Onion Baked Rice with Boneless Rib Roast

Onion Baked Rice


We returned late last night on a very delayed flight from Phoenix. Though the weather in Phoenix was not as warm as it usually is; it was still much warmer than what we returned to. Denver was 18 degrees last night at 1AM but luckily the memories of Phoenix saw me through until we made it safely home. While in Phoenix we ate. We ate a lot. It seemed like we never stopped

Double Chocolate Mocha Macadamia Bark

Double Chocolate Macadamia Bark




 I am
still here. Another year and the world did not end. It is great to be here and
it is good that the Mayans discovered cocoa otherwise I would not be able to
make this rich, satisfying Double Chocolate Mocha Macadmia Bark. It is the last
thing I made this week before I pack everything up and deliver sweet treats to
my neighbors.



It is the
end of

Shortbread Cookie Cut Outs

It is on
days like this I want to be snuggled in my home where it is warm and I can hear
the wind calling from outside. I can sit inside at the kitchen table and watch
the TV tuned to the Food Network. I can watch them baking cookies and know that
mine are better. But for many years I did not think I could use a rolling pin. It
never failed that my cookies would stick or break

Chocolate Peanut Butter Bites and Other Vices

Chocolate Peanut Butter Bites





I have
two candy vices. Well, probably I have a lot more. But if you put me in the
checkout line at the grocery on a day with no willpower I might just snag a
Hershey bar with almonds or a Reese’s peanut butter cup. They always seem to
make the moment go better. And they always remind me of other moments through
out my life where candy seems to have

Latke One or Latke Two?

Latke One








Latke Two




Latkes
are a once a year endeavor. This year it happened twice. But the truth is that
if you follow a few rules making latkes is not such a gigantic effort. Or even
a giant oily mess. Unless of course you are making them for an enormous crowd
in which case you will never have enough. So we won’t go there.



This year
I made the normal latke that everyone makes.

Hashbrown Spud Cups and Hanukah

"MONEY IS THE ROOT OF ALL EVIL, AND YET IT IS SUCH A
USEFUL ROOT THAT WE CANNOT GET ON WITHOUT IT ANY MORE THAN WE CAN WITHOUT
POTATOES." by Louisa May Alcott, novelist (1832-1888)



“Look at that moon. Potato weather for sure.”  
Thornton
Wilder, “Our Town”



One thing you need to know about me…I
love potatoes. I never worry about having enough food in the house as long as I
have a bag

Frozen Cheese Souffle (Who knew?)

It really looks like this!    





I know.
Whoever heard of a frozen cheese soufflé? Trust me, you’ll be glad I turned you
on. I discovered this recipe in college in a food processor cookbook. The same
one I discovered the frozen cranberries in. It has fallen apart or I would give

The Ultimate Hot Brown Sandwich and a Thanksgiving Memoir

The Ultimate Hot Brown Sandwich



Thanksgiving
began when my daughter arrived home on Monday. And my parents arrived Tuesday
for their third Thanksgiving since the kids were six. And then my son arrived
on Wednesday. Everything was beginning to feel good, exhaustingly good. Though
all was still crazy in my heart for my family in Israel at least I had my family
here to give

Gazebo Icebox Chocolate Toffee Cookies and a Turkey!

Gazebo Icebox Chocolate Toffee Cookies



A long,
long time ago in the school cafeteria, lunches were served on plates. Glass
plates with green bands around the edges if my memory serves me right. And
though I don’t recall many great lunches being served it certainly was a whole
lot more appetizing than food plopped on orange plastic divided trays. At least
that was how the lunches

Firehouse #10 Hot Chili and Being Thankful

Firehouse #10 Chili





 The
election is over. It is time to concentrate on being thankful. I am thankful
there are no more phone calls, political ads, signs and other rhetoric. I am
thankful I live in a country where I am allowed to vote. I just wish I felt a
bit more hopeful about where this country is going and what people really want.
I am a bit confused but that is nothing new.

Magic Cookie Bars - Myth or Reality?

Magic Cookie Bars. Myth or Reality?




I’m not going to lie to you.

I’m
not going to lie to you.

I’ve
been gone for a few months. One month I was out of the country. The other I was
out of my head. With simplistic candor let me say I haven’t been so well.  This will get personal. Some people are a bit squeamish about
personal; so if that’s you skip now to the bottom of this page. Magic

Corn and Green Chile Quesadillas

Corn and Green Chile Quesadilla


I discovered quesadillas during my first year of college in Arizona. In Illinois Mexican food was virtually unheard of unless you bought those crisp taco shells that came in the package. Never liking those made me think I didn’t like Mexican food. Plus I had a father who claims and still does, that all Mexican food looks alike so it doesn’t matter what you

Avocado Corn Soup and a Starry Night

Chilled Avocado Corn Soup

I’m feeling lazy today. It is gray outside and though it is not raining, it feels like a rainy day. 90 degrees has disappeared and now it feels like 70. Usually this tempts me into baking cookies but my refrigerator is broken and I’m too disoriented to bake. The refrigerator repairman comes tonight and I am praying it is repairable as I really would hate to buy a

My Boy at the Sebastian in Vail and Mexican Shrimp Cocktail

                 It's  Friday!
I love Fridays. Maybe it is because the weekend is ahead and I love weekends. Not that it matters when everyone is gone- but I still love weekends. Friday always lets me reflect on the week that has past and I had a good great, fabulous week. My sister in law came to visit from Chicago. We went to Vail and spent an awesome weekend at my son’s hotel. Well, it’s not

Two Bodacious Appetizers

Manchego Cheese and Dried Fruit Salami




“If more of us valued food and cheer above hoarded gold, it would be a much merrier world.” ― J.R.R. Tolkien





It is already Thursday and I am can’t wait for the weekend. My sister in law is coming to visit and we are heading for the mountains to see my son and have a nonstop talkathon for a few days. Hopefully the weather will be good but if not

Zucchini Chips and My Mandoline

Zucchini Chips


 

The other day a friend came over to go for a walk. She left me with a giant zucchini. I like zucchini which is a good thing given the size of this puppy. After looking at it for a week I decided it was time to tackle it. And tackle it I did with still much to go.





The giant puppy sniffing the giant zucchini.



I began with zucchini bread which only required two

Farro Salad, A Book and Other Creatures

It has been hot in Colorado. 62 of 64 Colorado counties are requesting federal disaster relief because of drought. My yard is hot, tired, cranky and so am I. Yesterday my electrician came over to fix a few problems and while he was opening the electrical box he was stung on his lip by a wasp. I felt awful but probably not as awful as he did, so I got out the Adolph’s meat

Corn and Beer

Elote Corn, Bacon and Potato Hash


My son came home for a few days. He hasn’t been gone that long but I will always welcome him home. It was nice to hear another voice in the house. Even the dogs were happy to see him. He had a few things to do while he was home and one of them involved bottling beer. He started it in June and it was ready. At least ready to be removed from the floor of my

Elote Corn in a Bowl

Elote Corn


If there is one thing you need to know about me it is that I love corn. Summer to me is synonomous with corn. Yellow may represent the sunflowers and the sun to many of you but to me it means corn. Maybe it is because I grew up in Illinois in a town that was surrounded by corn. I still miss seeing the never ending cornfields that ended my summer by waving tassels at me as I

Kale Salad with Cherries, Almonds and Feta

I went to the grocery. Exciting, huh? Actually, most of the time, I do enjoy going to the grocery. It must be in my blood as my grandfather and uncle were both grocers. For me shopping is always a bit like a treasure hunt in the quest to discover something new to try. This time I found baby kale leaves. I’ve tried the big ones but these are much easier to use because you just open the

Egg Salad and Gladiolus

Egg Salad

I just returned from Philadelphia where I helped my daughter move into her first apartment. I am happy for her but it is bittersweet for me and I am not going to dwell on that today. What we are dwelling on is how hot it was. (I always know it is hot and humid when my upper lip starts to sweat.) We moved up 2 flights of stairs in an unairconditioned building (though her unit was) in

From Tea Parties to Dance Parties



Tomatillo Salsa
  I can’t believe it. I haven’t even told you about Alex’s graduation and I’m already heading back to Philly. My daughter decided to accept a position there and she needs me to help her move in. I’m not really good at lifting boxes but since I helped her take them to storage on Mother’s Day I guess the least I can do is help her move them out.


Moving In
She doesn’t have

Patatas Bravas and Why I Hate Tapas

Patatas Bravas




I want to go on record. I will be blunt. Do not take this the wrong way, but I hate tapas. Just so you understand, it is not that I hate the actual tapa, it is just that I hate tapas restaurants. Do you want me to tell you why? If you don’t, stop reading NOW. While traveling between graduations we ate at several well regarded restaurants. I did not realize they were tapas

Garden Party Cocktails, Graduation, and an Apology

 
 I never said good bye. I’ve broken the main rule of the blogger code. You know -   the stay in touch, keep your readers informed or you will lose them rule. What can I say? Sorry doesn’t always help. What about temporary insanity? Yes, I can definitely claim that. I last wrote about Pad Thai and since then my life has been upside down. The most important thing I can tell you is that when you

Pad Thai and a Special Thai Dinner

                            







I can always eat Thai food. Spicy, sour, sweet. So last week when I was invited by a close friend to a 5 course wine and food Thai dinner given by students at University of Denver, well, you can imagine that I jumped at the chance to go. The dinner was part of a course they were taking where each student has the opportunity to design a meal and work with a

Green Onion Garlic Chive Skillet Cornbread with Ancho Chile Butter

I’m a Northerner. I like my cornbread sweet. Even then I still like to add honey, because honey is good with anything. Cornbread to me is one of those comfort foods. It goes perfect with baked beans, fried chicken, chili, soup. Yes, it is great with spicy food because the sweetness helps keep that spice under control. So why did I bake cornbread this week? I entered a contest sponsored by

Cinnamon Rolls

                               



Cinnamon Rolls

When I grew up the only kind of yeast dough in the house was from a can. You know the rap on the counter pop ‘n fresh kind. Now granted, there was a lot of fun when it was your turn to rap that container against the counter. In fact it always made my heart skip a beat when it exploded while spilling its contents. But somehow I remember never

Pantry Soup and The Sorcerer's Apprentices

Pantry Soup

Pantry Soup and The Sorcerer’s ApprenticesAs a mother, a wife and in the past a supplier of daily meals, I often felt like a sorcerer. That is it was up to me to conjure something to eat from whatever might be in my refrigerator or pantry that day. Sometimes it might be something as easy as pancakes, another day we might end up with chicken curry. I was never a meal planner but I

Tomato Sauce

Tomato Sauce

The truth is that I hated tomatoes as a kid. My mother always kept them on the window sill in the summer and even had a few tomato plants. They  smelled so good but I just never wanted to taste a mushy ripe tomato. However I loved ketchup. I ate it on everything. I ate it on steak and chicken and turkey. I think my mother always wondered what I’d look like as an adult with

Zergut Chicken or What I Found in My Fridge

Zergut Chicken


Zergut Chicken or What I Found in my FridgeYou may know that I have mentioned in the past that I am not good at cooking for myself. However because I have started a blog I feel compelled to at least try. Otherwise there really isn’t much point to this, is there?  Anyway about a week ago I raided my fridge and what you see is what I had for dinner. Not bad if I say so myself. A

Marshmallows and Matzoh S'mores

Marshmallows and Matzoh S'mores


                            A smiling face is half the meal. (Latvian Proverb)



Marshmallows and Matzoh S’mores



The truth is I really don’t like marshmallows. My daughter loves marshmallows. She likes those Peep things that are in the really bright colors. So I make these for her. And this year I made them pastel pink. (A little food coloring is OK, right

Macaroons

 




 


When I walk into my kitchen today, I am not alone. Whether we know it or not, none of us is. We bring fathers and mothers and kitchen tables, and every meal we have ever eaten. Food is never just food. It's also a way of getting at something else: who we are, who we have been, and who we want to be.


Molly Wizenberg, A Homemade Life: Stories and Recipes from My Kitchen Table, 2009

Okonomiyaki (It's what you want!)

                        Okonomiyaki  (It’s what you want.)



It was 85 degrees in Denver on Sunday. You might say it was just a bit warm for Denver on April 1st. Nature’s way of joking with us. Of course today it is snowing which is really typical for spring in the Rockies. I say, Mother Nature, bring it on! We need the moisture. In any case; Sunday found me going to the grocery and buying

Spaghetti Bolognese and True Confessions

Spaghetti Bolognese or Ragu


                                                 

I have a confession to make. Yeah, I know everyone loves confessions. It must be our deep dark interiors that make us want those Oprah, Barbara Walters moments. Don’t get your hopes up. It is not that juicy. OK, already. It’s this simple. I’m not very good at taking care of myself. I’m a mother. Some mothers put

Tuscan Beans and Potatoes Plus a Few Good Books

                                                                My Sweet Hyacinths
"The day is coming when a single carrot freshly observed will set off a revolution.” Paul Cezanne
 and the beginning of the novel “White Truffles in Winter”.
I am working in a room filled with the scent of lavender hyacinths. They scent my entire house and they smell like spring. It is a sweet smell that makes me

My Mom and Martha Mervis's Coffeecake

                          My Mom's and Martha Mervis's Coffeecake

One of the very nicest things about life is the way we must regularly stop whatever it is we are doing and devote our attention to eating. ~Luciano Pavarotti and William Wright, Pavarotti



A few weeks ago I went home. Well, not really home, because it wasn’t where I grew up. But when I see family it conjures feelings of home.

Mezze or Middle Eastern Appetizers

Assorted Meze





                                                           Dig In!



Mezze, tapas, hors D’oeuvres, appetizers – all are meant to whet your appetite. Frankly, they are often my favorite part of the meal. A good restaurant or host knows that these set the tone for what’s ahead. The better, more exciting they are lets the diner anticipate what is yet to come. Are the

Kadaif or Middle Eastern Cheesecake

Kadaif





St. Patrick’s Day has come and gone. I did not see a rainbow or find a pot of gold. However, I did make a delightful new dessert that glistened with honey which may be as close as I ever get to a pot of gold. A friend came over on Sunday to see the photos of my trip and I decided to make a Middle Eastern Spread. Just the mezze (appetizer) part-after all, us girls have to watch our

Chocolate Chip Therapy Cookies (Thanks to Alton Brown)







ALTON'S CHEWY CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES




Chocolate Chip Therapy Cookies (courtesy of Alton Brown)



Today my husband left. He went to South Africa – for business. He used to travel to China but he decided that wasn’t far enough so he decided to go further. That wasn't nice, was it? I am already missing him. after a great weekend in Phoenix for a family wedding he had one day to get

Hot Fudge Cake

Hot Fudge Cake




 I love Friday. Though I never have any weekend plans I like to believe I’m entitled to lay in bed and read the paper. And oh, that feels so good. But my weekend starts with Friday night and I usually try to make a comforting dinner. You know-to start things out right. So when I got home from Israel I didn’t find much in the fridge. However I did find a clean house and clean

Freekeh - The Green Wheat of the Middle East

Freekeh


Maybe you have heard of freekeh, but I hadn’t; that is until I went to Israel. My friend turned me on to it and with a name like freekeh I guess turned on is apropos. I googled it on the web and came up with quite a few articles about it but I guess I haven’t gotten out much since 2009 which is when these articles started showing up on all the health food blogs. Oh, what is it? It

El-Ajami and Hummus

Hummus and Tahini from El-Ajami









I’m back! Israel is such a grandiose small country with people and scenery and food and stories and one can never get enough. There are few places in this world that can match it- at least in my experience. It is possible to taste hospitality and I can assure you I did and on a grand scale. Whether you are Christian or Jewish or Moslem it is a

World Peace Cookies

World Peace Cookies




I’m so excited I can feel my heart pounding. Something I have wanted to do for so, so long is finally happening. Thanks to two parents that decided to give me an especially nice, very meaningful, most awesome, generous and loving birthday/Hanukah gift rolled into one I am going to be taking a trip far, far away. (I like those double adjectives, don’t I?)  I bought this

Tim Tebow's Onion Dip

Tim Tebow's Onion Dip
Tim Tebow’s Onion Dip
The time has come. It’s now or never. You’ve shown us over and over how to succeed. I’ll admit it. I’m not really into the falling on one knee thing, but hey if it’s working, no need to stop on my behalf. Jews are happy to pray standing up. We take care of our knees. But it is up to you. By all means you just concentrate on the game. I’m sure there

Green Chile Poached Eggs with Bacon and Cheddar

Green Chile Poached Eggs

He came, he ate, he left. He was here 13 nights and this is what he had.



Sage Roasted Chicken with Arugula Bread Salad
Chipotle
Tomato Soup with Grilled Ham and Cheese Sandwiches
Sauteed Lemon Almondine Fish
Italian Meat Loaf
Chili
Brisket
Smoked Turkey
Fettucine Alfredo with Lemon Roasted Shrimp
Jack n’Grill Burger
Vietnamese
Dinner at a friend’s for Hanukah
I