Category Archives: Cooking

Why I probably won’t join a vegetable CSA next year

Although the title might suggest the opposite, I love the CSA I’m in.  CSA stands for community-supported agriculture; you pay the farm a set amount before the start of the harvest season, and each week you get vegetables.  You don’t get … Continue reading

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Coffee Table Cookbook

I recently bought this cookbook. It’s a gorgeous hardcover with a colorful cover, and many beautiful pictures of delicious-looking food inside. It was an impulse purchase. I’d been shopping for a dress for my wedding (yes, yes, the store at … Continue reading

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When in Rome … or not

Donald and I are both working on short stories and novels in imaginary fantasy settings inspired by ancient Rome. This is not a case of being influenced by someone you spend a lot of time with. We’ve known each other … Continue reading

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What I’ve been saying all along

Brought to my attention by Arun, an article in Slate.com about how cookbook writers are incapable of estimating how long it will take to cook a recipe.

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Fixing the recipe as you go

If you do a lot of cooking, you start to notice that some cookbooks are better than others. Not just because the food you make from the recipes tastes better. Some cookbooks are also better than others at giving instructions … Continue reading

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Environmentalism through laziness

I really hate drying dishes. We have a dishwasher, which solves a lot of that problem. But some things aren’t diswasher-safe, and some other things–well, there’s just no point putting them in the dishwasher. The salad spinner, for instance. Or … Continue reading

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Shame on you, America’s Test Kitchen!

After all my dissing of Rachael Ray and her so-called 30 Minute Meals, and my holding up of America’s Test Kitchen cookbooks as a sort of star pupil in the school of Giving Realistic Time Estimates For Recipes … the … Continue reading

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Pasta is not a 15-minute meal!

The latest Rachael Ray recipe I tried, Cheesy Pasta Presto, from Just in Time! was supposed to take only 15 minutes. It took 53! When you think about it, there’s no way pasta is a 15-minute meal. It takes 15 … Continue reading

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Springtime Feast!

Last night I hosted a dinner party. It was me, my boyfriend Donald, my roommates Cory and Aubrey, and my good friend Bob (a former housemate of mine). I did all the cooking, and Bob, who has an extensive wine … Continue reading

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Mark your calendars!

Last night, I prepared a Rachael Ray recipe that was supposed to take 60 minutes … and it did! 62 minutes, to be exact. But well within an acceptable margin of error. The recipe was “Spicy Lentil Stoup”, from Just … Continue reading

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