By Mary Emma Allen

Here are a few ideas on kitchen decorating for fall which do not involve spending a fortune or undertaking a complete overhaul of the room.

TERRY TEA TOWEL cafe curtains are quick and easy to make and help give your kitchen a new look. Measure your window and use enough terry tea towels to equal twice the width measurement. (Most frequently four are needed, two for each side of the window.)

Sew pairs together along the lengthwise edges. Trim along the bottom with ball or tassel fringe. Attach clip-on rings to the top edge of each curtain. Mount brass or white cafe curtain rod to the window frame at desired height and slip on the curtain rings.

COLORFUL ACCESSORIES, or rearrangement of some you already possess, will make a change in your kitchen. Keep kitchen accessories simple and use items related to activities carried out in that room.

*Pots and pans can make a decorative display and create a focal point on one wall. Some kitchens are designed so that these pots and pans hang from the ceiling.

*Cookbooks can be arranged tastefully for a colorful accent on book shelves in a room divider, a shelf over your cooking area, on a counter.

*Plants are always pleasing in a kitchen, but usually should be relatively small so they don't dominate the room and get in the way of kitchen activities. Some cooks like to keep pots of herbal plants on the window sill or on plant shelves in front of a larger window. Then they're handy for your cooking.

*Colorful covers on chairs or stools add a decorative highlight. If you use the terry tea towels for curtains, you can make these covers of the same material.

Try an electric skillet meal to save time while decorating. You also can use your usual skillet.

Mary Emma's Recipes

Try PEANUT BUTTER KRISPIES for a quick dessert. Cook 3/4 cup corn syrup, 3/4 cup white sugar in pan over medium heat until first bubble. Add 3/4 cup creamy or chunky peanut butter and stir until melted. Pour over 4 1/2 cups crispy rice type cereal and mix together. Put into a buttered 9 x 13-inch pan. Melt 3/4 cup chocolate bits and spread over top of krispies. Cut when cool.

(C) 2002 Mary Emma Allen

About the Author

Mary Emma Allen has been writing her "Cooking Column" for newspapers and online publications for 30 years and has compiled a family cookbook. SheÂ’s currently compiling a cookbook/story book, "Tales From a Country Kitchen." Visit her web site for more cooking articles. Contact her at me.allen@juno.com