One reason I find some people don’t really love cooking has to do with their knife. Chopping, dicing and slicing food is at the heart of most any recipe, and the knife you use can have everything to do with the experience you have making it.
When one of my heroes, the great Jacques Pepin, was asked what kind of knife he prefers to use, his reply was simply, “a sharp one”. I vividly remember the first time I chopped something with a good, sharp knife — it truly changed my life in the…
Recently I got a few new cookbooks, an occasion that always makes me giddy. One of the books was written by my friend, Katie Workman. A gifted book editor for years turned cooking website developer, Katie combined her love of cooking and the raising of her two boys and produced this absolutely fabulous book full of simple recipes for moms. It’s called The Mom 100 Cookbook (I so love the title).
While I was reading through the book, salivating and thinking about what I was going to serve for a small party this coming Memorial Day, I came upon this incredibly simple tomato…
Sunday is the day that I try to prepare as many simple recipes as possible for the week ahead. Once it comes to Monday and we’re all running around busy and exhausted, it’s nice to know I can come home to a fridge full of simple, yet nutritious foods that are ready to warm and serve.
Saying that I love my kids’ teachers is an understatement. I don’t think I fully grasped the importance of a great teacher until this school year. Watching the indelible impressions made on my children day after day by the most caring, nurturing and thoughtful group of educators I have ever come across, is a blessing I shall always be grateful for.
One of my favorite things about Kenya and Chloe’s school is that they encourage both the teachers and families to share the traditions and celebrations that are meaningful to them. One of Kenya’s teachers is from India and a…
Seriously? An ice cream cone filled with light vanilla cake and topped with frosting? I can think of few things that would make a kid more happy than this treat. It’s like if two members of dessert royalty got married and had babies — the result would be these Vanilla Cupcakes in a Cone. My kids lost their minds when they got to make them with me. Where, you may ask, did this ingenious idea (which I wish I had thought of) come from?
Recently I got a copy of the new Handstand Kids cookbook, Baking Around the World, and told Kenya and Chloe that they could pick out any recipe they wanted for us to bake together. They were over the moon. Both of my kids are huge fans of the Handstand Kids and so we poured…
Two asparagus recipes in one week? The nerve of me! Well, I’m fully prepared to defend myself. Asparagus is in season in most parts of the country right now which means it’s probably grown locally and a lot more fresh than if you bought it in January and it was flown here from who knows how far away. It’s also likely a lot less expensive. When vegetables are in season, use them. A lot. In as many recipes as possible. And listen for…
When my kids are feeling under the weather and don’t feel like eating much of anything, one thing they will eat that I can always count on to help them feel better quick is this homemade Chicken Soup with Rice.
Aside from eating it, Chloe and Kenya could read — and sing — Chicken Soup with Rice every day. After Maurice Sendak’s passing last week, I decided to dedicate this video to him for writing a book we truly love about a recipe we completely adore: Chicken Soup with Rice.
The day I was testing this recipe a friend of mine came over and began oohing and ahhing about the smell from the moment she walked into the kitchen. I pulled this dish of loveliness from the oven she asked me what it was. “Quiche,” I said. “Quiche? What’s that?” she asked me. How is it possible that she had never heard of quiche? Quiche is just a simple savory pie filled with a variety of fillings — it was almost a staple of my diet growing up in Kentucky…
If the appliances in my kitchen were all marriage material, I would have a horrible time choosing which one to settle down with forever. Seriously, how should a girl choose? So many of them are hard working, reliable and would honor me for a lifetime. But if I had to pick the one that is the most handsome, the one that makes me smile every time I see him, it would have to be my Kitchen Aid Artisan Standing Mixer. I use it…
Forward this email to your husband, partner or child right away. O.K., Kenya and Chloe don’t have email — most 5 and 3 year-olds (thankfully) don’t — but you get my drift. You want this recipe in the hands of the people you love. You can leave them notes on their pillows, mention it in casual conversation at the dinner table, write a song about it or, just come right out and fess up to the fact that this is what you really want to have on Mother’s Day morning…
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