Decorating small living spaces, cooking with kale ahead on show

Information on decorating small living spaces, cooking with kale and working with clayboard will be the featured topics on “Creative Living” 9:30 p.m. Tuesday and noon Thursday (all times Mountain).

Kimball Starr is an interior designer, and she is going to talk about some of the challenges of small living spaces and then present solutions for the overall look of the space, for activities that the space allows and storage. Her company is Kimball Starr Interior Design, and she’s from San Francisco.

What’s for lunch? The answer is kale but what is kale? Carol Fenster is an author and nutritionist, and she will explain what kale is, show various varieties and explain why it is so good for us. She’ll also show how to make kale chips. Her company is Savory Palate, LLC in Centennial, Colorado.

Shannon Bielke is a crafter and designer, and she’s going to show the beauty and versatility of clayboard, which can be used in many ways, from artwork, to jewelry, boxes and more. Her company is Sha & Co. in Payson, Arizona.

Information on using pre-packaged convenience products, making window shades and planning for retirement will be the featured topics on “Creative Living” noon Tuesday and 2 p.m. Saturday.

Roxanne Wyss, home economist with Williams Foods, Inc. in Lenexa, Kansas, will demonstrate some great ways to spice up any recipe – using pre-packaged convenience products.

Jana Beus, pattern designer for Simplicity Pattern Co. in New York City, will share some ideas for creating valances and matching shades for windows.

Thomas Lee, an elder attorney with Senior Resources of America in West Hills, California, will discuss retirement, the “golden years” and second careers.

Layered tex-mex cornbread salad

1 pkg. (6 1/2 ozs.) cornbread mix

2 cans (15 ozs. ea.) Pinto beans, drained

2 cups tomatoes, chopped

1 cup green onions, chopped

1/4 cup jalapeno peppers, seeded, chopped

12 slices bacon, cooked and crumbled

2 cups Monterey Jack cheese, grated

1 cup sour cream

1 cup salsa

Prepare cornbread mix as directed on package. When cool, crumble the cornbread in a large dish. Top with half of the remaining ingredients, except sour cream and salsa. Repeat the layers. Mix together sour cream and salsa. Top mixture with sour cream and salsa mixture and additional jalapeno slices. Cover and chill 2-3 hours before serving.

Pat’s quickie tortilla soup

2 cans Chicken and Rice Condensed Soup

1 can water

1/2 can Rotel Tomatoes

Heat all ingredients together. When hot, serve over crumbled corn tortilla chips or corn chips, and sprinkle with shredded cheese. VARIATION: Diet Version: Drain off about 1/2 of the liquid from each can of soup and all of the fat BEFORE adding water. Add more or less Rotel according to your taste preference. This recipe can be frozen.

Blueberry banana pie

1 pastry pie shell, baked and cooled

2 bananas, sliced

1 can Blueberry Pie Filling

2 cups whipped topping

Prepare pie shell as directed. Cool. Layer banana slices in bottom of pie shell. Cover with Pie Filling. Top with whipped topping. Chill thoroughly and serve. Variation: May use peach, apricot, cherry or strawberry pie filling. Yield: 8 servings.

“Creative Living” is produced and hosted by Sheryl Borden. The show is carried by more than 118 PBS stations. Contact her at:

[email protected]