As I’ve written about before, if Mack isn’t busy Mack is causing trouble.  In the afternoons while Evie is at school and Vivian naps, he and I are buddies. We have lunch together, clean up the house, play outside, read books and watch a cartoon or two.  And, we almost always do some sort of […]

I don’t want to jinx it, but I *think* summer might be here to stay.  Even though I was born and raised in Chicago, I hate hate hate cold weather, so I tend to spend every possible minute outdoors once the warmer months arrive.  The building we live in has an awesome roof deck, and […]

One of my favorite new cookbooks is Heidi Swanson’s “Super Natural Every Day.”  She has so many simple and straightforward recipes, and I really appreciate her fresh approach to cooking.  Tonight I was inspired by her Summer Linguine recipe that calls for barely more than pasta, zucchini and garlic.  It looks like a satisfying meal […]

Chris and I are on day 10 of the 28-day Healthy Eating Challenge Whole Foods Market asked me to try.  Using the lifestyle outlined in The Engine 2 Diet by Rip Esselstyn, we are avoiding all animal products, dairy, eggs and oils for four weeks.  The first few days were really tough, but every day […]

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 […]

We love food. All kinds. Seriously, we’re not picky eaters, especially when it comes to trying new foods. Fortunately, Chicago offers us a wide variety of cuisines in many ethnic neighborhoods. We can enjoy Indian, Vietnamese, Israeli, and Polish food less than 10 minutes from our home. I have so much fun introducing Evie to […]

I recently conquered one of my fears. For years I have been interested in jarring and canning to preserve foods, but the process always intimidated me. All that boiling water…and fears of botulism contamination if the process wasn’t done exactly right…and what a waste of time and money if the jars didn’t seal…I was getting […]

Today at the farmer’s market Lane’s End Farm was selling baskets of “ugly” organic tomatoes for $1.50 per ound. While most people would look at the misshapen, bumpy, and uneven colored tomatoes with suspicion, I knew I found a little gold mine! My favorite was this two-for-one tomato that looked like a portly and friendly […]

As I’ve written about countless times before, I really hate plastic. And I especially hate storing food in plastic. All those questionable chemicals leeching into lovely leftovers? No thanks! I have a nice collection of glass storage containers – my favorite are Frigoverre ones that come in plenty of shapes and sizes. I also hang […]

Sunday mornings are always quite busy for us. After dropping my husband off at work, Evelyn and I take care of a few errands and all the grocery shopping for the week. By the time we get home we are both ready for lunch and Evie is getting ready for her nap. But, just because […]