… And a Water Buffalo in a pear treeee!

— I just got the coolest catalog in the mail and surprisingly there isn't a shoe or a toaster oven in site. Nope, this catalog is filled with rabbits, goats, chickens, llamas honeybees, ducks... well, you get the idea. I look forward to getting it every year partly because it gives me warm-fuzzies, but mostly because it is from one of my favorite charities. You probably don't know this about me, but charities make me nervous. Most things run by committees and board members make me nervous. I know how hard it is to get anything done with 2 people [...]

By |2018-10-03T13:04:00-04:00December 7th, 2010|
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BRILLAT SAVARIN, NOT THE MAN.

The cheese. Brillat Savarin was the famous lawyer and gastronome from the early 1800's often quoted for saying,"Tell me what you eat, and I will tell you who you are.", but more importantly, for this post, he is the man after which someone named one of the most creamy and luscious cheese experiences I have ever had. Have you tasted Brillat Savarin, again, not the man, but the cheese? ...When the rind is perfectly bloomy? When it has been sitting around for a few hours, a little droopy and defeated, feigning humility, yet taunting you to come hither? If you [...]

By |2018-10-03T15:49:15-04:00December 7th, 2010|
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GIVING BACK IS TASTY

Me teaching killer vinaigrette. Several months ago I received an email from a girlfriend telling me about a non-profit that was looking for volunteer chefs to teach six week classes on healthy cooking and nutrition, so naturally I jumped at the chance. It is not that I have all the free time in the world while building RealFoodies aside from other duties related to impending nuptials, but I have ALWAYS wanted to do this and it would only be one day a week for a few hours. I know what you are thinking, "you are not a chef" [...]

By |2018-10-03T15:51:23-04:00October 27th, 2010|
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IF SOPHIA LAUREN WAS A GRAIN.

She'd be Farro. I had never tasted Farro until a friend ordered a Farro Risotto at Bar Jules in San Francisco and little did I know that it would contain no rice. I took a bite of the creamy farro risotto and was instantly besotted. Sadly, it wasn't until almost a year later that I would attempt to wrangle Farro myself. The inspiration to purchase and cook farro came from my girlfriend Rebecca. She is a great cook and a master of healthy and tasty. She gave me a little bowl of farro, of which I took about 3 tablespoons [...]

By |2018-10-03T15:50:47-04:00October 19th, 2010|
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EVERYTHING’S COMING UP PRETZEL!

For the last 15 years or so, I have been in perpetual mourning over the pretzels of my youth. It's not like I'm German or anything, but I recall pretzels as being shiny, firm and chewy with a little sprinkle of course salt, not sweet and buttery like today's mall-varietal. A few years ago I had dinner at a delicious restaurant in Lake Tahoe called the Lone Eagle and became re-acquainted with my long lost pretzel, at least partially. It wasn't twisted like a pretzel, but presented as a mini loaf of bread along side other toasty and warm bread [...]

By |2018-10-03T15:52:11-04:00October 12th, 2010|
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