It was a Holiday no-school Monday when Kathe and I got together to cook. The kids hadn’t had a chance to play in a while and I missed our friend time. Kathe left me a message saying that she hoped to at least get dinner made while we were all together. So, I loaded up a tote bag with whatever I had ...
Kitchen Chronicles
Part of the Neighborhood
First, came the Banana Bread. Then the Chocolate Chip cookies and a jar of homemade Apple Butter. Delicious gifts from our new neighbors, coming by to say hi when we moved into our new house this month. No matter your age, your work or your politics, food is the ultimate common denominator. We so ...
Rolling Rugelach
As I rolled the cream cheese dough slathered with cinnamon and sugar into spiral shaped cookies, my friend was rolling dough topped with chocolate chips and cocoa powder. Our toddlers were with us, playing together, running in for a taste every now and then. This simple yet messy task would have ...
Madtown
We arrived in Madison (Madtown to locals) last week and everything we heard about it being the foodiest of foodie towns is true. On Saturday, we spent hours at the farmers' market, which is the largest in the nation and voted the best by Eating Well Magazine. It's a cornucopia of local treats, ...
Let us make Cake
While anxiously waiting for his friend to come over to play, my three-year old helped me chop apples for the cakes that Jackie and I were about to make together. You see, Jackie and I both needed a dessert for a holiday dinner and decided it would be more fun to make them together -- a play date ...
Secret Ingredient
One of the greatest things about cooking with someone is that your friend might have an idea you never thought of before. It may be a way of slicing, a spice or a knack for combining flavors. It's your friend's Secret Ingredient. When cooking a chicken curry with a friend recently, he suggested ...
Give and Take
Sometimes when you cook with a friend, you’re there to learn, to follow someone else’s lead. Maybe you’re interested in making something you’ve never tried before — say pie dough or dumplings — so you take a back seat and allow a friend to show you the way. Other times, you’ll be the one in charge ...
DenverGirls
This week, my family moves from Denver to Madison, Wi. One of the things I'll miss most is the group of more than a dozen women I cook with and swap food with here. Together we've made appetizers, cookies, soups, main dishes, breads, cakes, and so much more. We've learned each other's specialities ...
Dreaming of a Vita-Mixer
Sometimes I shock myself with the pleasure I get out of trying something new. I couldn’t wait for my cooking date last Wednesday to try out my friend Steve’s Vita-Mixer, an extremely high powered, Restaurant quality blender. I’d been listening to Steve describe the ultra smooth and silky texture of ...
Adventure Cooking
My friends Christy and Christine just baked bread together. It was a first time for "real bread" baking for them both. After their cooking session, Christine wrote me an amazing email saying had she not been "assigned" bread for our swap this month, bread would have forever been a chapter in ...