Dairy 
Fondues Warm the Longest Nights
Fondues are the perfect foil for winter blues, something gooey and melted wrapped around almost anything that we can dip or stick a fork into. For Pacific Northwesterners today is the year’s shortest day, longest night. Winter Solstice. Although we don’t dance around maypoles in chiffon, we do we have seasonal food rituals and celebrations [...]
With Pumpkin & Eggnog, Still French
Pumpkin Eggnog French Toast has the seasonal twist worthy of breakfast on Christmas or any winter morning. The pumpkin, the eggs, a few spices and a splash of eggnog. Oh yes, eggnog. Grill it in more butter than usual, buy a special loaf of bread and celebrate something.
The French toast of my childhood was [...]
Shake It. Make It: Butter
After years of reading that we need to eat a low-fat diet in order to be healthy, it came as a huge relief to hear that many people believe high quality, saturated fats are essential to good health. At last, I no longer need to repress my love of butter. I’ve always loved the stuff [...]
Savory and Sweet: Salted Caramel Ice Cream
It’s already August and if you haven’t used your ice cream freezer yet, the time has definitely come. There are very few multi-generational activities that evoke as many summer childhood memories as making and eating ice cream. Those of us who are lucky enough to live in the Seattle area not only have access to [...]
There’s an egg in my soup
Some of you will not go for this. I get it. I might have been one of you had I not experienced this meal with friends a few weeks ago. Putting a poached egg in the middle of a bowl of tomato soup isn’t something I would have done on my own, but it was [...]
Kitchen Flotsam & Jetsam
Maybe you know what I’m talking about. Or am I the only one with end bits of whatever that have been pushed aside by kitchen tidal action and go unattended until it’s conveniently too late?
At my house it’s usually bread and cheese that have been marginalized for any number of reasons. Not so pretty and [...]
Sweet on Ricotta
Spring is a season of heightened sensory experience. Delicate fragrances, sounds that bring back memories, colors I forgot even existed and of course, fresh tastes found only at this time of year. You can make ricotta anytime but its light subtlety reminds me of a quintessential spring food. Ricotta is like my perfect pillow — [...]
With Eggs, Leeks & a Poem, Spring Arrives
Spring arrives today in the northern hemisphere, Easter in a few weeks, and I have eggs in mind, a Spanish-style omelet. I bought the most recent dozen from Stoney Plains Organic Farm, gorgeous fresh eggs with a yolk vivid enough to sweep away winter doldrums. Hail Spring!
The explanation for the hefty price of free-range eggs [...]
Whey To Go, Cream Cheese
I really don’t know what to call this mild, wonderfully creamy concoction I made while in the process of making whey for my homemade breakfast cereal. It’s somewhere between sour cream, cream cheese and creme fraiche. I’ve heard it called yogurt cheese but that doesn’t quite describe the nature of this creme de la creme.
I [...]
The Hot and the Cold Of It
There’s a drink in our household that’s an almost daily ritual, a fruit smoothie with coffee and toast in the morning. At the other end of the day, and a little less often, maybe, is the hot chocolate version of the smoothie. Both feed the soul in a yin and yang sort of [...]
