I was nearly tempted to pick up the phone on Saturday and call in. Rick Steves and his radio-show guest Don George were discussing the kindness of strangers, the subject of a book George had edited. At the mere mention of the theme”influenced, in part, by the travel-show context”I immediately thought of [...]
Sure. The definition of "splurge" has changed for many of us in recent months. But still there are, typically, two flavors of dining out. One: the casual "let's go grab a bite" occasions or getting together with friends at a favorite spot. And two, those dinners out for which there's prior planning, scouring [...]
No, nothing about the G-20 summit here, though that gathering being in Pittsburgh this week gives me an ideal excuse to jump in the time machine and recount highlights from my trip to the city this time (in fact, this week) last year. It's been on my to-blog list for, um, [...]
I was chatting with the butcher at my neighborhood grocery store about lamb on a recent visit. I wanted to do a simple braise-stew but time was short, didn't want to fiddle with trimming shoulder (blade) meat from the bone, nor rely on leaner leg steaks that are less unctuous for braising. He [...]
Which presumes I'll actually get to the Part Two portion at some point.... I'll do my best. But with a quiet Saturday morning sitting in my lovely large room at Inn at Laurel Point in Victoria, with the cry of seagulls and hum of float planes outside, I wanted to get [...]
Julia Child's birthday was on August 15, the towering mentor to generations of food lovers in this country would have been 97 years old. Usually it's an annual event that garners plenty of its own attention, with media tributes and themed dinners in countless homes across America. But this year was [...]
What a phenomenal Saturday morning it was yesterday. It was such an honor to be asked to judge the Ready Set Go...Cook (friendly) competition at the University District Farmers Market, an annual affair that pits two Seattle chefs against each other using their pick of items from market vendors. My [...]
It was going to be a busy couple of days this past weekend and I was determined to not try to do it all myself. Our annual summer party sees a good crowd come to the house, but I'm also in prime training for the Breast Cancer 3-Day in a month's [...]
It was the perfect refuge for a hot summer's evening. Eight of us gathered on the cool, shaded garden patio of Sambar in Ballard for drinks, some snacks and some wonderful quality time catching up with friends. Few places make me quite so happy, eating and drinking so well in [...]
While driving through McMinnville, Oregon earlier this week, a sweltering 100+ temp day, my friend pulled into a local drive-in to get a milkshake. He opted for fresh peach, his son picked raspberry, while I tried to be good and forgo the indulgence. Even when the cheery guy on the [...]