Peter Cottontail, a.k.a. the Easter Bunny has come and gone (well, not for us gardeners); leaving hideously sweet treats behind. I never cared for Peeps (even stale) or coconut eggs but I do admit to a love of black jelly beans. Brach’s candy even packages just this flavor for us freaks of nature ~ oh […]
This huge marvelous state sports friendly residents, beautiful flat plains AND rolling hills, not to mention fields and fields of blue bonnets (thank you Lady Bird Johnson), silly, fast road runners that don’t look anything like the cartoon character and the best authentic Tex-Mex food. Who could ask for more?! I recently visited Austin once […]
St. Patrick’s Day is the holiday celebrated annually on March 17th. It is the date on which the most commonly recognized Irish patron saint, St. Patrick died in the fourth century. In the early seventeenth century, this day was made an official Christian feast day and commemorates St. Patrick and the arrival of Christianity in […]
Pardon the pun but at this point with the wild winter weather roller coaster we have been on, I am yearning for warmer weather foods. To me that could be ribs on the grill, corn on the cob and baked beans. Not that baked beans have to be reserved for better weather. In fact, they […]
What better way to spend a freezing cold winter day other than thinking about food. A friend of mine, perhaps it was Bas or Jochem, gave me a bumper sticker that reads “Love people. Cook them tasty food”. I appreciate that thought as one could imagine it to be a mantra of mine. I am […]
I once considered the Po’ Boy with its fried oysters or shrimp and yummy aioli to be one of the greatest sandwiches ever created until I returned to THE eclectic city for foodies, New Orleans. As my husband, Bob and I ate and drank our way through the French Quarter, we stumbled across the muffuletta. […]
John Belushi and Dan Akroyd brilliantly brought that timeless skit to life in the early years of Saturday Night Live. However, historically speaking, the first American hamburger was created in 1900 by Louis Lassen; owner of Louis’ Lunch in Connecticut (officially declared so by the Library of Congress in that year). Other rivals have claimed its […]
Can garlic scapes replace ramps as the latest trendy vegetable? Funny how last month I posted about ramps since my interest always lies in trying something unique in the kitchen. My friend Sebastiaan recently shared some scapes that he grew and brought them to my attention as well. I had never heard of this vegetable […]
I have always loved to cook; even as a teenager when most considered cooking a chore or an oddity, before food fads and ‘foodies’. In junior high school I actually anticipated home economics class in the kitchen. Now there are expensive culinary schools and endless cooking demonstrations. We had never heard of ramps in those […]
My sister Karen (Bone, Boney, the Bonesinator) and her easy-going foodie husband John requested that I write about our favorite veggie, asparagus. John is the cook in their family so I promised recipes that are easy to prepare and typically enjoyed by all. When Karen and I were growing up, most vegetables at the table […]
Ali's Epicurean Gems 