From the category archives:

Ya Gotta Love It

Road Trip! Segway Riding Around Long Beach

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You know, Larry has some awesome ideas sometimes. So when he suggested to me, plus friends Cathi and Barry to buzz around Long Beach (CA) on Segway two-wheeled electric vehicles, YEAH. Was it really, REALLY fun? “Better than I actually expected,” was Larry’s review and he was right.

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My 2009 Gratitude List

This was a giant year for food blogging, I think. So many people joined the ranks, as did I. The learning curve! Achieving a modicum of success doesn’t happen in a vacuum; I want to THANK some gracious folks and Secret Santas for your generous boosts:

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Jose Cuervo Christmas Cookies

The “boy” in the pix with me (very top left of this scrapbook page) is now an international pilot for a shipping company. He may have met Larry at one of our Rolling Hills High School reunions, but now with the internet and Facebook, all these old contacts are right there again! And he knows [...]

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Westwood Village Farmers Market and How to Sauté Mushrooms

One recent Wednesday, I wanted to walk to our Westwood Village Farmers Market but had forgotten the hours. Google, google, google… where the heck is their website? All I found were press releases from last summer’s reopening after a lengthy absence due to construction, and plenty about our OTHER Farmers Market at the Westwood [...]

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New Year’s Eve Party for People Who Have a Hard Time Staying Awake

Are you like me? I have a hard time staying up New Year’s Eve. Larry is also a geezer, there I said it. Alone, we often don’t see midnight due to zzzzzz. Parties? A LOT of hours ‘til the stroke of 12.
But a few years back, we threw a cooking party that our guests still [...]

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How Firefighters Cook and Eat

This is not Larry. Michael James is a Westwood, CA firefighter, and I cornered him at the grocery store. Firehouse 37 is OUR neighborhood fire department. They were right there when Francoise’ vintage gravity heater blew a fireball, when Margie’s wall was mysteriously smoking, when senior neighbors fall ill and UCLA students do what [...]

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Food Tasting Walking Tour of Old Pasadena

Larry and I LOVE touristy things, even in our own backyard. We’re both native Angelinos; been to Pasadena plenty of times. But never on foot for a tasting, history and architecture tour. When friend Chef Diane Scalia and her sister, Lisa, launched Melting Pot Food Tours, Larry and I were totally on board.

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Meet Friend, The Lord Wedgwood of Barlaston

You’ll never meet a nicer Lord. Seriously, Lord Wedgwood of Barlaston is quite cool. He’s a former client. Quick bio: direct descendent of Josiah Wedgwood, the 18th century “father of pottery,” served in the House of Lords for more than 20 years – until 1999 – as the fourth Lord Wedgwood of Barlaston. He [...]

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The History of Aprons

Friend, Caroline is an enigma. On the surface: a classic beauty, self-assured self-employed food pro who travels the country for clients and around the globe for fun.
Yet, she’s kind of a country girl. Choosing Home Ec as a profession fit her to a T. One of her favorite pastimes is Knit ‘n Bitch potlucks [...]

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Halloween Costume for Foodies – My Rendition of Julia Child

Couldn’t help myself. Our Saturday Dinner Theme Party last weekend at Camp GetAway for Mothers & Others was “Meet Me At The Movies.” Julie & Julia was a no-brainer to this foodie; one of the funniest photo stills from the movie is Meryl holding that raw chicken. HEY! I already had that shirt and [...]

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How to Make a Tin Can Man

A Peeping Tin was eyeing me from Cathi and Barry’s garden wall during their BBQ. He was a gift from their daughter Kristi, purchased from a local Italian restaurant. Once you know that, you can see the types of tomatoes used for cooking: diced, pureed, crushed, sauce, paste. Isn’t this a perfect way for [...]

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An Insider’s Peek at County Fair Recipe Contests

Meet Chef George Geary, the Eveready bunny o’ food. He and I have known each other for ages, and I’ve seen him in action as (1) a corporate spokesperson, (2) prolific cookbook writer, (3) pastry chef, (4) culinary tour director (he takes travelers to Paris to walk Julia Child’s French life), (5) culinary competition [...]

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10 Favorite Foodie Swag Items

This post isn’t about “free products” companies send bloggers in the hopes of scoring positive reviews. Today I’m writing about what’s known in the biz as “trinkets and trash” – goodies from food companies at the hundreds of trade shows and conferences I’ve attended, lugged home via overstuffed suitcases to outfit my kitchen with [...]

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10 Reasons to Take a Farmer’s Market Chef Tour

Westwood Village, California is home to movie premieres and UCLA Bruins. Plus one tiny Farmer’s Market. Just 23 stalls, it is reworking itself back up after losing its venue during a drawn out construction job here. Larry and I walk to the market on Wednesdays, and walk the second half-mile back home with such [...]

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10 Tiny Tools I Love & Art for Foodies

We all have our favorite cooking tools, don’t we? Most of mine spend half their lives in the dishwasher, we use them so often. These are my favorite Tiny Tools. This collection is only about 5% of all the stuff in our gigantic utensil drawer, but just like a cache of signature recipes, these [...]

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Fancy Food Show

I’ve attended or worked a hundred “food shows.” That’s the short name for a food industry conference with booths for product displays, tastings, sales, marketing. I’m a food PR practitioner; companies hire my little PR firm to do fancy things for them. There can be a strange celeb rub-off in the job, too. I’ve [...]

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Roadkill Cake

In the spirit of a kicking off your fun, long holiday weekend, I present this ROADKILL CAKE. No, I didn’t make this, it was Adriana Shoning’s blue ribbon winner in the Ugly Cake Contest at the Iowa State Fair, a competition for teens. Animal lovers like me needn’t stew… better this happened to a [...]

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What Is This Teensy Serving Utensil?

Polishing silverware from Aunt Dede’s estate in preparation for a dinner party here, I discovered this tiny 4-inch long slotted serving piece. Of course, I could google around and discover it’s truth but it would be more fun to ask out there… what is it?
OK, I hear the collective SHE DOES WHAT??? Yes, I polish [...]

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How to Snag a Seat at Martha’s

Freezing weather is the ticket. Stand outside the Today Show during a New York City mid-week morning and watch for personnel giving away tickets to the Martha Stewart Show. Why do they do that? In such arctic conditions, no one wants to stand on line outdoors for any show.

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One recent winter, my [...]

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