Green Food

Driving “Green Bean” (aka our rented green minivan) back to the Portland, Oregon Airport… Me: “What do you want for dinner tonight?” Dean: “GREEN.” Me: “What? (laughing) That’s not a dinner!” “That’s a COLOR, Daddy,” Anni pipes up giggling. Dean: “Oh yes it is! After all the brown and white food we’ve been eating all […]

Wine: Think Outside the Box.

I’ve been invited to be an Editor for the FeedFeed — an interwoven website linking cooks cooking away in our kitchens with recipes from around the globe. I am thrilled. It’s a regular site I use when cooking (like Epicurious). And a one-stop place of inspiration. I’ll be introducing and editing posts with my ‘straight talk’ about wine, pairings, cooking […]

my Jelly Jar Trick: Not All Wine is Created Equal.

OKAY.  I admit it.  For years back in Los Angeles, I mostly sipped sh*t wine. Thinking it was good wine. And good for me. At $5-12 per bottle, inexpensive wine fit my wallet but still made me feel like I was “healthy.” A glass or two of red wine a day is supposed to be good […]

Taking Up the Mantle of Our Mothers

This Holiday season was a first in many ways… The first Annual Holiday Tea Party. The first passing of family china to me. Complete with my grandmother’s jade dinner ring. The first antique “new” heirloom meant for Anni to inherit — a 19th century Samovar Tea Urn. The first Christmas without my Grandmother. “Taking Up […]