Cooking Simplified
It has been over a month since I last posted. As summer winds down and the vacations and weddings begin to slow, I hope to carve out more kitchen time. In fact, I am eagerly awaiting open-window baking weather, when my oven doesn’t require a complementary air conditioner on full blast. Despite this weekend’s hot weather, I …
I had never directly associated Israeli couscous with Israel. I know that sounds silly – but take the Jerusalem artichoke, for example. No connection to Jerusalem, just a common mispronunciation in Italy that developed into the word Jerusalem. It turns out Israeli couscous really is tied to Israel, something I learned while staffing a Birthright trip …
Discovering the step-counter on my phone has been…a challenge. I am competitive to a fault – a trait that I mostly wish would go away – and being able to compare my daily mileage has become my end-of-day obsession. This weekend, I uncovered the not so surprising root of this step-counter-compulsion: my parents. They were …
It’s mid-April and NYC is still fighting the warm weather. Even today, with the temperature climbing into the 80’s, the city wasn’t having it. Rain clouds moved in as if to say “not yet, suckers”. It forced me home just as I was starting a picnic, one of my all-time favorite warm weather activities. So, …
I’ve been out of the kitchen for a long time – which is both a good thing and a bad thing. Good because I’ve been busy; I got to shake up months of endless winter weather with a quick trip to the south. Bad because eating the food I cook makes me feel centered and …
The world has seemed a bit out of sorts lately. I’ll spare you my personal woes, but in addition to a certain political shift, even the weather has been…confused. In the span of two weeks, NYC has battled a snowstorm and bitter temperatures, all to be rewarded with two days 70 degree sunshine. It’s a …
Believe it or not, I’m lukewarm on chocolate. I need it in small doses, and never alone. The thought of eating a plain chocolate bar is in the same ballpark of enjoyment as, say, eating a bag of baby carrots. (gasp) That being said, I really enjoy chocolate with other things. A square of dark …
New York is full of game-changing food ideas. In such a competitive environment, only the strongest of ideas and executions survive. But every so often, a mediocre restaurant slips through the cracks – it survives based on the idea, the crowds, and (yes, really) the interior decorating. The Meatball Shop qualifies in this category. It …