Fall doesn’t just mean apples, butternut squash, and pumpkins. It also means pears, which always seem to be overshadowed by the other three. People just don’t seem to think about pears. You don’t see spiced pear lattés, pear-scented candles, or pear cider. Pears get the short end of the stick. This saddens me, because pears…
I’m pretty sure the brains of people who consider themselves foodies are hard-wired to remember every first taste. Mine does. As long as I was old enough at the time to be able to register the memory, I can remember the first time I ate almost anything. This includes apple dumplings – not the kind…
The first time I tasted butternut squash soup was on a chilly fall Saturday at the Lincoln Park Farmers’ Market in Chicago. This was years ago, before butternut squash soup was on so many restaurant menus and available by the box on supermarket shelves. I remember that first spoonful – it was buttery and creamy,…
If you like Thai food, this simple dish is a fantastic way to bring the flavors of Thailand into your kitchen without all the work of something complicated like Pad Thai. I tried making Pad Thai at home a few times, but honestly, when I can pick up takeout from a good Thai restaurant for…
If you asked me which was more work, lasagna or stuffed shells, up until a year ago I would have said stuffed shells. But I’ve since changed my mind about that. The truth is, stuffed shells were something I hadn’t bothered with because I thought they would be more time-consuming and take more effort. I…
Two years ago this week, I got pregnant with L. When I found out five weeks later, it was this huge surprise we weren’t prepared for. We’d gotten married in August, went on our honeymoon to Kenya in September, and were really just beginning to settle into a marriage routine. We were looking at a…