click to order ^^ October 30, 2026 What with Hallow'een Saturday, the time change Sunday, Dia de los Muertos Monday, the general election Tuesday, and practically everything in retrograde, I may just go into hibernation until closer to Thanksgiving. I roasted chicken over potatoes, onion, and chard last night, have ingredients for a ham bone stew for Saturday, and am contemplating a picanha roast cooked like prime rib for Sunday; should have plenty of leftovers for the first part of the week.  Speaking of th ...Continue Reading

click to order ^^ October 9, 2026 Hurricanes galore! There's one looking to come ashore here on the west coast around San Diego/Ensenada--we should get some rain this weekend, the first we've seen since May. And the first storm of the season has formed in the Gulf of Mexico, putting my friends and family inside the "cone of uncertainty" for a hit this weekend. Batten down the hatches and stay safe, everyone. For my recipe picks this week, first up, who doesn't love a croquette? Use whatever leftover pro ...Continue Reading

click to order ^^ October 2, 2026 Our neighborhood has been busy this week; unusually high tides are causing flooding about half a mile down the beach from us, so news helicopters have been hovering there, and over the parking lot across the street from us where emergency crews are stationed, and sand bags are being built and distributed. Further up the beach there was a huge production taking up one full parking lot with catering trucks and dressing rooms. Then, there's ongoing construction on a new olympi ...Continue Reading

click to order ^^ September 25, 2026 I've started my cook-a-thon for my nephew and his wife; their first baby is due in 3 weeks and I'm going to put some easy, tasty, relatively healthy meals in their freezer for days when they just don't have the energy for anything else. It's still hot here, so I set up a work station on my rolling kitchen island and positioned it in front of the window AC unit and plugged in my portable induction burner. I don't know why I didn't think of that earlier in this long, hot, unusual ...Continue Reading

click to order ^^ September 18, 2026 It doesn't look like it's going to be Gumbo Weather any time soon so I may have to suck it up and make some in a hot kitchen, because I have a hankering for some. Ask any cook across the south for their take on gumbo and you'll get a different answer. I grew up eating seafood gumbo on the Mississippi gulf coast, and it always had tomato in it-- very different from the gumbo you'd get in Cajun country over in southwestern Louisiana. That's where I first had smoked ...Continue Reading

click to order ^^ September 11, 2026 It has been some kind of hot here in Southern California, with a hurricane out in the ocean pushing in really humid air and some crazy waves. The worst seems to be behind us, thankfully, so back to typical weather next week. I'm glad, because I need to spend some quality time in the kitchen cooking for our nephew and his wife; I intend to get some good, healthy meals in their freezer to make things easier after their first baby comes next month. First and foremost is a slow-bra ...Continue Reading

click to order ^^ August 28, 2026 I am on the shores of Lake Michigan enjoying some much-needed R&R time with my friends from New Orleans. We have a lazy weekend planned, with good food and lots of fun. Then, I'm going to spend a few days in Chicago; I haven't been in a very long time, and am looking forward to seeing the sights. Top of my list is a visit to the Field Museum to see the dinosaurs. As a kid, we had an illustrated set of encyclopedias, and the edition with the dinosaurs automatically fell open at tha ...Continue Reading

click to order ^^ August 21, 2026 I fly out to Chicago next week to meet some of my New Orleans girlfriends for a long weekend at a lakehouse. I'm really looking forward to the trip, and seeing them; it's been almost 16 months! I'm going to ask for Camellia red beans and blackeye peas. They're the best. When I get back, I'm going to start cooking to fill up my nephew's freezer so they'll have easy, delicious meals on hand for the first weeks after the baby comes. For the recipes this week, first up, an easy Parme ...Continue Reading

click to order ^^ August 15, 2026 We've got a baby shower this weekend; this side of the family is looking forward to seeing cute baby girl clothes for the first time in a long time. I fell into an end-of-summer close-out sale and couldn't stop buying cute-cute-cute sun dresses for next spring and summer to go with the big box of basics I already bought. Two months to go! For the recipes this week, first up is an old Cajun recipe for seafood meatballs in a tomato gravy. Lots of ways to eat them-- over rice, grits ...Continue Reading

click to order ^^ August 8, 2026 Sorry I missed you last week; the nasty summer cold that's been making the rounds caught up and took me out for almost 2 weeks. Avoid it like the plague if you can! Poor Jim hasn't had a home cooked meal in a while and I'm two weeks behind on housekeeping. It's been too hot to think about it, anyway. For the recipes this week, first up is a family recipe from the Gibsons, a multi-generation shrimping family from south Louisiana. I accidentally made it with smoked gouda once, and i ...Continue Reading