Sometimes cooking with a friend is therapeutic. In fact, I think it’s at its best when it has this effect. The other day, Suzy and I cooked and laughed so much that my ribs ached (of course they had a head start from my 5-week cough). We touched base that morning, with no particular plan to cook. ...
Kitchen Chronicles
Other People's Kitchens
Sometimes, you don't have a kitchen. You might be between houses, between life stages, or on the road. Since we moved to Madison last month, we've been renovating ours, which has meant occasional kitchen black-out days or even weeks. Luckily for me, this week two new friends invited me to their ...
Save me from Trans fats!
Like many home cooks, in order to save precious time in the kitchen, I admit I sometimes cut corners. Although I usually make my own dough -- for sweet pies, pot pies and tarts -- I am guilty of buying pre-made empanada wrappers. My favorite, which are light, flaky and delicious, are made by La ...
Shopping the Co-op
Until yesterday, I hadn't shopped in a co-op grocery store for years, since college days when I would buy veggies and yogurt from a co-op in Cambridge, Mass. after my Saturday yoga class. Since then, I've grown my own gardens, frequented farmers' markets and spent much money at the burgeoning chain ...
Measuring Honey
There are times when I’m in my kitchen alone, performing the simplest task, when I think of a friend; moments when I wish I had someone to help me accomplish something as easy as measuring honey into a tablespoon. With my right hand squeezing the oversized honey jug, and my left hand holding a ...
Chopped Liver, Anyone?
This morning at the bus stop, one of my neighbors invited me to make chopped liver with her. It turns out she's always wanted to know how to make it, and one of our other neighbors knows how, so the three of us will plan a cooking date. Sometimes as adults we go long periods of time without ...
Election Day Quiches
Kathe and I had another frenzied cooking date gearing up for the Election Day Bake Sale. Mini ham and egg quiches were the item of the day, but of course we had to squeeze some other foods in as well — a few quick breads, buttermilk biscuits and meat loaf for dinner that night. We worked incredibly ...
Food Traditions, New and Old
This is the prime time of the year--from Halloween through New Year's--when we build our culinary traditions with family and friends. Some are based on the taste of a particular type of apple, a way of brining chicken, or always feasting on Oyster Stew on Christmas Eve. Other traditions involve how ...
Red White and Dough
With the 2008 Presidential election just a week away, many schools use the election as an excuse to raise money through bake sales. I welcome it as an opportunity to bake with a friend. Since Jenn and I both needed to contribute to our children’s school bake sales, we decided to put our Patriotic ...
Simply Living
One of our friends decided that this week, she and her family (2 adults, 2 kids) would try an experiment--they would not spend any money. The goal, of course, in this time of fast-moving lives and difficult economy, is to slow down, rediscover what's important, and even save some money. Instead ...