I was in the midst of making a lentil salad a few days ago when my friend Jackie stopped by for an impromptu play date. She brought a small container of left-over chocolate chip cookie dough and suggested that she finish her baking at my house. Without hesitation, I pre-heated the oven in ...
Kitchen Chronicles
Farmer's Market Challenge
Our neighborhood farmer's market opened on Saturday. It drew a swarm of people looking blissed-out to see the first spring harvest. Dewy herbs, colorful veggies, some artisanal cheeses and local wines lined the roped-off parking lot that for the next few months will become a one-stop shopping mart ...
Falafel Frustrations
It was music to my ears when Liza walked into Kathe’s house last week for the Cooking With Friends Club Kid Friendly Dinner Swap and announced how much work it had been to make 60 pieces of Falafel. You see, Liza conceded that she had cooked alone instead of with a friend. So it came as no ...
Swapping Season
Our Denver group of cooking friends is gearing up for a festival of swaps over the next few months. This month we'll do a Breakfast Foods Swap. My partner and I will whip up a huge batch of homemade granola and tie it in pretty bags to hand out. Others in the group are talking about apple cake, ...
The Urge to Hoard
If you’ve ever cooked with the intent of stocking your freezer, you know the satisfaction of seeing your freezer jam packed. One of my cooking friends tells me she enjoys the look of an overstuffed freezer so much that she sometimes hesitates to use anything. This primordial urge to hoard food can ...
Local Flavors
Saturday night, I had the great pleasure of dinner with my husband at Potager, my favorite restaurant in Denver. The name means "kitchen garden" in French and our meals were an incredible taste of spring in Colorado, all local, all seasonal. On our menu that evening: Spinach Soup with Nettles, ...
A Pizza Dough Work Out
Stretching, pulling and rolling 16 pieces of dough. Had I been alone in my kitchen, I probably wouldn’t have taken on this mundane task at all. However, since I was cooking with my friend Kathe, I actually enjoyed the process. We got together yesterday to make homemade macaroni and cheese and ...
Travels With Food
When talking a few days ago to a relative who is embarking on a trip to Hong Kong, Vietnam, Cambodia and Thailand this week, the conversation turned, inevitably, to food. Such a trip will offer new thoughts on unusual delicacies, spices, methods of cooking. I am so lucky that a few weeks after ...
Lasagna Al Fresco
This photo is not an ad for Ronzoni pasta. Rather, it's a memento of a beautiful afternoon with a friend. It was an absolutely gorgeous Spring Monday when Debbie and I met for our lasagna assembly date. Having made our tomato sauce together the week before, we were all set to get to work -- except, ...
Cooking For Friends in Need
One of the greatest things about Cooking With Friends is that when you start cooking together, you think more about how food and friends are (or should be) forever intertwined. This is what happened a few days ago when one of my cooking mates emailed be about another friend, whose son is ill and ...