One of my absolute favorite ingredients to cook with is fresh ginger.  It is so warm and comforting and soothing.  The gnarled knobs might not look very appealing, but so much happiness is lurking inside!  Whether it be a Mango Lassi with Ginger and Cardamom or Homemade Green Chai Tea or Ginger Pumpkin Bread, I [...]

One of the best things about living in a big city is encountering diversity on a daily basis.  People from all walks of life and all corners of the globe call Chicago home, and I consider their presence in my hometown to be a true asset and gift. Aren’t I lucky to have the world [...]

Yesterday morning Mack woke up fussing at 5:24.  Ugh.  Although he settled himself back to sleep, I was up. I gave myself 20 minutes to fall back into my dreams, but it was no use.  So, I decided to be productive with this extra 90 minutes in my day.  I took care of a few [...]

At the start of the fall season my mom gave my sisters and I each a lovely pumpkin cast iron pot.  We had been admiring the one she puts on display every year, so her thoughtful gesture really means a lot. Every time I look at my new pot I think of my mom and [...]

I made such a pretty lunch today, so I thought I’d share it.  A salad full of bright colors and generous flavors is the perfect way to load up on more than a few of my daily vegetable servings.  And, the homemade lime dressing took about 32 seconds to make – waaaay healthier (and cheaper!) [...]

As I have written about before, I am eagerly learning about Indian food.  I’ve found it to be a lot of fun to make, and my husband and kids are thrilled whenever I try a new recipe for dinner or serve up some Indian chai at breakfast.  Now that I’m starting to become familiar with [...]

We eat a lot of soup.  My husband loves bringing homemade soup to work for lunch, so at the beginning of each week I make a big pot that lasts until Friday.  I usually try to make enough for me and the kids, too, as soups can be a healthy and simple way to get [...]

Even though its the dead of winter and snow covers the ground, we enjoyed a flavorful homemade tomato soup for dinner tonight.  There’s no way fresh tomatoes found at the grocery store this time of the year could carry a meal like this, so I’m grateful for the many pints of organic heirloom tomatoes I [...]

Living in a big city offers many eco-boosting benefits: we walk every where, we have an extensive farmers market system and and we live in a reasonably-sized apartment that doesn’t require a ton of energy to heat and cool. With that said, I am still bummed that I can’t compost our food scraps. I’d estimate [...]

My sweet little Mack is eight months old today. Time is really flying! For the past couple months I’ve been busy in the kitchen making special foods just for him, and it feels like deja vu – I swear it was just yesterday that I was doing the same thing for Evelyn. Unfortunately, he isn’t [...]