I cook because I love to eat. I garden because I love to cook.
The first thing I learned to cook when I was young was pizza; every Wednesday, two pizzas for the family. The second thing I learned to cook was Rock Sugar Chicken, a Chinese stewed chicken with bamboo shoots and shitake mushrooms, the sauce saturating a …
When we visit my parents in Philadelphia, we always go out to our favorite Chinese restaurant, Lee How Fook. We’ve been dining there literally for decades. They immediately bring a pot of hot tea for the table, and for my mother, without asking, a pot …
This summer amid the pandemic, my college-age daughter was stranded at home like many of her generation. An internship was not in the cards, so she kept busy with a small, online, used clothing business she created. Likewise, her friend from Brooklyn wanted to get …
Sometimes a simple salad will suffice. And this one, with its crunchy vegetables, sweet, nutty dressing, and firm-textured tofu, is good any day of the week. I usually make this salad within a day of visiting an Asian grocery store, where I can get perfectly …
Of all of the characteristics that make a morsel of food desirable, crispy bits reign supreme. I love the texture and flavor they bring to my dishes. Diners search it out in all kinds of foods, from the curliest, folded over potato chip in the …
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 …
About once a month on Friday afternoons after work and school in the 1970s, my parents would put my brothers and I in the back seat of the car – no seat belts required in the back seat – and drive to a cabin they …
Sometimes the main course is easy, but a side dish eludes you. Sometimes you need to concoct an accompaniment to the main meal, but it’s got to be quick. Sometimes you need simple and easy. Sometimes you want the side dish to be healthy. Sometimes …
Cooking for a crowd is harder than ever before, what with allergies and special diets and food preferences. Yes, options exist; they require that I put a little more time and effort into planning a menu that everyone can enjoy. And it requires some creativity. …
