Media is abuzz with talk this week about food bacteria. First, updates about the Peanut Butter samonella outbreak recall foodstuffs nearly hourly. Then, Jane Brody wrote in the New York Times about how eating a little dirt is actually good for you.  (The article also advocates pet ownership, something near to my heart.) Cleveland food writer Michael Ruhlman’s post connects the dots.  Processed food leads to elimination of good and bad bacteria leads to kids [...]

Eating made from scratch meals is common in our house.  Most days we eat 3 meals of homemade food, mostly made from scratch. Many people we meet are stunned that we do this.  100 years ago everyone ate from home, but now many people are used to lunch out, and often breakfast and dinner on the run. Yet research from dietitians and psychologists alike confirm that eating at home, and eating made from scratch food [...]

We moved out of our old kitchen so fast that we just threw things in boxes and stacked them around the basement.  (Which was already filled to the brim with Baying Hound stock, of course.) We labeled one box KNIVES because I figured it was important that no one cut themselves accidentally, reserving two knives for use while we were without a kitchen. After the cabinets were installed, we started moving things back in, but [...]

Alex, Lil, and I watched the inauguration with tears in our eyes today.  We believe there is a lot of room for change in this country, and our hope is with Obama. This afternoon we toasted the new president with a Sazerac cocktail.  This is one of the oldest known traditionally American cocktails, reportedly predating the Civil War. Alex’s version: Swirl 1/4 ounce pernod or absinthe in old fashioned glass.  Discard (or chug) the absinthe. [...]

Recently, Congress mandated that the Consumer Products Safety Commission (CPSC) lower lead and phthalate limits in children’s products in a law called the Consumer Products Safety Information Act, or CPSIA. We 100% agree with the intent of the act: protect children from needless exposure to dangerous toxins. It is the extent and unintended consequences of CPSIA that are troubling. Think about this. Do you: Read books to children? Shop thrift stores for products that might [...]

Sorry for the lack of news this week. Here’s a bunch of excuses: The outside temperatures (below zero deg F most of the week) seem to have slowed progress in all areas of our life. My youngest sister was in the hospital this week with diabetic ketoacidosis and is now recovering at home. Alex spent most of the weekend with my dad in a movie theater for a 36 hour science fiction movie marathon. Saturday [...]

We have grown a meyer lemon tree indoors (and outside in summer) for 5 years now.  About twice a year it blossoms with tiny white flowers that have a captivating sweet scent.  Usually at least a couple of the flowers turn into baby lemon buds.  Sometime after, they dry up and fall off.  Just 4 times has a bud ripened into an edible lemon. This past fall, one such lemon deigned to grace us. Lillian [...]