“Cooking last week was so tiring and, frankly, just plain burdensome.” So concluded Kris, one of the participants in a class I taught recently. I loved her honest assessment of the previous cooking week, especially the word “burdensome.” What a “perfect” word! I had never attached that word to daily meal making but it really … Read more
Check out this idea This weekend was the second time I’ve seen an article recently about social media detoxing. Among the many benefits cited by detoxers: Suddenly they had time to cook! And they liked it! One detoxer described how he became more centered on finding meaningful activities, like exercising more, taking up old hobbies … Read more
Quick Question: What’s languishing, all but forgotten, on the condiment shelf in almost all our refrigerators? Mustard, of course! Poor mustard waits patiently for hamburger nights but you can almost hear it begging for more: “Give me a chance! I can do so much more than just spice up a burger!” Indeed I have found this … Read more
Who would have guessed that crockpots, instant pots, meal planning and microwaves would generate such interesting feedback? I got so many thought-provoking comments after the last couple posts that I wanted to use them as a springboard for further conversation. Meal Planning Here is Carolyn’s response to last month’s article on meal planning, “Why Most … Read more
Quick Quiz What time do you begin to cook? A) When you race into the kitchen fully stressed about getting a meal on the table, fast? B) When you start pulling food from the fridge, trying to figure out what to make with it? C) When you hop out of the car and run in … Read more
Hard to believe there could be a problem with Instant Pots. So many people rave about them. But I’ve noticed one problem, and it lies in the word “Instant.” In our time-starved world, that word is enough to send anyone racing to buy one with visions of instant meals, instantly available. And yet . . … Read more
You might have seen the recipe for Creamy Mexican Dressing in the previous post. It calls for 1 Tbsp. of tomato paste. Sometimes I dread seeing that in an ingredient listing. Because can I tell you how many times I have opened a can of tomato paste, used a tablespoon or two, put the rest … Read more
Just a reminder that it’s rhubarb season. Here I show it getting washed and dried along with a bunch cilantro (which pair nicely with each other, BTW.) Don’t miss out on the burst of sweet-tart flavor rhubarb adds to a dish. And remember that it can be used in savory dishes as well as sweet. … Read more
By the time I get home from grocery shopping, I just want to put things away and get on with the rest of my day or evening. But if there is cilantro or parsley in my shopping bags, I force myself to wash them immediately and set them to dry in a colander for the … Read more
What’s the one thing that will 10X your success making meals that are healthy, tasty and affordable? Meal Planning! But what’s the one thing home cooks regularly duck and dodge? Meal Planning! Given this unfortunate coincidence, I was interested to see a recent article on using AI to plan meals. Could it be the answer … Read more