I’m reading a ton of memoirs as I put the final touches on my book about my mom. If I ever finish it, consider it a miracle. As I was re-reading a book by Molly Wizenberg, a former food blogger, my pesto-ometer went off. (Her blog, Orangette, was well written, had lots of great recipes, and even won a James Beard Award.) She’s moved on to a different…
If you are Italian, you know that burning the sauce is a tragedy and very possibly a sin. I know this isn’t on quite the same level as Saving Private Ryan, but it’s very serious. The ingredients alone are worth at least 50 bucks! This has only happened to me a couple of times in life. It usually happens when I’m really busy and doing 12 things at…
Patrick really honed his cooking in Italy and often starts with a base of garlic, lots of olive oil, celery, onions and carrots. It's a great base for soups or pastas. It's called soffrito in Italian cooking. The French call it mirepoix and use butter. …
I’m coping with Covid and unemployment with exercise. Everyday I hike the local hills. I stop just before I get to the freeway overpass, then turn around and go back. I once walked under it just to prove I could do it, but I know the next time I do the mother of all earthquakes will strike and all they’ll find will be a little thigh fat. Ever…
I was talking to a friend about the deliciousness of tomatoes this time of year. Our conversation reminded me of rainy days in late summer when my sister and I used to sit in the garage staring out at the rain. She’d eat a tomato sandwich and I’d eat a tomato with sprinkled with salt, loving that sweet, sun-ripened juice running down my chin. Every August and September…
The biggest decision of my day yesterday was whether to choose the Fudgepop, or the O Organics Mango frozen fruit bar. The Fudgepop is only 60 calories, and half the size of the fruit bar, but it’s CHOCOLATE. The O Organics is almost twice as big, and only 80 calories. And yes, I know it’s organic, but, it’s not chocolate. I’m quite certain all today’s great thinkers are…
It will be a miracle if I don’t gain at least 19 pounds while home alone. I’m walking, doing push ups, and crunches, plus I throw the occasional solo dance party but it’s never enough. All my efforts are defeated by my love of cooking. The thing that thrills me even more than trying on those skinny jeans and feeling them loose, is trying a recipe for the…
If you don’t make your own pesto, you should be slapped. * There I said it. That’s probably the most controversial thing you’ll see on this blog, and I mean it. Why? Because you’re passing up your moment of culinary immortality. Years from now, people will forget how you looked, what you said and what you wore, but they’ll never forget the creamy, fresh taste of your pasta…