Remember the chia pet? It had its moment in television advertising, along with the Snuggie and the Ginsu knife set. “Chia Pet” was also a good nickname, where I live, for any man who got an overly-aggressive hair transplant. But it turns out that the chia seed is not to be dismissed so lightly. It’s high in fiber, omega 3s, and other minerals and antioxidants, and is often described as a “super-food,” because it provides a high proportion of nutrients […]
Do you have a memory of a particular food from your childhood that is so strong you can see it in your mind’s eye and smell it, just by thinking of it? Kolace (pronounced ko-lach-eh) is that food for me. It is a yeasty pastry round filled with apricot preserves, poppy seed, prune preserves or cheese. My grandmother made them every Christmas, and for special occasions throughout the year. It’s a sweet snack or a grab-and go-breakfast treat, lightly dusted […]
Today is the first day of Hanukah, and it always reminds me of my introduction to the latke. My mother and father-in-law were coming from Florida (where else?) for a visit, and I’d been flying around the house for two days with my infant daughter on my hip, cleaning everything that could possibly be cleaned. My mother-in-law was a neat freak of the highest order and I wanted to impress her with my housekeeping skills, though things had become much […]
Sometimes a special birthday deserves a special breakfast. These eggs are memorable for both their presentation and flavor. You don’t have to go to the extra effort of fitting the eggs back inside the eggshell, because the eggs and caviar will taste equally delicious either way, but if you really want to knock someone’s socks off, the filled eggshells are the way to go. I’ve had this recipe for years, and because it is somewhat labor intensive, I like using […]
Sending kids off to college can be a big wrench for parents, even when they’ve been heading off to school on their own for some time. I would get so accustomed to our girls being home during the summer that it was hard to re-adjust to the empty house every September. My way of coping with missing them, until my husband and I got used to being a couple again, was to send packages of goodies from home. This started […]
