making life delicious blog
Some days we just want good Chinese food like you would get for takeout. Nothing fancy or esoteric, just some of our favorite Chinese restaurant dishes, such as kung pao chicken, hot and sour soup, egg drop soup, Mongolian beef, sesame chicken, char siu pork, and dan dan noodles. If you love Chinese takeout, then [...]
For the last few years, I have been using a Fusionwood santoku knife from New West Knifeworks in my kitchen. It’s truly a beautiful knife in every way: strong and sharp with a gorgeous wood handle. I’ve said all along that it’s a functional piece of art.
Have you ever wished you could customize a cookware set for the way you love to cook? Well now you can, with Your Set by Calphalon. I was lucky enough to receive two incredibly versatile pieces, and I used them for some of my favorite dishes. See how I used the AccuCore Stainless Steel 3-quart [...]
Last Saturday we had a great time at a charity hockey game to raise money for our son’s special hockey team. The Arlington Fire Department competed against the Fairfax County Fire Department in a game played at the Kettler Capitals Iceplex, and it was a lot of fun. All the coaches, parents, volunteers, and kids [...]
A couple years ago I spotted seeds from Renee’s Garden in a local nursery. I was drawn to the herbs, particularly the slow-bolt cilantro, a variety that holds its leaves longer when the heat of summer sets in. As I’ve tried more of their seeds—haricot verts, dwarf cucumbers, Thai Queenette basil—I’ve been very pleased with [...]
Pitchers, faucet, and refrigerator filters have been in our homes for years. Our first home together had a well and the water had a really off taste, so we used large filtration pitchers to clean up the taste of the water. We’ve also had faucet mount and refrigerator filters, which work well to a point, [...]
I was very fortunate to meet Shauna and Daniel Ahern at the International Food Bloggers Conference in August. Shauna was on the Food Blogging For Specialized Diets panel along with Alexandra Jamieson and Daniel provided some beautiful gluten-free dishes for the Sunday lunch. Though I’ve read her blog for some time now, this was my [...]
Our annual visit to Dinosaur Bar-B-Que in Syracuse has become a must. In between trips we talk about the good food and tell anyone who will listen about the restaurant and dream of slow cooked meats, chili, cornbread, and pickles. Yes, their pickles are very good. They make their own refrigerator garlic dills and they [...]
I’m sure some of you—ok, many—may wonder why in the world I would review a floor cleaner. Honestly I had to think about it for a little while when they contacted me about taking a Hoover FloorMate Hard Floor Cleaner for a test drive, but it came down to this: I have three boys that [...]
The classic question for any home cook is what to substitute for ingredients you don’t have on hand, can’t find, don’t like, or are outside the budget. That tin of baking powder in the pantry is well past the expiration date and probably won’t rise your cake, so what can you use instead if you can’t [...]
It's spring in the U.S. and the following foods may be in season in your area:
artichokes, fennel, fiddleheads, radishes, broccoli, rhubarb, kale, cresses, spinach, spring lettuces, chard, cabbages, chives, cilantro, collards, tatsoi, mustard greens, spring onions, asparagus, rosemary, wild garlic, ramps, strawberries, blueberries, cherries
Eat fresh seasonal produce to stay healthy and help your food budget.Learn more about seasonal and sustainable cooking at Sustainable Table - In the Kitchen.
