It stuck home to me recently how easy it is to become dependent on a particular substance. I’ve been doing a lot of reading lately about the problems caused by caffeine, sugar and preserved foods and making an effort to change the buying and eating habits in our household. That meant cutting out caffeine. I thought never thought I was caffeine dependent, until I went off it. True I had a cup or two of coffee a day and a couple of cups of tea at breakfast, but given the weak strength I drink my black tea and milk coffee … Continue reading →

Sometimes you can have the best intentions and think you are doing the right thing and still end up getting it wrong. One of the biggest problems these days for many people are food intolerances. Wheat and gluten allergies, peanut allergies, dairy allergies etc and you wonder, ’where did we go wrong?’ Were these things not around years ago or just not recognized? At one stage there was a big emphasis on eating more fiber and because of family history with cancer I tried to eat more bran and such products. The result was I ended up with wheat and … Continue reading →

I am not a fan of spicy food but interestingly, all three of my younger children are. Yep, you read that right. My four year old and two year old twins love spicy food. While I generally make my own mild salsa. . .they prefer their salsa with jalapenos if I have them. But I have a feeling even their brave bellies wouldn’t be able to stomach these chicken wings. Starting this Thursday, January 10, Jake Melnick’s Corner Tap in Chicago will begin serving chicken wings with a waiver and an alarm bell. The alarm bell is to summons wait … Continue reading →

My four year old loves to help me in the kitchen. She’s the only four year old I know who can explain what a meringue is or the difference between folding something in and stirring it in. She is an expert utensil chooser. . .knowing that a wooden spoon is best for stirring something over the stove, while a spatula is good for mixing so you can use it to scrape the sides. So when my husband and I discussed what to get each of our kids, it was only natural to choose something for her that involved cooking. Getting … Continue reading →

Fine Water “So many people are so uneducated about water. . .” This was a quote from the owner of Via Genova, in Chappaqua, New York. Via Genova is the latest craze in hydration–the water bar. Yep–a whole ’bar’ dedicated to selling bottled water. They sell 52 varieties of rare bottled water. They have a moderately full menu too, in which they pair their waters with their food. (I am not even going to begin to pretend like I know whether the fish goes best with volcanic water from Italy or glacial water from Iceland.) In case you are as … Continue reading →

I admit that I have a propensity for reading strange news. There are numerous fellow bloggers who can attest to my sending various links to inconsequential, but interesting tidbits. Since I like reading about the weird so much, I’ve been collecting these little tidbits of food related news for some time now just waiting for the day where I had enough to publish into a blog. Who knows, I may turn this into a regular feature! Get Your Cucumber Pepsi! Japanese executives wanted a flavor that would be cool, hip and remind people of staying refreshed during the summer. The … Continue reading →

My first introduction to the world of edible flowers was last summer when my children took a gardening class at the New York Botanical Gardens. (This program, by the way, is easily some of the best money I’ve spent on programs for my kids.) Every week my kids come bounding out of the program with large bags of produce in hand. Being the cook that I am, I usually have lots of fun using their vegetables in the food that I make. It helps them make the connection between the food we eat and what it takes to get from … Continue reading →