For a young Mom yearning for a night out of the house it was an easy thing to leave for the babysitter. I mean anyone can follow those directions and make that – right? And I redeemed myself by leaving instructions for steaming fresh broccoli flowers and where to find the frozen blueberries in the [...]

“Jeunes filles dans la cuisines, jeunes filles dans la cuisines”. Each time he said it his voice would get louder and his head would shake from side to side. I remember it like it was yesterday, particularly his tone and his French accent.  And even though he said it with a look of mischief in [...]

  I am not ready for it to end.  Not even close.  Summer is waning and I am stubbornly and sadly hanging on to what’s left of it. There have not been enough light to dusk days of completely clear blue sky or nights warm enough not to feel a little chill on bare arms [...]

A good salmon recipe should highlight and not overpower the naturally rich flavor and texture of this well loved fish. My philosophy with cooking has always been to keep it simple, but most importantly if you start with a quality fresh ingredient then you do not have to do much to enhance it. This recipe for [...]

I think this is the simplest recipe I’ve posted. Dungeness crab is like that. So good on its own, it needs very little to enhance its sweet flavor and delicate texture. Just a little garlic carefully cooked over low heat to release flavor and marinated briefly with ripe summer tomatoes and fragrant basil. All tossed [...]

My daughter brought home a take out salad a few weeks ago that she said was amazing. Just one bite into it and I agreed. So I set out to emulate it and it wasn’t that difficult to do based on a salad recipe of mine I used for many years while teaching cooking classes [...]

Most people are more familiar with cooking and eating flank steak than they are with skirt steak. These cuts of meat are similar in that they both come from the flank area but they differ in size, tenderness and flavor. Skirt steak, also sometimes called Hanger steak, is from the diaphragm muscle. It is long [...]

Dry rub spices are a fast alternative to marinating. You can rub them on for as little as 30 minutes before grilling to impart flavor. They work especially well for something like boneless, skinless chicken breast that cooks really quickly but needs the extra flavor that the skin and bone naturally impart. Pureed canned Chipotle peppers [...]

Our Fourth of July dinner menu is always centered on barbecue pork back ribs. Just like a roast turkey at Thanksgiving it’s something we never deviate from. Ironically, though, with the exception of this crazy side dish that is full of bacon, sugar and canned beans, our accompaniments to the ribs are up for grabs [...]

I was homesick the first time I went to summer camp. Despite all of the activities, all I could think about was getting through the week so I could return to the comfort of my home. So the first time our daughter went away to camp I was nervous she might feel the same way. [...]

This recipe is a long-standing member of my arsenal of most dependable and favorite dinner recipes. I have been making it for many, many years and to date, my family or friends have never tired of it. It was also a favorite of my students when the subject was easy weekday or entertaining dinner recipes. [...]

Smoky grilled corn and sweet Dungeness crab are the highlights of this chowder. I love making this for an easy September weekday dinner. You can prepare it and have it on the table in less than an hour. Homemade Crostini are my favorite for dipping in the chowder and my recipe follows the chowder recipe [...]

Fresh, fragrant basil leaves and juicy, ripe red tomatoes are quintessential late summer ingredients that are so enjoyable to eat that they help make up for the fact that summer has almost slipped away. You can enjoy the last remnants of summer and make this warm sandwich for dinner during Labor Day weekend. It goes [...]

Summer cooking does not get any easier than with this recipe and with summer winding down, I know everyone is still looking for ways to spend as little time in the kitchen as possible and as much time outside enjoying what remains of the season. I prefer to use fresh wild caught salmon for this [...]

These easy skewers feature the fabulous flavor combination of lemon, oregano and garlic that is so prevalent in Greek cooking. I love them for summer dinners as you can marinate the chicken the night before and throw them on the grill just before you want to eat dinner. The classic Tzatziki sauce with creamy Greek-style [...]

Some of my fondest food memories are from the summer months when the local Dungeness crab season is open.  This began when our kids were toddlers and we lived on San Juan Island. In the beginning I complained about the piles of chicken bait crowding food in the refrigerator, dragging the boat through the mud [...]

As I write this, I think it is safe to say that summer might be arriving in Seattle. It is possible that the long cycle of gray, wet and cold weather is over and we can finally bring out summer clothes and recipes. And nothing says summer quite like fresh basil. Combined with chopped pistachios, [...]

I’m not sure how long you have to do something before it qualifies as a tradition, but this will be our 5th year barbecuing pork back ribs for the 4th of July dinner, so its probably safe to say that it is a tradition for us. Pork back ribs are my favorite because they are [...]

I used to prepare everything for this salad from scratch. I would slice the cabbage, grate the carrots and make the dressing/marinade. Then in April my daughter and I were visiting a friend who lives in La Quinta, California who has a Trader Joe’s practically in her backyard. We were talking about what to have [...]