I recently unpacked a few boxes of books that were stored away and uncovered some cookbooks I hadn’t looked through in awhile. They’re now all neatly in a row on my new bookshelf, so I suspect they will be getting some use in the coming weeks and months, but as I looked at each one …
Continue reading “Your spaghetti may be the ‘bella’ the ball”
As I was poking around our local grocery store’s clearance bin about a month ago, I stumbled on a box of “dumplings.” I was a bit confused, since they really just looked like really wide noodles, and it certainly didn’t fit my internal definition of what constitutes a dumpling. But they were cheap. So Joey …
Continue reading “This soup is ‘dumpling’ you should try”
I recently came across a photo of an adorable indoor herb garden and immediately became interested in having one myself. I’m not much of a gardener, and I’m enough of a nerd that I love research, so I have spent more time than I’d like to admit over the past few weeks looking at which …
Continue reading “It’ll be tough to ‘leaf’ leftovers of basil sausage soup”
When I was in grade school, our family used to frequent a now defunct Mexican restaurant called Zaki’s. For some reason, at that age, I was particularly fond of making bets with my dad, and I can remember two challenges that centered on that restaurant in particular. The first was a bet I won. The …
Continue reading “Deciding to make enchiladas an open and shut ‘queso’”
My sister and I have a fundamental difference in opinion when it comes to potatoes in Mexican food. I’m in the “absolutely” camp, and she’s in the “never, ever” camp. I discovered this philosophical divergence one day when I recommended a local restaurant’s chorizo and potato fried tacos to her, and we were both shocked …
Continue reading “Expand your ‘chorizo’ns with potato tacos”
I have apparently been misinformed about the difference between scalloped potatoes and potatoes au gratin for my entire life. I always thought they both had cheese involved. But after I decided recently to make scalloped potatoes, I discovered that the dish has no cheese at all, and it led me down a rabbit hole of …
Continue reading “Don’t leave dinner ‘scalloped’ to chance”
A couple weeks ago, our family gathered around my maternal grandmother’s table, enjoying a meal with her along with all of the cousins and their children and spouses present. It was sometimes a bit loud and boisterous, and there was plenty of laughter as we all ate way too much while telling stories and catching …
Continue reading “It’s tough to see one more empty seat at the table”
Most of the time, I pick out a recipe based on what I already have in my fridge or pantry, but every once in awhile, I see something that looks so good that I end up going on a scavenger hunt in my local grocery store, seeking out some new ingredients to add to my …
Continue reading “‘Curry’ up and eat your veggies this summer”
Several years ago, we had a planned trip to Kansas City, and Joey announced that he really wanted to do his own “Kansas City barbecue tour.” I was game for an adventure, so I agreed. Little did I know just how much Joey loves barbecue. He managed to find a barbecue joint for every lunch …
Continue reading “Even ‘piggy’ eaters will love some pulled pork”
There’s something about May that makes Joey and I busier than normal, it seems. I think it’s just the rushing around of all the end-of-school items that need to get into the newspaper, along with all the excitement of events coming up in the summer that keep us on our toes. That, unfortunately, means May …
Continue reading “Here’s the ‘ravi-only’ quick dinner recipe you need”