Does Eating Organically Produced Local Food Make Me Elitist?

According to Julie Powell, it does. Julie Powell, (the blogger behind the Julie-Julia Project) in her recent New York Times Op-Ed piece entitled, “Don’t Get Fresh With Me,”claims that those who prefer to eat organic, locally grown produce and shop at farmer’s markets for seasonal foods are rich, elitist snobs. Well. Isn’t that special? Let’s […]

Bitty-Wee Courgette

Alright, alright, it’s true. I grew up calling them squash. But, doesn’t courgette sound just the tiniest bit better than–squash? “Squash” sounds icky. “Courgette” sounds classy. By whatever name you call these summer beauties, they are members of the cucurbit family–a wide ranging group of fruiting plants which includes courgette, gourds, pumpkins, melons and cucumbers. […]

And Yet Another Episode of Weekend Cat Blogging

You know, the reason we don’t make our bed isn’t just because we are lousy housekeepers. It is because we have a day shift who makes use of it after we have gotten up. At any given time of the day, there are at least two cats in residence upon our bed. Ozymandias, King of […]

Crispy-Chewy-Oniony Goodness: Scallion Pancakes

Scallion pancakes. Mmmm. Scallion pancakes. Such is the power of the pancake, that last night when Zak and Dan were sitting around the kitchen, keeping me company, and I was rolling the dough out into flat rounds, Zak looked up and said, “What are you doing?” “Making scallion pancakes.” His eyes lit up and he […]

The Chinese Cookbook Project V: America’s Dim Sum Pioneer

Henry Chan is a man with a vision. He envisioned a dim sum restaurant in the United States with impeccable service, a refined atmosphere and clean bathrooms. And eventually, after a great deal of family drama between he and his father, he managed to turn Yank Sing, the restaurant his beloved mother, Alice Chan, started […]