Food and wine festivals are abundant in the summer months, and my small hometown version is no exception. My husband Bill and I enjoyed the “North Shore Wine, Beer, Cigar, and Food Festival” this past weekend. This 3rd annual festival is a fundraiser to benefit the old Libertyville High School, known as the Brainerd Building. […]
Happy 91st Birthday to my Mom!
My mom turned 91 years old this past Tuesday, but she is still young at heart and in mind. Last year, we had a big 90th bash with a huge crowd, but this year was much more quiet. Unfortunately, I was not in California to celebrate with her, but mom spent the day at my brother’s […]
Lazy Summer Days
The long, hot summer days of Chicago are getting to me. It’s been one of worst few months ever, and not just here but all over the country. I am so ready for beautiful fall days. I would even take a blizzard about now. I’m feeling very lazy this morning and can’t even seem to […]
Frosty Fun!
I can still smell the old drugstore in the tiny town of Wyoming, Iowa where we used to go for summer visits at my great-aunt Margery’s home. She made the best cookies in Iowa, but I don’t recall her ever making us milkshakes, probably because all we had to do was take a short walk into […]
The World’s First Organic Chocolate
When I recently received a box from Green and Black’s with bars of their delectable chocolates and a new cookbook, I was very grateful for their gift, even though they didn’t have to sell me on the products. I have loved Green and Black’s since it was introduced in the USA, but I didn’t have the cookbook. […]
Lots of Candles, Plenty of Cake
On the weekends, I usually find the cookbooks I want to write about for the coming week. This weekend, however, I became distracted by Anna Quindlen’s latest book, probably because it was about her thoughts of turning sixty, which I recently did myself. It’s not often that I will write about a non-cookbook on a cookbook blog, […]
Secrets from a Legendary Chef
This is one of my favorite chef faces. Just look at Louis Szathmary. Doesn’t he remind you of the Muppet’s “Swedish Chef?” Chef Szathmary was Hungarian-born and a beloved Chicago chef for many years. He was the owner of a landmark Chicago restaurant, “The Bakery,” from 1963 to 1989. His individual Beef Wellington put the […]
Happy Birthday to Julia Child!
Today would have been Julia Child’s 100th birthday. I have been reading numerous articles all day, and there is nothing I can say that hasn’t already been said. I join all the other food enthusiasts around the world in celebrating Julia and what she did for cooking. I thought you might enjoy some amusing Julia quotes […]
