Mom's Kitchen Handbook

I can’t believe a year has passed since I ran my first post on Mom’s Kitchen Handbook last December. So many good things have happened since then on the professional front that I’m pinching myself. Plus, this blog has been the most fun I’ve had while working. Ever. I’m so grateful to all of you [...]

My most prized Thanksgiving leftover isn’t the creamy mashed potatoes, savory stuffing, or even the last of the tasty pies. It’s the gristled and war torn-looking turkey carcass. It’s on the stove at the moment, bubbling away along with vegetables and seasonings. The result will be enough turkey broth to last us through a month [...]

I’m often asked what my routine is for getting dinner on the table. It’s sort of a shoot-from-the-hip style that’s based on what’s in the fridge, what looks good at the market, and most importantly, what I’m in the mood to cook and eat (the major upside of being at the helm of the stove). [...]

Every spring we put a couple of pumpkin plants in the garden of our weekend house, a cozy retreat from city life, which we refer to as “the creek house.” The place is located not far from Half Moon Bay, ostensibly the pumpkin growing capital of the U.S., so it has never come as a [...]

Croutons are a real crowd pleaser. Add them to any salad around here and the interest increases by about 100 percent. The kids come sniffing around the kitchen as soon as the baking tray is out of the oven. “Are those croutons, mom? ” they ask, snatching a few before I can assert the full [...]

So many of us are taking an active role in living greener: taking the bus to work, driving fuel efficient cars, buying chemical-free household products, taking shorter showers, and so on. But one of the most obvious places for lightening your carbon load is often overlooked: the dinner plate. Consider the fact that if a [...]

Flipping through the channels one night last week I stumbled upon the World Series. Confession: I didn’t know the Series was even being played. Worse still, prior to seeing it live, I couldn’t have told you if I’d missed it entirely, or if was weeks away. I know, I know. Shame on me. That fact [...]