sweeter fruits, add other fruits that are not as sweet, such as berries, melons, pears, or apples. Don’t use too much of the apple, though, as its inclusion tends to result in mushy and fibrous smoothies. Also add ice (unless approximately half of your fruit is frozen) and water that comes up about half as high as the fruit is in the blender container. Then blend until smooth and serve yourself a delicious, healthy, cool summer smoothie.

If you’re new to smoothie making, pay attention to what you do and don’t like. You might want a thicker smoothie, so next time use less water. You might prefer a colder smoothie, so next time freeze more fruit or use more ice. If you want your smoothie on the sweeter side, add a small amount of a natural sweetener such as honey or agave, or use a larger proportion of the sweeter fruits. If you prefer a creamier smoothie, use milk or your favorite milk substitute in place of the water.

Bon appetit, everyone!