Happiness is a warm bowl of soup, to paraphrase Linus. Speaking of Linus, I heard on NPR last week (OH NO. Stop me now. Starting sentences with “I heard on NPR…” ranks right up there with, “One time, in band camp…”).So I’m afraid, due to self-censorship, we’ll never learn what the story was I heard [...] More »

There’s no way to sugarcoat the situation: this was not a photogenic dinner. This is the “before cooking” picture, which trust me, was better than the after picture. One of the exciting things about cooking without a recipe is the satisfaction of feeling like you’ve created something.  The obvious peril is that your creation might [...] More »

“10:30am and not a minute later. Do not take ‘no’ for an answer.”  Those would be my wake-me-up instructions to my poor Husband, uttered on an otherwise made-for-sleeping Sunday.  Thanks to BarBri and the NY bar exam for that sleepless morning, and so many others. Sigh. I’m not feeling my usual perky self, but the snow today [...] More »

Maybe it’s summer, or maybe it’s the lurking, vanquished carnivore in me, but bunned foods are sounding mighty tasty these days. I’ve been on quite the veggie burger kick lately. Not only do they fulfill my need to apply condiments to anything that will sit still for long enough, but they are healthy and quick [...] More »

OK, the joke’s up. You can tell me now.  I feel certain I am in some sort of a social experiment that involves a gnome, or other sprightly, jesting creature, who tears off the calendar days while I sleep, unknowing that whole weeks are flying by. That’s the case, isn’t it? I have not been cooking [...] More »

This salad was made for a bbq, that turned out to be less bbq, and more inside air conditioned affair. I have a sadistic love of the heat in DC, so I was disappointed. Everyone else was quite comfortable. I pulled this salad together on Saturday morning, in my wee kitchen, my [...] More »

Hello, God, are you there? It’s me, Salty Girl. And I’m really, really hot. Not like, go on with my bad self hot, but like sweaty, salty, filmy and swampy hot. I know I’m just a grain of salt down here, but I just wanted to remind you that it’s only the first week of [...] More »

Tonight we made spaghetti with fava beans, which no one told us was going to be sort of punishment-like, only not really that bad. I’m just dramatic. But, if anyone has better ideas about how to shells favas, I’d love to hear them. We blanched them for @ 40 seconds, shocked them in a cold bath [...] More »

Brrrr… it’s gotten chilly here lately. Or is that just the ghost of John McCain running through my house? Whatever the case, a big bowl of warm veggies is the cure. Spiced Cauliflower, Spinach and Chickpeas Ingredients: 2 TB vegetable oil 1 onion, chopped 2 TB curry 1 TB garam masala 1 TB cumin 1/2 TB coriander 1/2 TB hungarian paprika 1/2 TB turmeric 2 TB tomato [...] More »

In anticipation of the travel adventure that the Husband and I will soon be embarking on, I spent a bitterly cold day yesterday transacting commerce in suburbia. It was the kind of day that makes you recoil when you step outside. The wind never died down and people ran from their cars to where they [...] More »