When it comes to cooking with vanilla, there are quite a few choices like pure vanilla extract, vanilla bean paste and vanilla beans. There's also vanilla sugar, infused vanilla syrups; the list goes ...
This summer has seen an abundance of juicy and tart blueberries in the city. My mom reminds me that blueberries were the one food that she ate excessively when she was pregnant with me and rightfully ...
I always find new dishes to love when I travel and my recent trip was no exception. Last month, I was in Hawaii for a wedding and one of the appetizers we were served became my new favorite dish: ...
The Great Bubbly Debate: Champagne vs. Prosecco vs. Sparkling Rosé
Bubbles should not only be reserved for New Year's Eve or special occasions. I tend to enjoy the crisp, fizzy deliciousness of sparkling wine year-round, with and without the addition of orange juice ...
The Poblano Pepper Challenge: One Pepper, Three Different Dishes
Every now and then it’s good to challenge yourself, and this is especially true in the kitchen. This challenge can vary from kitchen to kitchen, but it can perhaps look like this:
The Dangers of Lacto-Fermented Foods on Your Nasal Passages
I am a preserver by nature. I pickle, I can, I cure. But what most people don’t realize is that vinegar is not the only way to preserve vegetables. You can also make lacto-fermented foods, which is a ...
The Building Blocks of Cooking: Tools and Equipment
In the first part of the Building Blocks of Cooking series, we covered essential spices, vinegars and oils that home cooks should have in their pantries. This month, we'll highlight kitchen tools and ...
It doesn’t matter how you spell it, it’s a healthy and delicious side dish! Tabbouleh is a Lebanese dish that is typically made of parsley, mint, tomatoes, onion, bulgur and seasoned with olive oil, ...
Eggs: so simple yet so complex. Their uses, versatile and preparation methods, almost endless. As one of my staples in my fridge, I’ll enjoy eggs for breakfast, lunch, dinner or snack on any given ...
I was working toward a degree in elementary education a few years ago, and one of my classmates was having a snack between classes. It was slices of fresh watermelon sprinkled with chili powder. I ...
Expanding the Palate: Teaching Yourself to Drink (Well)
Back in college, when my friends and I had just hit our 21st birthdays and had more free time and spare change than sense, we decided to figure out the drinking world through random selection. We'd ...
Recently, several customers looking for wine have asked me for ‘blends’. It catches me by surprise. I don’t quite know what they mean. Sure, I know what wine blends are, but do they want a light, ...
Summer for the Mast clan this year included a rare vacation. As us kids are slowly moving further and further from our hometown of Goshen, Indiana (think Houston, Fargo, and for me, South Korea later ...
Taking a camping trip is something my husband and I have always wanted to do with our kids. We told ourselves that as soon as our little ones got a bit older and more independent we would take the ...
We have so many opportunities to enjoy meals outdoors here in Chicago, from concerts at Ravinia and Millennium Park to Movies in the Parks to simply finding a quiet spot along our beautiful lakefront.
Have you ever woken up in the morning and asked yourself, ‘What’s the best thing I’m going to do today?’ On a good day, the best thing I usually do is brush my hair or make sure my dog goes outside. ...
I was a very plain child growing up. My tastes were simple and modest. I did not like jelly on my peanut butter sandwiches. I only liked vanilla ice cream. And Cheerios were my go to cereal. I wasn’t ...
After every meal at The Chopping Block when entree plates are cleared and dessert is dished, I can hear the intervals of conversation between family or friends and sometimes perfect strangers who ...
