It has been just over a year since my family and I moved back to Portland after being gone for nearly 12 years. Moving back to the area felt as comfortable and familiar as slipping into a favorite pair of jeans. This segue in our adventure-filled life was much easier than our past moves to…
Shortly before my 50th birthday, I retrieved the daily mail and discovered among the bills an invite from AARP. To my horror, it was addressed to me! It was no mistake. I was officially old! I am a cardholding member of the bona fide baby boomers. A time before letters at the end of the…
The last couple of months will go down in the record books as one of the warmest summers the Pacific Northwest has had in some time. While Oregon is typically recognized for an abundance of rain, this summer’s unusual string of consecutive sweltering days makes most of us eager for a more temperate forecast. Although…
I am obsessed with a great burger. The classic hamburger remains a standard and beloved menu item served everywhere from backyard barbeques to some of the country’s finest restaurants. Deceptively simple ingredients including the patty (medium rare please…), lettuce, pickle, sauce, and maybe a thick slice of ripe tomato and sweet onion are sandwiched on…
As a private chef I have prepared meals for many different clients. Invariably within a group there are at least one or two people with different dietary needs. There are always “the skinny girls” (I call them), who are watching their weight and won’t eat anything fried or remotely fattening. Ingredients like goat cheese, truffle…
I am not a morning person. There, I’ve said it. Weekdays call for me to rise and shine just before 6 am to prepare for the day. Breakfast needs to be made, lunch needs to be packed and school drop-off looms at 7:20. Left to my own devices, I would happily linger through the first…
As women we undergo changes throughout our lives that require moderation in how and what we choose to eat. While weight management and overall health remain ideal goals, diet and nutrition during the childbearing years differs greatly from the needs of women approaching menopause and beyond. With that in mind, I believe food should remain…
Even though Thanksgiving isn’t a religious holiday, foodies like me think it is pretty close. I look forward to coming up with the menu for our Thanksgiving feast every year. As soon as the leaves begin to turn, I start poring through articles and recipes, trying to put a new spin on this holiday’s meal….
Tu B’Shevat, or the New Year of the Trees, is meant to signify a change in season from winter’s cold to the renewal of spring. While it may still be cold and wintery where you live, in Israel the trees are already beginning to blossom. Foods mentioned in the Bible include figs, dates, raisins, pomegranates…
