OK, so we had a few distractions between the No-roll quiche crust post – because we visited Mount Rainier National Park, Blueberry Hills farm, and Lake Chelan – to the actual finished product, that is the mushroom quiche post.
I’ll be honest with you… For me, making – and eating! – a mushroom quiche is merely [...]

You know me, I’m a risk taker. A.k.a I get lazy and bake gnocchi to see what will happen, instead of cook them in boiling water as people are supposed to do.
To justify this sort of moves, I have developed a theory that all great inventors must have been lazy folks who just wanted to [...]

Blintzes… I’ve been making them since high school. That’s… never mind how many years ago.
I’ll be 40 in a few months! I hear the preparations for the celebrations are underway. (No pressure, Suburban cowboy.)
Back in high school, I used to make a batch of these crepe-like yummies and take them with me to my room [...]

Bacon.
Mashed potatoes.
Need I say more?
OK.
Bacon!
Mashed potatoes!
Yum.
End of story? Not really.
I took you down memory lane with me a while ago when we discussed Poffertjes. Remember those? (If you have no idea what I’m talking about you must click on Poffertjes and Ebelskivers immediately.)
Back in 1989 I took a trip to Holland with my father. We [...]

We need to have a serious talk.
To make it easier, I’ll start with the bottom line:
“Any lousy chicken stock you will make at home will taste far superior to ANY store-bought stock or broth you will buy.”
Now, let me tell you something.
The last time I made chicken stock was about 3-4 years ago. I got [...]

Have you ever virtually baked with anyone?

What’s the problem with baking bread at home?
The fact that you cannot find fresh yeast at the store? No
It’s difficult to make? No
You don’t have flour in the pantry? No
No time? Yes!

A few years ago, or in December 1997 to be more specific, I was an M.A student, sharing a tiny two bedroom apartment with a roommate, working 2-4 temp jobs at a time, studying whenever I could (a.k.a when I did not work or party), and eating giant size salads for “linner” – I made [...]

Sometimes unplanned dishes are the most delicious (Ooh, a rhyme!). And sometimes making pasta for dinner is actually an excuse to eat kale.
Kale, chard, mustard greens, and all their green friends are new in our fridge, on our table, in our hearts, and now also in our backyard (more about it later). Those are ingredients [...]

Things I love about summer…
Dedicated to my friend Keren, the Frantic Foodie who is trying to do it all (she is getting SO much done! Amazing.) and all the mothers out there. I love you, Moms!

taking a nap…

curly hair… (OK, it has nothing to do with summer)

water and everything in it (well, most of it, [...]

Creamy mashed potatoes with tanned and crunchy and cheesy topping. A combination of all good things together in one dish. Doesn’t this make it the ultimate comfort side dish? I assume that you don’t really need a recipe for mashed potatoes, do you?! But I will share a few tips for making an even better [...]

Once a week I take my son, who is 5 years old, to do the grocery shopping with me. It’s a lot of fun (but wasn’t always like that). I love to see how his interest and excitement about food grows and grows. This of course, doesn’t mean that he is not a picky eater. [...]

Sometimes I get frustrated. Trying to do it all and having to compromise in everything that I do. I feel like I’m doing the best I can – which is not good enough to me – because I want to do everything perfectly. But in reality I find that I’m not giving enough attention to [...]

A while ago I bragged about how my son, who is 5 years old, wrote a recipe for Chocolate-banana cookies. A recipe! From scratch! All by himself! And no one asked him too.
He made mommy, that’s me, very proud, of course.
That was in September (2008) and I have finally found the time to share with [...]

* I use canola oil and extra virgin olive oil (evoo) together for pan-frying.
Canola oil for the higher cooking temperature (burnt oil is not a good thing) and evoo for the flavor.
* When frying, the food needs only to visit the oil for a short while, not move in together. You don’t want the food [...]

A week ago I invited friends to come over for dinner on Saturday. A few days later I found out there is a going to be a bloggers’ conference that day. Hmmm, what to do? I want to see my friends. I want to go to the conference. How can I have a cake and [...]

To my dear friends, family members, and readers who don’t bake,
Having the tools in the photo below will make baking so much easier, and much more successful, oh, yes, and a lot of fun too. That is the secret to a good cake. Kids like to play with those tools too (see here). The tools [...]

Definition of tea infuser in Wikipedia:A tea infuser is a device in which loose tea leaves are placed for brewing. The infuser is placed in a cup or pot of hot or boiling water, allowing the tea to brew without loose tea leaves spilling into the pot or cup. A rod or chain is commonly [...]

The best cooking advice I can give you today is: always, and I mean ALWAYS, place your cake pan inside a sheet pan before you bake it.I love cheesecakes and I love a streusel topping. So I found a cookbook with a recipe that combines both. I was happy.
Then… while I was making the cake, [...]

An essential part of teaching children about food is educating them about where food comes from. Visiting farms and U-pick farms is a terrific experience and an excellent opportunity to show them how food grows and where it comes from. Growing vegetables, fruits, and herbs in your own back and/or front yard makes a wonderful [...]

Thank you to all the people who attended the session I gave at Planet Kids Bellevue tonight “Beyond Mac & Cheese – Learn to cook a home-made Family-Friendly Dinner every day”!
You asked me about the following:
Cooking schools:
I forgot to mention that I offer private one-on-one, or small group, cooking classes, done at your own kitchen, [...]