Just before I went into the hospital for my surgery Marx Foods sent me a care package of dried mushrooms and dried peppers to try.

I know my surgery was over a month ago but I am just now beginning to cook a little. It wiped me out.

Sometimes being a food writer is like Christmas everyday. Boxes come in the mail and are full of delightful things. The box from Dei Fratelli was like that. Two pasta sauces, two salsas. Yum.

Rather than doing a separate review for each I am just going to say that all  four of these products are delicious. The corn and black bean salsa was not too spicy, but had a very fresh flavor. In fact, all of the sauces had a good, fresh tomato flavor.They are not overly salty and all of the ingredients are well balanced. I really liked this brand. …read more

A wonderful friend of mine asked me the other day to give her a list of items that I felt should be staples on the shelf of someone who wanted to move beyond homestyle cooking. Staples for the adventurous pantry, items that add that little bit of Shazaam to your meals. I gave her a few ideas and then told her  would post the rest.
I am not sure the foodies are genetically different from other people. I have a hunch that it has to do with many things but that eating a variety of foods while you are growing up …read more

Cumin comes in a close second to chipotle on my top ten list of ingredients.  If you are just using cumin in Mexican and Indian main dishes you are really missing out.
Believe it or not cumin is fantabulous with…of all things…vanilla.  And chocolate.  And citrus.

That beautiful golden color is an indication of the flavor because the flavor of cumin is warm, and caressing.  The flavor of cumin is the flavor of a summer day in the country…endlessly long and lazy.
Ground cumin is much more intense that the seed, but getting the seed and grinding your own is the best way …read more

I was shopping for food for my son Matthew yesterday.  He has developed stomach pain similar to an ulcer, although the tests are not conclusive he is on a bland diet of cream of wheat, saltines, yogurt, and …uh…toast.  He is 16, has the metabolism of a hummingbird and the appetite of a gorilla and I can tell you that he is not very happy about this.
However, as I was shopping in the yogurt aisle at Target (which is fast becoming one of my favorite food stores, more about that later) I saw this very unique looking yogurt.

Yep.  You read …read more