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