Pasta and Ceci are one of Rome’s most famous dishes. It’s the only dish on the informal meal schedule on Tuesdays and Fridays. There are many different ways to prepare it, but the basic principles are consistent. A base of sauteed garlic, onion, celery, carrot, and sometimes even a little celery is seasoned with seasonings and …
I couldn’t eat Kale. I always hesitated to eat greens, even lighter ones like arugula and baby spinach. But as soon as I tried something heavier, my anxiety increased. After finding a garden that I liked — Swiss Chard, or what I call the spinach green –, I started experimenting with it. I made a tart spaghetti and gratin. However, I …
The summer is here, and I can’t recall why I became a chef. I want to eat only five things: tomatoes, melon, iced drinks, popsicles, and iced coffee. Every July, I crave pasta with homemade pesto. The pesto is usually accompanied by very detailed instructions and a list of things I like to serve with, near, or …
I have said that the world would be better if everyone stopped pretending kale is tasty (on the page). I don’t know what I am doing. I have said that the internet doesn’t need another kale-based salad. Am I on the right blog? But I can’t stop myself. Last weekend I had a kale salad that I will never …
Imagine this: you’re drying off after a morning shower. Your oatmeal is in the microwave. As usual, you look into the mirror and think, “My god, am I pale?” You hear this sound coming from the living area. The noise gets louder as you get closer. It’s a frantic sound, with fluttering and scratching. Is that (groan) another mouse? Why does …
Many recipes in Julia Child’s archives are so low in bacon and butter that they don’t fit the stereotype that French food is gluttonous. They are rarely discussed. These recipes are found in Julia Child’s Kitchen, published in 1975. It contains kitchen advice and recipes from her PBS series. The recipes are more accessible to beginners than …
You may be someone like me, who starts each day with the grand ambition to be startlingly efficient but ends up clicking random links on social media at 4 pm, wondering if they can find any chocolate. You may have been tempted by the day’s most popular food recipe, a delicious recipe for tater-tot waffles. What could …
I have a tremendous crush on Matt Armendariz. It’s awkward, I know. I’m married, he’s married; I have a kid, he has dog children. It’s okay; my husband knows. He took a picture of Matt with his shirt half off a couple of years ago, so I think we’re even. Fortunately for those who are now reading this uncomfortably at home, hoping …
My husband and I don’t argue much. There’s that whole “tone” thing, which is often misunderstood as “you’re being snippy,” “no, , you’re snippy,” or “well you were snippy before,” but mainly, primarily, we’ve had one argument in the past, and it went exactly like this: You’ve never been to Forest Hills! How can you say you …
I am likely the last person in New York City to learn about Blue Sky Bakery muffins, and it’s all my fault because I wasn’t paying attention. Why would you? Most coffee shops don’t sell muffins worth noting. You can only audition so many flavorless, greasy, tight-crumbed, massive metallic-tasting muffins before not even looking in bakery cases when you go …