Author: Max Strieb

A Silver Lining – Almond Fingers

A Silver Lining – Almond Fingers

As we approach a year of pandemic quarantining, hand sanitizing, and masks, it is wearing on us all more than ever. We are tired, lonely, and frankly a little depressed. We miss our friends and family and going out to a restaurant for a simple 

Sometimes a Sign – Turkey Meatballs In Romesco Sauce

Sometimes a Sign – Turkey Meatballs In Romesco Sauce

Small Plates Saturday Night has become a tradition in our household, even more so since the pandemic has made dining out a gamble we do not feel is worth the risk. I cook three, four, five, six small dishes, while relaxing and pushing the pressures 

Lee How Fook – Chicken and Mushroom Hot Pot with Baby Bok Choy

Lee How Fook – Chicken and Mushroom Hot Pot with Baby Bok Choy

My family has been eating at the same Chinese restaurant – Lee How Fook – going on 40 years. Located on the edge of Philadelphia’s Chinatown, generations of the same family have cooked for and served us, just as generations within my family have dined 

Labneh to Dip

Labneh to Dip

Every weekday it’s the same. I go to work and eat breakfast while I’m getting organized for the day. My meal is unchanged; varying only a few times over the course of my career. It almost always starts with a banana. Years ago, that was 

Chicken Puttanesca

Chicken Puttanesca

About a dozen years ago I had the wonderful opportunity to go to Italy with my family. We spent two incredible weeks there, one with my parents and brothers’ families at a rental in Umbria, the other, just my wife, kids, and I, driving throughout 

The January Garden – Leek and Mushroom Tart with Brie

The January Garden – Leek and Mushroom Tart with Brie

January is a bleak month in the garden. There is little growth, and so by leaps and bounds the most exciting activities are perusing catalogues to order seeds for the coming year and planting cabbage, kale, and leek seeds under lights in the basement to 

Chorizo and Rice Stuffed Peppers

Chorizo and Rice Stuffed Peppers

I love food stuffed inside food. I’m not talking turducken (a chicken stuffed inside a duck stuffed inside a turkey) or anything extreme like that, but rather smaller bites. Neat little packages with a morsel or two inside a wrapper, providing layers of flavor. The 

An Annual Reflection – Garden Successes and Failures of 2020 and Changes for 2021

An Annual Reflection – Garden Successes and Failures of 2020 and Changes for 2021

Every cold January, I contemplate my garden. I think about the hard work I’ve put in and the abundance I’ve harvested. I ponder my plot’s successes and failures. I salivate when I look back on the fresh bounty it provided, tasting so much better than 

Hey Kiddo, We Get You A Salami – Salami and Eggs

Hey Kiddo, We Get You A Salami – Salami and Eggs

Everybody has some relatives that are a little, let’s say…different. For us it was Aunt Esther and Uncle Stan, E and S for short. Elderly when I was young, they used to bounce back and forth between sparsely furnished apartments in Philadelphia and Florida. While 

A “Healthy” Sweet Treat – Carrot Cake Cookies

A “Healthy” Sweet Treat – Carrot Cake Cookies

With the holidays behind us and a few extra pounds under our loosened belts, many of us have resolved to eat lighter and leaner. It is all well and good; admirable to be healthier. But cleanses and resolutions be damned, let’s be realistic, we are