I’ve said it before, salmon runs through our blood here in the Pacific Northwest. If there’s one food that sums up our culture I’m certain it would be salmon. In our home we always have fillets in the freezer, and eat it regularly (who needs Omega 3 supplements?!). Smoked, grilled, poached, burgers, sashimi, sushi, in [...]

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I hated beets as a kid. I only liked my grandma’s pickled beets because they were sweet. But as an adult I can’t get enough of them. And what’s easier than tossing a bunch in the oven to roast? Mix them up with a few other root vegetables and you have the perfect healthy meal. [...]

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I love fennel. It grows like a weed in your garden and tastes deliciously sweet and licoricey. It’s wonderfully fragrant and adds that certain missing something to many dishes. You know when you’re making soup, you take a taste test and say, “it needs something, but I just can’t put my finger on it”? Try [...]

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My mother’s friend brought the seeds of these beautiful runner beans back from Italy sometime last year, and they were finally harvested. I have to admit, I kinda like the idea of her secreting seeds away in her purse and steeling across international borders. All for the love of gardening. Actually, it was all probably [...]

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I really want to like healthy bread. Especially the types that I refer to as “bird seed” bread: spelt, sprouted wheat, uber-whole grain packed with nuts and seeds and everything short of wood pulp. All the 60’s-organic-hippy-healthiness you’d ever want, just like my mom used to make. They all sound and look so good, each [...]

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Is there a better gift that a food writer could give us food lovers than a year-long diary of what he (or she) cooks and eats? I think not. But that is precisely what British writer, Nigel Slater, has done. “The Kitchen Diaries” is just that, a diary of what he prepared and ate over [...]

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Peaches, peaches, peaches! They’re everywhere right now, and that makes me feel downright peachy (sorry, I couldn’t resist).
We recently purchased a flat of beautiful yellow peaches, and every day we’ve had them on cereal, with ice cream, in salads, sliced, grilled… The other night Barnaby poached them in red wine and they were so fabulous [...]

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Heirloom tomatoes are worth their often-expensive price. Deep red, orange, yellow, green, black (dark purple red), these tomatoes always make the most beautiful arrangement. The best thing about heirlooms is they’re more meaty with less seeds, and much sweeter.
We drizzled ours with white truffle oil, a balsamic vinegar reduction, salt and pepper, and a bit [...]

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Photo: Brandi Sims, CC License
There are certain snacks and treats that take me back to my childhood. One such treat are graham crackers. I loved to snap them on their perforated edges and dip the small quartered rectangles in milk. The goal was to hold them in the milk just long enough to soften [...]

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Do you ever have a craving for something, but you just can’t seem to put your taste bud on it? Not sure if you want something salty, sweet, sour or spicy? Maybe you want it all! If so, then I have just the thing to satiate your desires: mieng kum.
Whenever I go to a Thai [...]

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