Ella is a special person, as anyone who knows her would attest. She is thoughtful, touchingly caring and sweet-hearted. Tonight, she helped me turn about 12 boneless chicken breasts into delectable chicken nuggets. And she was very helpful, indeed. First, I cut each chicken breast into about 4-5 strips and dumped them into a bowl [...]

I started watching Food Inc. last night. Wow, what a film. I got through the chicken part and realized that I’m going to have a few dilemmas when this film is over. Chickens are fattened, over-drugged and abused on their way to assembly-line slaughter. Cows are corn-fed and crowded into feedlots that breed bacterial contamination. [...]

I like cooking fast and improvising. It works well with some things. But don’t try it when baking. Today, I started with some leftover steak and ended up with a rich tasting chili that knocked my socks off. Here’s what I did: 1. Chop and onion and 4-6 cloves of garlic. Saute in olive oil. [...]

Apple Crumble is one of those desserts that makes itself, really. You start with apples – firm, tart, meaty apples. I’m never sure what kind are the best to use. If you pick the wrong ones, worst thing that happens is you end up with apple sauce covered in sweet crunchy bits. If you are [...]

By popular demand, I am reprinting my pesto recipe here. In proportion to how good it tastes, this is way too easy. 3 packed cups fresh basil leaves (removed from stems) 2 large cloves fresh garlic ½ cup pinenuts ¾ packed cup fresh chopped parsley ¾ cup fresh grated parmesan ½ cup olive oil ¼ [...]

Here is Linda’s “not-so-secret” recipe: 1 cup margarine (2 squares) 1 cup peanut butter (organic crunchy is best) 1 cup brown sugar 1 cup white sugar 3 eggs 1 teaspoon vanilla 3 cups white flour 3 2 tablespoons baking soda pinch 1 teaspoon of salt chocolate chips Cream together margarine, peanut butter and sugars. Add [...]