"Should I pick up some candy on the way home?" my husband asked this morning. "No." "So...we'll just turn off the lights again?" Yep. Can't believe I'm admitting it. But really, I just don't care much at all for this holiday. Never was into the whole idea of costumes & [...]
The sense of place is an ever-increasing subtext when we consider our cooking and dining experiences these days. Shopping farmers markets and choosing to dine at restaurants that source locally as much as possible (if not growing much of the food they serve themselves) are de rigeur for many of [...]
Well.....the official release of Salty Snacks is tomorrow, September 25!! But already the publisher's posted a generous little preview of the book with a handful of recipes -- so you can get an early taste of what the book has to offer! Here you go: Recipes From Salty Snacks by Cynthia [...]
It's funny how sometimes there's an odd confluence of input on one topic coming at you from seemingly disparate directions. For me this week, it's been canning: a subject chatted about at a dinner party Saturday, something Facebook friends gave me lots of guidance about after posting a quick question, and something [...]
It strikes me as interesting that I have my liberal arts education in Tacoma, Washington to thank for my introduction to North African cuisine. Indirectly, I suppose, but it was a University of Puget Sound winterim study program of a month in Paris that had me exploring the bustling, colorful [...]
One of my mother's favorite quotes came from none other than Michelangelo -- the translation I remember seeing in clipping-form on her refrigerator cited it as "...and still I am learning." It's a quote I think about often. In this back-to-school week I'm personally thankful to not be starting high [...]
So, my next book Salty Snacks is going to be released last week of September.... After all those months creating and testing recipes, doing research, talking with countless folks about the world of salty snacks and some of their favorite preparations -- editing, tweaking, pacing in consternation, editing some more. This [...]
One of the unexpected outcomes of pursuing a path in the world of food writing is that of being asked to judge cooking competitions. It's not something I'd had in my scopes when thinking about this career path, but must say it's a really enjoyable part of the picture. From salmon [...]
Back in early November of 1990, I was into my second year in France for an extended stay. Earlier, in college, I'd had a couple trips to France as part of my studies--once for a month, the following year for a semester at University of Dijon. But this was my [...]
It's such a delightful problem to have. More crab than you can eat in one sitting. Friends who have a home on Whidbey Island had had pretty good luck with the crabbing last weekend, got through as much as their family could consume, then dropped a quick email to see [...]