Cooking Articles

Defining Organic

Last week I was purchasing some produce at a local Farmer’s Market when I overhead another customer ask the farmer managing the booth if his products were organic. His answer was, "We’re not certified...

Long Weekends Lead to Kitchen Adventures

Long weekends are made for cooking something new. On weeknights it can seem risky to venture outside the cooking comfort zone. Well-known and loved pastas and chicken dishes are safer fare for a hungry...

One Last Slow Cooked Summer Dinner

Although summer is not officially over until late September, Labor Day weekend seems to mark the end (or the beginning of the end) for many of us. It is the close of vacation season, time for back-to-school...

Roadmap to Dinner

When eating with others, whether at a restaurant or a good dinner party, I often hear people say “if only I cooked like this, I might cook more.” Just this past weekend at a yoga retreat I heard many...

Have a Cow

When I was a kid, I used to love going to the Purple Cow, an ice cream parlor on the South Side of Chicago that used to be a haven for neighborhood rugrats like myself. �Not only did they have a wall devoted...

Labor Saving Crockpot Cooking Tips

The slow cooker is a great way to save some time and effort when cooking a great meal. In honor of our national day of rest, Labor Day, I have pulled together some crockpot tips, suggestions, and shortcuts...

Burger Bar For Labor Day

Burgers, hot dogs, tacos, pizza: no everyday food is too pedestrian for even the most critically acclaimed chef these days. Whether it’s a function of the economic change or there has been a seismic...

A Bite of the Apple

What’s your apple eating style? Are you an “Equator Eater?” You are if you take a big bite out of the center of the apple and eat a band around the middle before consuming the top and bottom. ...

Making School Lunch as Cool as Their Lunchbox

No matter how cool the super hero is on the outside of the lunch box, it’s getting your kid to eat what’s on the inside that’s the real challenge. Now, you could cop out and send your child to school...

Hey, Taste-Test This: Olive Oil

Seems each summer I get a brainy idea to do some taste testing. Remember when we did the hot dog taste tests the other year? All I had to do was buy a whole bunch of different kinds and then coordinate...