WE'RE BACK WITH ANOTHER INSTALLMENT OF FOOD YOU (STILL) DON’T KNOW WHAT TO DO WITH, IN WHICH YOU SEND ME YOUR CULINARY CONUNDRUMS AND MY SON, RUDY, AND I HANG OUT TOGETHER IN THE KITCHEN, TALK ABOUT STUFF AND TRY TO MAKE SOME SENSE OF THEM FOR YOU. This time, the conundrum comes from Rudy's pal, … Continue reading Condensed Milk
In 2012 I had (among many other things) a love of food, two small kids and a memoir I was trying to write about a father I had lost who liked to eat. I also had the suspect knowledge that sometimes writers could get the attention of readers and publishing bigwigs by keeping an interesting … Continue reading Food You (Still) Don’t Know What to Do With
My mother has been gone from this world two years today, so I took the day off and spent it in the garden. My new Blessed Mother statue, a late Mother's Day present from my husband, arrived appropriately today, just in time to replace the one that did not survive the winter. I placed her … Continue reading Our Lady of the Artichoke
I'm so happy to share that my debut essay collection, All Things Edible, Random and Odd: Essays on Grief, Love and Food, is now available for pre-order through CLASH Books! The official release date will be November 28, 2023 and I'll be using this space and others to share information as the date approaches. For … Continue reading All Things Book News!
On Monday I woke up feeling slow. Not exactly sluggish, though I was deeply tired. It was more like maybe my body decided my brain had had quite enough of the rushabout and worry that underscores most days, and just simply down-geared. As a result, I feel like I noticed and heard a lot more … Continue reading Saffron Aioli, Slowly, Slowly
For a variety of (boring-to-you) reasons, my therapist has tasked me with spending five minutes every day engaging in what we're calling "abundance thinking." This is just a fancy way of saying that she wants me to actively think about what I have and how grateful I am to have it every single day. I … Continue reading Cream of Mussels Soup with Saffron and Abundance
Well, this week has limped along, with most of my time taken by writing pursuits (aka, grading freshman comp papers) not nearly as delicious or satisfying as writing about turnips would have been. Yes, turnips, it turns out, are delicious! I don't think I really knew that before this week because as I was shopping … Continue reading Chicken,Turnip & Potato Curry
Still sick. More soup. This one's my homage to one of Paul's favorites, French Onion. I've never made a proper French Onion soup before, and don't even have the requisite stoneware crocks in which one must absolutely serve it. Well, I do have one: Classic. It's even called an "Onion Soup Crock." You can get … Continue reading Caramelized Three-Onion Soup with Parmesan Toasts
I was excited to pull leeks from the metaphoric earth this week because I knew I was getting sick, and the first thing that came to mind was the soup I'm going to describe to you now. Yes, chicken soup for sickies isn't especially ground breaking, but this one is special and has become one … Continue reading Chicken, Leek & Barley Soup
No meat to be found in this one! No photos, either, because I seem to have erased them from the camera card! I'm having exactly that sort of week, friends. Bear with me. I am a fan of warm, porridgey breakfast foods. I'm even a fan of savory bowls of stuff in the morning--rice and … Continue reading Breakfast Quinoa with Almond Milk, Dried Cranberries and Pumpkin Seeds
Sheila squillante 