It’s crunch time. There’s one last weekend to trim the tree, gild the gifts, pack the bags or set the table for a holiday housewarming. As families all across the globe gather to celebrate the season in festive style, I find myself back home in Buffalo helping Mamma recover from yet another cancer surgery. Lucky […]

It’s turkey time! The birds are being brined, the pâte brisée is being rolled out atop pie plates across the country–waiting to be filled with nutmeg and cinnamon spiced pumpkin, and the gravy boats are getting a fresh polish. I’m partial to a homemade giblet gravy that requires roasting bones, simmering stock and chopping liver, […]

Happy Food Day, Food Mavens! For those of you arriving late to the party, Food Day is a nationwide celebration and a movement for healthy, affordable, sustainable food. It’s a day to celebrate the achievements we’ve made as a country in pushing forward a whole foods agenda (lowercase W, lowercase F), and to reflect upon […]

Earlier this week my cousin Natalie trekked it in from Providence to join me in my garden. We pruned tomato plants, staked fava beans and harvested herbs. I had prepared a menu in celebration of my very favorite herb, and as we donned aprons and put a pot of salted water on the stove, basil […]

I’m quickly learning that there is something both humbly reassuring and inexorably nerve wracking about growing your own food. I’ve come to accept that these dueling passions are just part of the process, but the slugs and bugs, molds and pests are an education in patience. Having planted my first herb and vegetable garden last […]