In college, I worked at the campus newspaper and moonlighted down the hall at the radio station, KPNI. It was there I learned the value of not popping my P’s or T’s and developed an appreciation for techno music from the station manager. My show lasted for an hour during which I would read PSA’s… Continue reading Tea with Tastemakers Podcast
Back roads, blind tasting and staring into the black hole
When I was a kid, my mom occasionally toted me to blind taste tests where we would be paid for our opinions. I remember trying different unmarked hot dogs as a child and giving my opinion on which one tasted best. Even as a child, I was never short on opinions, though I was short.… Continue reading Back roads, blind tasting and staring into the black hole
JOMO
It’s a funny thing how acronyms come to life. In the world that twitter created with its 140 character count, acronyms bloom into meadows of meaning. LOL. BRB. YOLO. FOMO. I drove through Yolo County recently and snickered wondering if the people who inhabit those towns happen to be more feckless about doing whatever challenging!… Continue reading JOMO
Hey, Now
Writing sometimes resembles wrestling a beast to the ground where the writer’s persistence on the page is rewarded. Rest assured, no animals were hurt in the statement above. Departures in writing can come about innocuously and perhaps some might say are causes of distraction, but I tend to abide by the idea of inhabiting Alice… Continue reading Hey, Now
Metamorphosis by Jonathan Pacic
This summer has been full of coffee. Iced coffee. Head back to the previous post (and nab the Spicy Sweet Tea Glazed Chicken recipe) to learn why. I’m a passionate tea drinker but I can drink down a cup of coffee with the best of them. I’m an equal opportunity caffeineist. Initially, I had wanted… Continue reading Metamorphosis by Jonathan Pacic
Spicy Sweet Tea Glazed Chicken with Corn Relish
You get used to 60 degree summers. Somehow, the body in all of its intelligence deduces how to survive in any environs. I visited India twice during the monsoon season of sticky long sleeves with sweat and cotton as air conditioner. I grew up in a place that might sound fictitious with its now “normal”… Continue reading Spicy Sweet Tea Glazed Chicken with Corn Relish
Pomegranate Chicken with Eggplant and Figs
Weekend warriors take on many forms. In my case, I used to reserve the weekends for cooking projects. There will be a batch of Morado Jam in my near future as soon as the first Concord grapes hit the farmer’s market. Even if my once prodigious-to-me preserving has taken a bit of a backseat, can… Continue reading Pomegranate Chicken with Eggplant and Figs
Steeped Book Cooking Class (San Francisco)
Before we continue with our last few weeks of the Summer Reading Series, I wanted to broadcast a PSA. When I deejayed in college, we would give a PSA on the hour of our radio shows as a way to mark time and get out valuable news. In that same spirit, I want to invite… Continue reading Steeped Book Cooking Class (San Francisco)
Stir: My Broken Brain and the Meals that Brought Me Home by Jessica Fechtor
One kind of peer pressure I particularly esteem is that of perusing what other kindred spirits online happen to be reading. I had spied this book at an airport bookstore and been easily taken in by its robin’s egg blue hue and the wooden spoon dipped into melted chocolate that drips into a pool below.… Continue reading Stir: My Broken Brain and the Meals that Brought Me Home by Jessica Fechtor
Three Many Cooks
When I first stumbled upon the food blog, Three Many Cooks, the idea of a mom and her two daughters collaborating on a food blog together seemed like a winsome idea. Through the medium of food and narrative, they showcase individual cooking styles and personality. Several years ago, I had the occasion to meet and… Continue reading Three Many Cooks
Orchard House Book Review
It may seem odd to compare a book to candy, but that notion seemed right in this case. Some candies disappear quickly and before you know it, you’ve unwrapped, chewed and swallowed. Others require time to savor them like peeling the paper off a lollipop where each lick gets you closer to the stick in… Continue reading Orchard House Book Review
Whole30 Meal Plan Menu & Book Review
Late one evening in a hotel room tucked into downtown Philadelphia, only two things were still awake: me and a growing desire to pull out a take-away tub of butterscotch pudding. Earlier that evening at Tallulah’s Daily, a dear foodie friend and his wife recommended trying something that would be life-changing after our feast had… Continue reading Whole30 Meal Plan Menu & Book Review