Chicken and Avocado Soup

Even though I’m a big football fan and I love a good game (especially when my team wins), when it’s over, it’s over.  Whether the outcome of the game is favorable or unfavorable, life goes on and so do I.  So football is finished until next year, but eating happens multiple times a day everyday. […]

Potato and bean soup (patate e fagioli)

Who invented the idea of “Meatless Monday?”  The U.S. Food Administration did during World War I and urged families to conserve key staples to aid the war effort, but the idea was revived in 2003 by an ad exec-turned health advocate for dietary and environmental reasons.   Ironically, the Food Administration also tried to promote […]

Farro and kale with roasted pears and turkey bacon

  I hope your Christmas was merry.  We have been sharing a lovely week with my family in New York.   My mother really outdid herself and gave me Christmas day off, which was a gift unto itself.  If you read my post last week, you may remember the multitude of Christmas Eve traditions that […]

Rustic butternut squash soup with fennel and wild rice

One way that I have learned how to be a more confident cook is by identifying certain “formula” recipes and then just changing the ingredients around to come up with something that seems like a different recipe. One day last year after I was bored with making Mushroom and Barley Soup for the umpteenth time, […]

Traditional roast turkey with gravy

My husband and I offered to host Thanksgiving at our new home a few months after we were married in 1995.  We were young and naive, but we were excited to play house with all our new china and crystal.  To prepare for the big day, my husband bought the firewood and I did absolutely […]