A while back, I posted Poetic Soup, which my daughter and I made based on a recipe hidden in a poem by a Polish author.  The soup was fun to make, fun to eat, and the whole experience of porting a favorite work of literature into my other favorite — cooking — was nothing short of wonderful. […]

I am a big fan of smoked, cured, sushi-ed, poached, baked or seared salmon.  Anything salmon really.  But if you had to ask me what my favorite way to eat salmon is, I will, without hesitation, report “sliced-thin-atop-of-cream-cheese-slathered-chewy-bagel-with-capers-onions-and-tomato”.  Yes, I am like Ralphie from the Christmas Story,  who knew what his dream toy was and could […]

Recently, I received a request for a meat-n-potato type dish for someone who doesn’t eat vegetables.  Not judging. I am sure they have their reasons.  Rather than fussing about it, I took it upon myself to go as fancy as I could with the meat-n-potato idea, as it sounded pretty challenging. My first thought was […]

Once upon a time, a Ukrainian girl met a good Southern boy and liked him so much that she tried to impress him with all sorts of old school Soviet cooking… She tried everything, and the only dish that was lacking in her repertoire was rabbit in creamy garlic sauce. The problem was — she […]

I’ve tried many breads now, and this one, despite its being a hybrid of conventional and wild sourdough, remains a staple in our household. I mostly baked it in a loaf pan, but I read about cast-iron-combo bread baking technique and always wanted to try it. We purchased the combo a couple of weeks back, […]

There was a time in my life when I was baking for a living. Nothing special or elaborate — I was baking beer sticks and cookies and delivering them to the local coffee shops and watering holes. Those were the times…  Money was tight, I needed to do my share to contribute to the household’s […]

Ah, the summer is here.  Picnic and party time.  Also hot as you know what.  That incredible laziness sets in before you even open your eyes in the morning.  Cooking sessions become shorter, farther apart, and I don’t know about you, but my creativity in this heat all boils down (ha ha, no pun intended, […]