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    Cutting the lemon the knife leaves a little cathedral: alcoves unguessed by the eye that open acidulous glass to the light; topazes riding the droplets, altars, aromatic facades.                     –Pablo Neruda   I’ve always…

  Carrots improve your eyesight. Right? Therefore, if you are going to have a sweet, decadent dessert, you are somewhat forgiven for eating carrot cake. It’s a health food, for heaven’s sake! This line of argument works for me. If carrot desserts seem odd to…

  Today is my friend Norma’s birthday. You go, Norma! Norma is a talented gourd artist whose gourd dolls and masks have consistently won ribbons at the Orange County Fair. Her jewelry is exquisite, too. She is one creative lady! Norma also is an excellent cook.…

Does your food smile? Superstar (and perfectionist) chef Yotam Ottolenghi has been known to empty shelves displaying food in his delis because of the smile factor (actually, the no smile factor). In Ottolenghi’s food world, you have to be able to taste the food before…

For those of you who, like me, have slight imperfections (you know who you are), here is an interesting article from NPR that raises the possibility that ugly fruits and vegetables actually may be more nutritious than the “super-model” produce that edges them out on…

There are some exquisite photographs here. Thought you might enjoy seeing them. My favorites are the “Mayasara Winery” shot and the wild “Flour Frenzy” shot with the flour flying everywhere. I confess that sometimes it seems like the flour is flying everywhere in my kitchen…

I’ve been feeling a bit down lately. Maybe it is this stinking cold that I can’t seem to shake. Whatever it is, I need some major excitement in my life to bounce me out of my funk. The way I see it, I either need…

Happy St. Patrick’s Day. As the old Irish blessing goes, “May you have warm words on a cold evening, a full moon on a dark night, and the road downhill all the way to your door.” I found this recipe on a site called “In an Irish…

    Maybe it is just my little blond brain, but National Banana Bread Day (February 23)  totally snuck up on me this year. Did that happen to you, too? All I have is one lonely overripe banana sitting in my fruit bowl. I can’t…

I’m a sucker for a clever recipe name and the name for this dense chocolate cake is clever indeed. This great little cake could easily become a staple in your cooking repertoire. If you are a chocolate lover this would be a great Valentine’s Day dessert.…