Sun - October 21, 2007

Cowlitz River Salmon with a Soy-Ginger Marinade



Posted at 11:42 AM     Read More  

Mon - October 15, 2007

Love At First Sip: Beer Bread With An Apricot Twist



Posted at 07:36 AM     Read More  

Sun - September 23, 2007

Sitting Solo At The Community Technology Table


I can count on one hand, one finger actually, the number of times I’ve gone to the movies by myself. I have never been a go-to-the-movies-by-myself kind of girl.

However, I need both my hands and feet including a set of yours to count how many meals I’ve eaten by myself mostly as a solo business traveler.

So what’s a girl to do at supper time when she's alone on the road?

Posted at 09:10 PM     Read More  

Thu - July 5, 2007

A Taste of Freedom


On the early morning of July 4th my cargo included more than 200 patriotically-decorated cookies and cupcakes; my mission was to deliver them to DFW's USO center for troops redeploying back to Iraq and Afghanistan after I greeted the troops just arriving.

It was a match made in heaven.

Posted at 01:27 PM     Read More  

Mon - June 25, 2007

Mission Accomplished in Mt. Pleasant


Despite the torrent of rain that fell a week ago Saturday I made my way to Mt. Pleasant, Texas, for the Smoky-Eyed BBQ Cookoff thanks to some gentle chiding by my neighbor Phil.

“Are you afraid of getting wet?” he asked after I expressed some doubt about attending a BBQ cookoff in the rain.

My first thought was to deny it.

Posted at 08:12 AM     Read More  

Tue - June 12, 2007

BBQ: The Last Frontier


A handful of days ago I traveled to Mt. Pleasant, Texas, for a customer appointment.

The one and a half hour drive was a nice change of pace from my usual, crazy airport-airplane-car-rental-hotel-room-lug-the-suitcase around routine.

Posted at 06:20 PM     Read More  

Fri - May 25, 2007

Ahhhh, The Slow Life and Lucca-Style Olives


As a child my favorite piece of playground equipment was the merry-go-round. I would grab on, run as fast as I could, jump on, and then hang on for dear life especially if the merry-go-round had the momentum of several kids giving it a go.

With every dizzying rotation it was a battle; gravity versus me. Sometimes gravity won; sometimes I triumphed making my way to the center and standing triumphantly.

Posted at 09:19 AM     Read More  

Tue - May 15, 2007

Ultimate Garlic Mashed Potatoes


Having grown up with a mother who was a solid southern cook, there was nothing remotely French about the food on our family dining table except for the fries, usually presented with a steak masterfully grilled by my father.

Never venturing far from their Southern cuisine roots my parents rarely dined out, and if they did it was never French. Mexican, absolutely, French, no way.

Posted at 08:30 AM     Read More  

Sun - February 18, 2007

A Meatloaf Toast To A Legendary Leg Lamp and Lovable Family


In the heart of Cleveland, OH, sits a non-descript house in an equally non-descript working-class neighborhood with a famous past and a legendary leg lamp lighting the front window.

It’s the house where the movie “A Christmas Story” was filmed.

Posted at 09:49 PM     Read More  

Sun - February 4, 2007

A Phantom Bottle of Wine In Plain Sight


Call me a coffee snob, but I’m no wine snob. I drink $10 bottles of wine and enjoy them just as much as the $40+ ones.

But the pleasure of drinking wine is not about the price tag and certainly not about the quantity. For me it’s about the sensual experience – the bouquet, the interesting combination of flavors on the tongue, and the taste that lingers on the palate.

Posted at 07:20 PM     Read More  

Sat - January 13, 2007

Bathtubs and BBQ


My neighbor, Phil, retired yesterday from the City of Garland after 25 years of service.

I can’t imagine what that is like.

Posted at 11:39 AM     Read More  

Mon - November 27, 2006

Face-to-Face With My Thanksgving Turkey


On a brisk November afternoon in a green, grassy pasture about 30 miles northeast of Dallas I met my Thanksgiving turkey-to-be.

Never before have I locked eyes with a future meal except maybe once when I was four. I snagged a fish in a pond not far from my Aunt Inez's house that I contributed to the family fish fry. But that's a stretch.

Posted at 07:55 AM     Read More  

Mon - November 20, 2006

The After Dinner Blues in Atlanta


My evening out in Atlanta this past Thursday night began a month ago when I shared an exit row with a Delta pilot on an American Airlines flight to New York City.

It seemed odd that a Delta pilot would fly American, but Jay, who lives in Dallas and is based in NYC said he snags a seat on whatever airline will get him to the city on time for his next flight out. After we landed at NYC’s LaGuardia airport Jay planned to cab it over to JFK where he would board the plane that he would pilot to Istanbul, Turkey, that afternoon.

Posted at 07:25 AM     Read More  

Mon - November 13, 2006

57 Buffet Tables and Nothin' To Eat


I have a theory about American eating habits.

We neglect our palates.

Posted at 09:31 AM     Read More  

Mon - October 30, 2006

A Serendipitous Sunset and Game of Bocce Ball


On a beautiful evening a couple of weeks ago I found myself playing bocce ball and sipping wine while watching the sun set over the vineyards of Santa Rosa, CA, with people I barely knew and in the home of a woman I had never met.

I had arrived in this serendipitous moment by some twists and turns of fate along with my willingness to just kick back and enjoy the journey as it unfolded.

Posted at 08:02 AM     Read More  

















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