It was a snow day here yesterday. School was closed so we spent the day sledding, snow man building and warming up with lots of hot chocolate. Even my 2 1/2 year old was a trooper, again and again climbing up a big hill holding his own sled. Our day ended with an impromptu gourmet feast with good ...
A Single Bite
One crispy bite of my toasted cheese, tomato and onion sandwich and I am in my childhood kitchen with my father. Together, we’re slicing onions, tomatoes and cheddar cheese. Side by side we’re toasting bread, smearing mayonnaise and layering cheese, tomato and onions, one top of the other, creating ...
A Magic Carpet of Dough
There are some cooking dates when bringing my toddler along simply isn’t an option. Making ravioli at Lou’s house is one of those times. Pasta making requires full attention and multiple hands. Shaping, smoothing and passing fresh sfoglia (a thinly stretched sheet of pasta dough) through the pasta ...
A Sweet Valentine’s Day
Valentine’s Day is such a sweet holiday. Get together with a friend to make cookies and it becomes even sweeter. That’s exactly what I did. Having limited artistic ability, I partnered with my friend Jennifer, a skilled baker, and followed her lead to create gorgeous homemade cookies for my friends ...
An Old Fashioned Cooking Date
“Old fashioned” takes me back eight years ago when I first started cooking with Debbie. We both needed to feed our families healthy food, and we wanted to spend time together. It all started with a simple, fresh tomato sauce from our garden tomatoes and fresh basil, and some golden chicken tenders. ...
A Little Cumin to Cure the Monday Madness
The school bus pulled up right on time yesterday afternoon and with a bright smile on my face, I greeted my older kids as they stepped off. Instead of arms open wide for hugs, I got crossed arms and shrugs of disappointment. No Root Beer left over from our Super Bowl party and no play dates planned. ...
The Cupboards are Bare
Well in this case, it’s really my freezer. In anticipation of the “Souper Bowl,” my freezers have been so full of soup for the last few weeks, I literally couldn’t fit in another item. In fact, I have been defrosting and eating foods from my over stuffed freezer simply to make room for more ...
Lots of Little Hands
With all of the excitement in our house getting ready for the “Souper Bowl” — our freezers so stuffed with quarts and quarts of soup that the doors barely close - it was only natural for my seven year daughter to want in. That’s why five little friends and ten little hands chopped vegetables, ...
A Souper Tradition
Traditions with friends are great. When they’re for a special cause, they are even better. Add cooking and they can’t be beat. My friends, Emily and Christina, and I got together the other day and, for the second year in a row, made soup for a Cooking with Friends Club event called the “Souper ...
Steady Now
Home with a sick two year old, I make chicken soup alone. Assembling ingredients; two chickens, some carrots, onions and parsley tossed in the pots, and then off to nurse my sad little boy. Soon enough, the bubbling, simmering soup fills the house with therapeutic aromas of my childhood, a chicken ...