I'm just trying to walk myself home.
Browsing Category
We are having a pretty low key Thanksgiving this year as opposed to the super crazy years we go to Chicago and pile like 40 of us in my sister’s house, cooking and eating until we all explode. I will miss the greater gathering, but the relative calm of this year allows me the time …
Cast Iron Skillet Cornbread Here’s some skillet cornbread to go with the soup your serving tonight! This hearty, made from stone ground cornmeal, not jiffy cornbread, is browned to the perfect state of crispy-edge-ness in a cast iron skillet. There is a secret to making this cornbread even tastier than it usually is. It’s not the …
I made this wonderfully hearty soup last week for two different events at our house and though I have no pictures, I am giving you the recipe because I’ve had several requests for it. I was introduced to this soup by my dear friend Karen Smith who I haven’t seen in oh, so long, but …
Roasted Vegetable Soup This roasted vegetable soup is a variation on Late Harvest Soup, a wonderful fall soup full of those delicious orange vegetables that match the leaves this time of year. The small but distinct difference between last fall’s harvest pot and this year’s is the roasting of the vegetables. Roasting brings out …
Three Cake Recipes for Three Birthday Cakes My husband is feeling mighty loved right about now. Mighty loved and maybe a weensy bit sick. As he eats his sixteenth piece of birthday cake. That’s because I made him not just one but THREE BIRTHDAY CAKES this year. The spread for Taido’s birthday, greatly enhanced by …
Asian Salad Trio + Homemade Ice Cream Sandwiches I feel like I am finally back in my cooking groove and I have sooo been wanting to share with you the delicioso bites coming from the Chino House kitchen. I have special people at my house every night, but on Wednesdays, we have extra special people …
Things I Love About Canada: Rhubarb Ok, I’m pretty sure Canada didn’t like invent rhubarb. In fact it isn’t even indigenous to North America, strangely enough, but Canada is where I have been lovingly introduced to this enticing vegetable, so I’m counting it as one of the things I love about Canada. Taido and I …
Recipe for Spring Cobb Salad with Bacon and Turkey This spring cobb salad recipe can serve as a reminder to go to your local farmers’ market tomorrow. I now have markets north and south of the river, which makes for a full and glorious Saturday morning of marketing. I brought home four different kinds of …
A Mediterranean Menu Hummus Curried Lentils Tabbouleh Homemade Chapatis Roasted Cauliflower, Carrots, Chickpeas and Couscous (perfect if you are trying to teach a lesson on foods that start with the letter “C”) This Mediterranean menu is a meal I’ve been making a lot lately, from several different cookbooks combining lots of similar flavors and grains …
For a road trip, I need a lot of snacks. Maybe it is because I have a little problem with control when it comes to food. There are many scary things out there masquerading as food that I do not want to have to eat. Or to feed to my children. I am trying to …
How much do you love Annie’s Naturals goddess dressing? It’s so yummy, right? I’m pretty sure my mother-in-law introduced me to it one year in Taos. My friend, Natalie and I have done everything possible to get this premium dressing for less money. We took turns driving to Whole Foods to buy it on sale. …
Here is our recipe for Swedish pancakes. Taido makes this at least once every other week at our house. We got it from some precious friends from our Chicago days, and they are melt in your mouth good. Our kids eat these so fast they burn their tongues. There has been much debate in our …
Allow me to introduce you to My Favorite Salad. I cannot tell you how much I love this salad. I could eat it every day. It’s simple. it’s yummy. and I almost always have all the ingredients on hand. If I don’t have everything, it is super easy to vary. Almost any cheese, fruit or …
This is our standard pancake recipe. We use it at least once a week at our house, and we even premix the dry ingredients when we go camping so Taido can make them in the woods, where they taste even better! You can add in any kind of fruit, as well as chocolate chips or …
A food system organized around quantity rather than quality has a destructive feedback loop built into it, such that the more low-quality food one eats, the more one wants to eat, in a futile–but highly profitable–quest for the absent nutrient. from In Defense of Food, p.124 Quality rather than quantity. It’s an idea that I …
Back to school after Christmas break this morning. I got up at 5:30 because I so wanted our first morning back to school to be a smooth one. It’s just so brutal if we end our break with a rushed morning and everyone yelling. So, I made raspberry bran muffins, a new recipe from my …
Oven Baked Three Grain Oatmeal This is my new favorite (and easy) hot cereal: Three Grain Oatmeal. I’ve added it to my breakfast arsenal, especially for when guests are in town. You put it all in a casserole dish (or in my case, a cast iron skillet) the night before and set your oven timer …
Here are all the reasons I can think of that I am currently making a vichyssoise. It’s simmering on Anna’s stove as I write. 1. It’s cold here in Chicago. 2. I’ve been reading Barefoot in Paris, which is the book in which this recipe is found, and it’s cheaper than actually going to Paris. …
Lately, I have been defying the 90 degree weather by making soup. I mean, it’s OCTOBER for crying out loud. It is supposed to be fall. I am forcing my children (and friends) to eat soup while sweating in my kitchen, made hotter by turning on the oven to make bread. Cruel really. but I …
Taido is the star breakfast cook at our house, and his breakfast crepes are the favorite for sure! His waffles and pancakes make weekly appearances on our table, but the crepes on an occasional Saturday morning are a special treat. Incidentally, my favorite breakfast growing up was crepes. My mom made them on Saturday mornings …