Pepper: I grew up cooking. Both of my parents worked outside the home and we were expected to cook dinner after school with written instructions for making many basic dishes. We rarely ate out when I was young and I don’t think we actually went to a sit-down restaurant until we were in elementary school…

Sharing the bounty of summer with others is one of the best and most loving ways to “eat local”.

The grapes from the grape vine in Pixie’s back yard are one of the key ingredients in her Grape and Lavender Shrub recipe.

I happened to fall in love with a remarkable man. (We like to call him Mr. Perfect.) Shortly after we met, I discovered that he had an extraordinary family as well. They are a fun-loving, affectionate group who enveloped me into their world and have been the source of great comfort and laughter for over…

Since becoming a grandmother, I’ve been thinking a lot about how culture stretches across generations, continents, oceans – permeating our very being and making us who we are. Inherited genes likely influence our behaviors and demeanor, but we also inherit the cultural aspect of our ancestry like religion, beliefs, and cuisine. Food is an integral…

Do you ever have a day or a week, maybe longer, when things are coming at you from so many directions, all at once, and you aren’t sure if you can manage it all? Which “challenge” should you try to solve first? Is it even solvable? Maybe. Maybe not. Even with the confidence that comes…

I realized that some of the most memorable meals I have ever had were at Ethiopian restaurants. Is this true of you too? For me, there was the dinner in Washington, D.C. that I shared with my treasured cousin, his amazing wife who told us about her life growing up in Siberia, Russia and a…

As with many home cooks, I own my kitchen. Nobody messes with the equipment, the spices, the bottles of oils and vinegars on the counter, the pantry. Nobody! I cook; you eat. On the rare occasions I just do not feel like cooking, or if I am not home to cook, the refrigerator and freezer…

For as long as I can remember, food had been a comfort during illness. Ginger, garlic, carrots, honey … foods can help fight illness and make you feel better.