Reason of the Month

Years ago, I posted a Reason of the Month that had to do with cooking becoming contagious amongst friends. It was a natural domino effect, I surmised, that occurred when one household threw a dinner party and an invited one felt obliged (or inspired? I hoped) to replicate soon after, then another, and another. This time, I’m writing about that particular strain of culinary infection that not only conquers one’s social circle, but his or her own life, career, and … Read More

It’s been a while since I’ve written a “Reason of the Month” post on this blog. The reason for that has sadly been a multitude of other commitments in my life. But it’s not such a sad thing, you see; being committed is something to be supremely proud of and excited by. And everybody has their own share of commitments, whether it’s to their job or their God. For two whole years, I was committed to a set of self-imposed … Read More

Not everyone in the city has the time or means to go apple-picking in the fall. I know this because I’ve been searching online the past few days for an apple orchard in some autumn rural bliss conveniently located within reasonable walking distance from a Metro-North transit stop, or perhaps the Long Island Railroad, or NJ Transit. My searches thus far have proven fruitless, as it were (and kind of ironic given we’re already in “the big apple”). Instead, my … Read More

I can’t tell you how many times I’ve heard this said in the last month or so. Last weekend, it was a friend who boasted of her hummus. A week ago, it was thirty people who made macaroni and cheese for a cook-off. Today, it was the founder of a startup based largely on that idea, called Kitchensurfing. I’ll wager that your mom cooks the best version of something on the planet. And that no one can touch you on … Read More

I made unagi recently. And I didn’t produce the Japanese specialty by unwrapping a vacuum-packed fillet of fully prepared, barbecued eel — I went to a seafood market after having dim sum with friends in Chinatown, took home a sack of fresh eel, and prepared it from that. This was a huge step for me, because I love the taste of eel in sushi or with rice, but am terrified by the appearance of a fresh, uncooked eel.

Last week, I listened to a radio program about the need for more grocery stores in rural food deserts, as they are known. This, which occurs in dense inner-cities as well, can lead to a health crisis when the only food options are unhealthy restaurant meals or junk food. I’ve written before about this lack of “real” food, as many advocates are wont to describe fresh, organic, and unprocessed food such as from a farmers’ market. Yet these terms can … Read More

What the heck did I make? The question I got from everyone who saw this concoction was the same one going through my mind. I’ll get into this Great Green Mystery next, but that’s a quandary with cooking that I hold dear. You can set out to do something in determination, follow the books, or wing it haphazardly, and still surprise yourself all the same. Trust me, I wouldn’t enjoy cooking as much if I could predict what I was … Read More