I cook because I love to eat. I garden because I love to cook.
Every Wednesday, starting in middle school, I made pizza. After school, I opened a package of yeast, got out the flour, and kneaded dough. While it was proofing, I simmered a can of tomato puree with garlic, oregano, basil, and sugar. I grated mozzarella, assembled …
My daughter, Ariana, is a first-year college student, and has become a master at creating meals using improvisation. With her “to go” container the college gives every student, she packs a wide range of items from the college cafeteria and whips up late night meals …
I have a degree in marine biology. Well, technically it’s a Master’s degree in Marine Environmental Sciences. There are many benefits of going to school for marine science. You get to check out all kinds of really cool things in the oceans and along the …
I used to think of cilantro as a hot weather crop. That’s because it is ubiquitous in food from the Tropics; sprinkled over Thai dishes; an essential component of Vietnamese banh mi sandwiches; the base of some Indian chutneys; and I wouldn’t make Mexican guacamole …
One summer in the late 1970s, when I was young and my brothers and I were away at overnight camp, my parents took a trip to Mexico. My father came back wanting to make two things: sandals and refried beans. For years we had boxes …
In my junior and senior years in college, I was a member of a couple of different cooking groups. About four or five different people, each cooking one night a week. It provided a meal much healthier than the college cafeteria, saved time and money, …
All I remember about eating breakfast at home as a kid is 1) a distinct paucity of sugary cereals, which probably led to 2) French toast with syrup and cinnamon sugar. I also vaguely remember my parents trying to sneak wheat germ into things like …
I didn’t grow up eating much Italian food. As a kid, I was under the false impression that Italian restaurants only served spaghetti and meatballs; in my mind, nothing else was available. Then I grew up and moved to Long Island. Italian food is the …
Without a doubt, the best thing to do when traveling is to visit the local market. Not the supermarket, although you can learn a great deal about a culture by visiting these too, but the weekly market, which is often outdoors. It’s where you see …
I love eating larb in the spring and summer. The weather is just right for this Laotian meat salad, and it’s easy to make. It is light, refreshing, and healthy, wrapped in lettuce leaves, with tons of fresh herbs from the garden. It really is …
