When you call a person thick, it means that he or she (okay, he) has a hard time absorbing information through the dense brain tissue known as gray matter. Even among the rapidly increasing population of Neanderthals them’s fighting words. Among soups?  Not so much. More than any other food, people define a soup by […]

At our house mushrooms are magical, not in a crazy Timothy Leary kind of way, but because of fairies. As any parent of daughters knows, mushroom circles are known as fairy or pixie rings and serve as portals to the supernatural world. European and American folklore is filled with stories of mortals witnessing fairies coming […]

I’ve got a confession to make.  I’m not crazy about eggplant. It’s bitter. It’s sort of rubbery.  And when you add it to most dishes all it really adds is texture. I’m sorry if I’m offending anyone with these comments. It’s how I feel, and I suspect I’m not alone. I’m talking about you Europe, […]

When I was growing up, the kitchen was the domain of the mothers and sisters.  The males would wander in occasionally with their ham-fisted attempts at cooking such family favorites as fried chicken and tamale pie (the only known use for Green Giant Mexicorn), but for the most part we stayed out of the way. […]

After nearly 13 years of marriage, I’ve learned there are times when I just need to keep my mouth shut.  Sadly I haven’t learned when those times are, so, to be on the safe side, I tend to hold my tongue almost always. Luckily, my wife is something of a talker, so there is no […]

If you read last week’s post, you might think a good cook can correct any dish that hasn’t turned out right.  Add a little bit of this, a little of that and voila, the meal is saved. Sorry. Sometimes when culinary explorations don’t work out the only recourse is to start over. That’s what happened […]

Making soup is like playing matchmaker. You try to pair  ingredients into a lively but sustainable relationship.  Sometimes things go together. Sometimes they don’t. Sometimes opposites attract.  Sometimes like attracts like.  There isn’t a consistent formula. Not that I’m an expert, I’m a guy.  Even worse, I’m a husband. All I know about relationships is […]

The cucumber is soft-spoken.  It’s flavor is neither strong nor brash.  As a result it’s a vegetable that often doesn’t get a lot of respect. You might even say it’s the Rodney Dangerfield* of vegetables. At best the cucumber is a supporting player adding texture and crunch to other ingredients that hog the spotlight.  In […]