Food & Drink

Last month I was in St. Louis on an unseasonably warm Friday afternoon. I was sitting in the covered patio of Vicia, a new restaurant in the Central West End. Several of the window panels had been removed, allowing the warm sunlight and fresh air to intermingle with the smoke wafting from the large wood-burning […]

Around mid-April, after the roaring March winds have yielded to the mild rains of spring, seemingly normal people begin to disappear into the woods. Young and old, they steal away to secret patches of farmland and secluded hillsides to scour the terrain, armed with baskets and driven by a desire that began burning weeks ago […]

It’s that time of year when I’ve about used up last fall’s winter squash in my basement and all of last summer’s vegetables from my freezer and I’m looking for meal planning inspiration from my pantry. As I await the first spring radishes and lettuces, I’m leaning more on dried and canned beans to balance […]

In my last IT column (Fermented Foods- March 1), I discussed the benefits of incorporating fermented foods into your dietary regimen and I included instruction on how to make Easy Homemade Sauerkraut. For those of you who rushed out and bought a couple heads of cabbage to try out my recipe, by now your salted […]

Research shows that cooking from scratch and regularly sharing family dinner improves both physical and mental health in many ways. But there is one benefit of cooking at home that doesn’t get nearly enough attention: eventually, your kids will cook for you and be better able to take care of themselves. When her mom, Betsy, […]

Old episodes of “Mr. Rogers’ Neighborhood” have been my daughter’s show of choice lately. And truthfully, I’ve enjoyed having this soft-spoken gentleman and his kind earnest words back in my life as well. I often think of what Fred Rogers said on the topic of heart-wrenching and terrifying events in the news, and his words […]

It is estimated that our body is composed of over 10 trillion cells; inhabiting our skin and respiratory passages and digestive systems are 10 times that number of bacteria. These bacteria are known as our micro flora and many of these organisms are essential to our health, existing in harmony with our bodies in a […]

All my life I’ve struggled with bouts of insomnia. When I was in college I had a Social Psychology lecture right after lunch. I remember very little about the content of the course, but I do remember the professor: Harry C. Triandis. Professor Triandis was a renowned psychologist, author of our course’s textbook, and a […]

They say that when life gives you lemons, you should make lemonade. Likewise, when invasive fish take over the waterways in more than half of U.S. states, threatening the native ecologies and viability of fishing commerce from the Gulf Coast to the Great Lakes, chefs, fishermen and environmentalists say, “It’s time for a fish fry.” […]

I’m not one for single-use kitchen appliances or gadgets. Bread makers take up too much space, and generally I’m not a fan of slow cookers. They’re fine for making broth or reheating soup, but the inability to sear or brown foods before they settle in for the long braise was a deal breaker. I’d rather […]