I’ve really tried lately to simplify things in hopes of keeping my head above water long enough to make strides in this crazy chaos of life. Naturally, cooking is an area that can spare some serious minutes. I tend to start mulling over dinner ideas early in the day pondering either what we have on hand and how I can turn it into something fabulously edible, or, I am daydreaming about the random idea to strike my fancy. Both scenarios can end up swallowing up my whole day and night and leave us eating dinner at 10pm with a pile … Continue reading →

Nine years ago my husband (then boyfriend) and I moved to Denver from San Francisco to help look after my dad who had been on a roller coaster of crazy medical predicaments for quite a while. My two sisters had been sharing duties of balancing doctor appointments, hospital runs, conflicting medical advice, piles of pills, some odd roommates he’d acquired, his dog and dental disasters among other things. I had been taking a trip about every month to visit him during the summer of ’02 when he’d been in and out of the hospital, a nursing home, and bouncing back … Continue reading →

A lot of meals we eat end up happening just because we had the ingredients while some are crazy inspirations that strike me that I simply must fulfill. I’ll attribute this, like many of my food traits, to my dad. He would sit in his office or at his seat at the kitchen, most likely in his boxer shorts (sun or snow) and swallow books whole. For hours on end, night after night, he’d sit on some of the most uncomfortable seats we had which was odd for an old man with a bony butt. But he’d sit and read … Continue reading →

So while I am still trying and mostly succeeding at ‘eating down’ both freezer(s) and pantry, this is still called ‘do what I want’ and so when something calls strongly enough, I might just give in. And so it was with the single word status on a friend’s  facebook page. I’m not even sure if she succumbed to a sudden urge, had them arrive at her door, or ate them out at a restaurant. But her enthusiasm was infectious and when I found myself holding a cauliflower the size of my head, the ‘do what I want’ voice screamed Scallops! … Continue reading →

I am feeling somewhat apologetic about tonight’s dinner’s inspiration and, apparently, so was Bon Appetit. See, I was biding my time in a waiting room, flipping through the latest issue which happens to feature Gwyneth Paltrow on the cover. There’s been plenty of buzz about her new cookbook and she’s definitely been making the circuit. But featuring a pretty actress on the cover of a prominent food magazine did seem odd and the editor devoted his entire piece to justifying that decision.  From what he said and from the recipes I read, it seems the book is pretty good. And … Continue reading →

For the first time in a long time, we planned to eat some beef that wasn’t a rib eye or short ribs. I thought of summer salads, crusty bread and thin slices of grilled meat. Although it’s just beginning, summer is finally here enough that the windows and back door are open more often than not during the day, bare feet abound and my new, giant, floppy hat makes a regular appearance. This made me think of cherry tomatoes (even though ours are just starting to make flowers) and corn (just barely starting to see it in the stores) and … Continue reading →