A cook's blog with lovely photographic illustrations

If you're in Oakland, get your chorizo from Taylor's because they make it mm-mm-sabroso

What are the must-haves for an everyday Indian kitchen?

I'm learning to cook.

A meditation on breathing and letting go from our newest contributor, Laurie.

Starmama's Kick-Ass Mac & Cheese

Thursday morning I woke up early and decided to make a pot of p'sghetti.

Now available on 3 cds or cassettes!

A big welcome to our latest talented contributor, who brings us an ages old tale of gods and cheese, two things we like a lot.

A touching tale of fathers, wisdom, and cooking eggs. And Kung-Fu, too.

Not to be used before a drug test.

New resolution, and cake.

These wonderful treats take a little bit of effort, but the smiles you see when you hurl them at strangers are more than worth it.

I don't really have a lot to be cocky about. I'm not really very good at anything, like sports, or music, or writing, or dancing. Everyone has to have something to take pride in, though, I guess. For me, it's my milkshakes.

The tomatoes, all thirteen dirt grown heirloom varieties, came in today. 200# in 8 plastic bins of tomatoes of all sizes. Little ones like baby toes and big bulbous ones. Green and white zebra patterned tomatoes. All shades of yellow, orange and red. Purple tomatoes bleeding into red tomatoes.

What are your eleven secret herbs and spices?

Saturday: I had to babysit Karen's father and try to keep him from the vodka as long as possible. But, as you do, I got so fed up with his cretinous comments and oafish behaviour that I invited him to run some errands.

The second hand store I went to was a bit more upscale then a thrift store...I think I'd call it a recycled goods store. I happened across a stack of vintage cookbooks from the '40s.

Making potstickers, obsessing over instant flan, and discovering fire.

"But Esther, just how do i make this delicious concoction of which you speak?"

My mom's second husband was Persian. He was my stepfather for five formative years. I learned exactly one word in Farsi. I was taught to live a pious life as a born-again Christian. And I learned to love Persian food.

I remember reading an article in one of the multitudes of cooking magazines I used to be addicted to buying. It was about dating Chefs.