Mom's Kitchen Handbook

For a few years there I got away with buying little bags of whole grain pretzels, boxes of raisins, and packets of sugarless gum to give away on Halloween. No more. Apparently, it’s embarrassing to have the mom who doles out anything less than pure, unapologetically junkie candy. I get it. Halloween is just once [...]

With Halloween just around the corner, I had been percolating what I’m going to cook on the night in question. We usually invite a few families over for an early supper before heading out for the annual wonder of following children around to collect candy from neighbors and strangers. Usually I make a big pot [...]

My eight-year old daughter, Virginia, seems partial to using the collar of her shirt to wipe her mouth in place of anything resembling a proper napkin. The rest of us rely on this basket, which has become a permanent fixture on our dining table. Outside of big gatherings and birthday parties, paper napkins have become [...]

When I was in highschool, my dad worked for a consumer products company that owned a handful of manufactured food brands. Included was a restaurant supplier that made Mozzarella cheese sticks….quite the novelty back then. Whenever my parents went out of town, my brother and I would throw unsanctioned ragers, which inevitably ended with us [...]

I wrote this post as a participant in the Eat Better, Eat Together Balancing Act blog carnival hosted by MealsMatter and Dairy Council of California to share ways families everywhere can make time for family meals that include foods from all the food groups. A list of other registered dietitians and moms who are participating [...]

Break out of your oatmeal rut and consider something new in that hot cereal bowl: quinoa. Don’t get me wrong, I’m a huge oatmeal fan. My people are from Ireland, for goodness sake. But changing things up is a smart idea since every grain offers different nutrients. Quinoa has a well balanced amino acid profile [...]

The tomatoes I planted last Spring were late bloomers this year; we’re still enjoying the fruits of the harvest. It’s been a sort of part time job figuring out what to do with them all. I’ve given some away, I’ll can others, and have been churning out tomato-centric dishes for weeks: eggplant and tomato gratin, [...]