Indian Inspired Potatoes and Kale

I once used a lot of “curry powder” in my kitchen.  That was before I went to India and discovered that no self respecting Indian cook uses it – or even knows what it is.  While I was there, my Indian housemate nearly busted a gut laughing at my attempt to locate curry powder in [...]

Roast Chicken with Mustard

The best way to execute French cooking is to get good and loaded and whack the hell out of a chicken. Bon appétit. – Julia Child. Like every other amateur foodie in the United States, I went to see Julie & Julia recently.  We went to an afternoon show, which meant we then had an [...]

Spicy Deviled Eggs

I was cooking dinner for some friends when I decided on a whim, to make some deviled eggs.  Then, having boiled and cooled the eggs, I discovered that we were dangerously low on mustard.  I’d just purchased a jar of harissa (after being introduced to the ingredient by Jeffrey Saad on The Next Food Network [...]

Canning is Cool Again?

It seems like the chores of homemakers of yore are always popping up here and there as new fads.  A few years ago, you may remember, everyone got into knitting.  There were knitting clubs, knitting books and knitting stores.  I even attended a board meeting or two where people were knitting in the back of [...]

Potato Pizza

Some of the most memorable parts of my college years were from living and studying abroad.  The college I attended, Goshen College, actually required all of its students to spend at least 3 months living, studying and serving in another culture in order to matriculate.  Having already lived half my life in Asia at that [...]