I’ve always loved the idea of spending a Sunday afternoon with a bubbling pot of tomatoey ragu sitting on the stove, and last weekend, I finally did it. You can read about my Sunday Supper Bolognese at the Union Bulletin’s Wine and Dine Blog, where I’m now writing a weekly (roughly) column about my cooking [...]

My sister-in-law has made this cake for as long as I can remember and it’s a huge hit in our family. You can call it Crumb Cake, or you can call it Coffee Cake.  It fits both bills.  Although, there is no actual coffee in this cake, it’s great with a cup of coffee and the crumbs [...]

Yesterday was a damp, rainy, miserable day.  The perfect day for some homemade chicken soup. I’m a big soup eater and I could pretty much live on soup alone on a daily basis.  This is just one version of chicken soup that I love to make, but I have another version with rice that I will share [...]

OK, not the whole way, just to the airport. I will be in New York City Monday through Wednesday at a pedestrian safety summit. I know I was all hyped to rent a cool vintage bike, but the cheap South Side Polack in me decided I should take the folding bike to save a few bucks.  [...]

Last night was autumnal equinox, officially the end of summer. But on Tuesday the temperatures climbed into the 80s for the last time this year, and I said my goodbyes then. I said goodbye to the blooming wild flowers on my route to work along the Hank Aaron State Trail, goodbye to wearing short sleeves and [...]

Summer is unquestionably winding to a close. Of course, its official end came earlier this week, but the farmers markets are still full of tomatoes, I’m still getting fat bags of basil from my CSA, and the days, at least in Walla Walla, are still warm and sunny. However, the decided chill in my house [...]

Last week I made ketchup. It was fun, and not nearly as daunting as it sounds. And I ended up with something far more interesting than Heinz. You can read all about my ketchup making adventure on the Walla Walla Union Bulletin’s Wine and Dine Blog, where I’ve started writing a column. Whoot whoot fun [...]

Really this should be named Chicken Tajine, but since the Tajine is the actual cooking apparatus you use to cook this in, and since I didn’t have one, I’m going to just go with Moroccan Chicken. I was watching Food Network the other day and there was an episode on Barefoot Contessa entitled “Cooking for Beginners.”  And their [...]

I decided to ride my custom-built Waterford All-rounder. I had it built after my orange Bridgestone XO-1 was destroyed when the roof on my old garage collapsed. Needless to say the Waterford is an upgrade over the Bridgestone. The rain held off the entire way to the cottage. I rode toward the pot of gold, [...]

How about “Bicyclists also, but especially motorists.” I can’t tell you how many times I hear complaints (from motorists and cyclists alike) about cyclists who run red lights and ride on the sidewalk.  If I had a dollar for every time someone told me that cyclists should be taught the rules of the road and given [...]