From Scratch

As Los Angeles Chef Suzanne Tracht says, Passover is all about the matzoh balls. They’re easy to make — and I will sidestep the “sinkers or floaters” debate — and she shows us how in this short video from Epicurious.
What startled me here was her mention of matzoh ball mix to make them, when starting […]

Think of it as lol politics and media.
Cheez and Tofu, the team behind I Can Has Cheezburger, have launched a new site this election year with familiar faces getting the clever caption treatment. Some of the captions are even in plain English, not lolspeak (or kitteh, to those of us who are fluent) and politicians […]

For editorial cartoonists, Hillary’s “sniper in Bosnia” story was the shot heard ’round the world. Much of it, anyway. In Sweden, it was cannon fodder for Olle Johansson.

Whenever I can devise a recipe that does double duty in my interfaith life, I am happy. This lightened-up take on a favorite worked for Easter and will work for Passover, when dairy is appropriate. In fact, I can envision this any time a plated dessert is needed.
For those not familiar with Passover dietary laws, grains are […]

You might have a kitchen cabinet like one of mine: under-counter, storing heavy things such as cast iron cookware, bulky things such as a lobster pot, and small things that don’t get used very often. My hand mixer fell into that latter category and it was tucked in the back, requiring me to move at […]

I can’t help but love a recipe that’s quick and versatile, although in this case the versatility was accidental.
The original was in Self magazine and it’s a delicious, simple version of chicken breasts simmered in an herby, lemony sauce. I had leftover sauce which I used the next day on pasta and, hey presto, I had a […]

To all who celebrate it, Happy Easter.

A dubious anniversary this week: five years in Iraq. To date, more than 4,000 Allied troops killed, more than 80,000 Iraqi civilians. The most memorable cartoon was by Adam Zyglis of The Buffalo News.

Sphere: Related Content

It was last November that the AMA and the Center for Science in the Public Interest urged the Food and Drug Administration to consider limiting our sodium intake by requiring food companies to use less salt. The FDA is now formally considering the proposal, although it could be at least one year before a decision […]

I hate last-minute cooking for a big meal, holiday or otherwise. That’s why I prepare make-ahead gravy at Thanksgiving. But not every meal includes turkey and often, everyday meals need gravy that I am still not willing to scramble around to make at the final moment.
If you’re the same way, set aside your thoughts about […]

Hillary Clinton has made a last-minute change to her schedule for a stop in Detroit today to further try to persuade Michigan legislators to allow a do-over primary election.
She trails Barack Obama in both popular votes and elected delegates; without do-overs in Florida, where the proposal has been rejected, and in Michigan, where Obama was […]

Did you know teal is the hot color for Easter eggs this year? The 125-year-old PAAS company, whose name (which comes from the Pennsylvania Dutch word for ‘passen’, or Easter) is synonymous with egg decorating kits, says teal has replaced purple as the most popular color. The company also says Americans who decorate eggs will fancy up an […]

As the graphic proves, everyone can be Irish today. Americans of all ethnicities are making corned beef and cabbage for St. Patrick’s Day, even though it’s not an Irish thing at all.
What?
Well, if you weren’t around last year at this time — and you probably were not, as this blog was only a couple days […]

Everything has a price. Too often, the price of convenience is steep, both in dollars and good health, and it’s a steeper price than I’m willing to pay.
Take taco seasoning. Those handy envelopes of not quite three tablespoons sell for about a dollar and contain way more than a day’s worth of sodium. Depending on the brand, each […]

It’s probably true that everything old is new again, even politicians’ complaints such as Hillary Clinton’s whining about the media favoring Barack Obama. So let’s go back 16 years, when the other Clinton was running for president, and Garry Trudeau devoted this Doonesbury strip to the issue of Clinton and the media. Oh, the irony.
Thanks […]