I have a giant cookbook collection.  So big, in fact, that I'm being forced to weed it out as it's now bursting off the bookshelf.  I couldn't decide what to get rid of so I consulted an expert (Google) and found out that if a cookbook has just one good recipe, it's worth keeping.  If that's the case, I'm never getting rid of Trish Magwood's new book, In My Mother's Kitchen.  I was excited to have the opportunity to review In My Mother's Kitchen as I am a big fan of both Trish's first book, the award-winning Dish Entertains, and... More »

Tonight I made a great dinner.  A dinner my family loved.  Unfortunately, they didn't get to eat until way past our regular Sunday night dinner hour.  Why? Because after driving back and forth to two birthday parties, paintball, grocery shopping, dog walking, and multiple loads of laundry, I got a late start to making dinner.  And no matter how streamlined and organized I am in the kitchen, I just couldn't turn up the heat  to speed up the cooking process...unless I wanted my soup to scald or bruschetta to burn.But what if I used the microwave?According to Panasonic, virtually any... More »

According to numerous studies, women prefer chocolate over...kissing and stuff.But I say, why not have both? Why can't there be a chocolaty treat that is fast and easy to prepare, sexy to eat, and doesn't leave you feeling so full that you need to keep the Spanx on.That is why for this Valentine's day, in the small window of time between when my children (reluctantly) fall asleep and my husband and I (involuntarily) fall  asleep, we will be enjoying a little Chocolate Love...and kissing and stuff.Chocolate LoveAdapted from this recipe on the Mr. Christie's Chocolate Wafer Box.Ingredients1 box chocolate wafer cookies1 cup... More »

Whether you're a man, woman, or child, if you were watching the Superbowl last night, you were eating man food.  You know what I mean by that, don't you?  The kind of meal that makes hair grow on your chest.  The kind of meal that needs to be washed down with beer...sans coaster.  The kind of meal that makes you feel more manly just by eating it...and yes, ladies, I am talking to you.So what is man food?In a word: meat. And not much else.Last night in our house, that meant our Superbowl tradition of homemade corned beef sandwiches. I was... More »

 Perfect grill marks with flames lightly licking the meat.  Looks delicious, right?  It's not.  Well...not as delicious as it can be.Lean in close because I am about to tell you what restaurant chefs don't want you to know: the secret to making the perfect steak.This past weekend, Chef Ezra Title of ChezVous Dining came over to my house to teach my husband and his friends how to make the perfect steak.One man was skeptical that he would be able to get it to a perfect medium-rare.One man wanted to know if we would all have to hover around the barbecue... More »

"With great power comes great responsibility" -Spiderman's Uncle BenOk.  So now that you know how to be a great cook, take it to the next level and become a great cook with a purpose: the health of your family, the global community, and our planet.In our stores and markets today, we are overwhelmed with food labels that are promising a cleaner and greener diet.  But what do they all mean? Here are the top 10 food labels out there today, deconstructed:1. Organic: the way agricultural is grown and processed. Organic crops must be grown in safe soil. Farmers are not... More »

So last week I gave you a few tips on what to do in the kitchen to be a better cook, but what about what to have in the kitchen to be a better cook?  Having a well-stocked kitchen means that you can prepare great meals and snacks at a moments notice.  I'm not going to bore you with the regular pantry items, like eggs, flour, and sugar, but rather give you some suggestions for items you may have overlooked that I always have on hand.Pantry:1. Corn Flakes: Not just for breakfast, they make for superior marshmallow treats and when... More »

Urban moms: Admit it, you've made some New Years' resolutions. And I bet at least one of them has something to do with food.  In my case, it's actually cooking from the mountain of cookbooks and recipes I've collected over the year, making over my pantry, and to become a cleaner and greener cook. What about you? Over the next few weeks, I am going to take you along this road of  change by sharing my knowledge and and experience...no matter how embarrassing! If all goes well, by this time next year, Martha Stewart will be asking us for tips.... More »

A few nights ago, Billy, my son/personal chef, made us the juiciest, most delicious, and most unhealthy bacon cheeseburgers.  The flavour of these burgers was so rich and powerful that there was no way that a vegetable could compete on the dinner plate.  Even the potato wedges (normally a fan-favourite) I made to with them, went untouched.I needed to find a way to get in their daily dose of veggies and the clock was ticking.  It was then that I had my light bulb moment: Dessert!  You see, earlier in the week, my close friend, Sara, had brought me a... More »

Recently a friend asked me if there was anything else to eat on Hanukkah besides latkes and doughnuts.  I seemed to recall something about cheese, but I had no idea why.  I did a little research and this is what I came up with:Around the same time that the "big" Hanukkah miracle was taking place, there was another lesser-known miraculous event under way.  It seems that an Assyrian General and his crew had taken over a small Israeli village and were making everyone's lives miserable.  The villagers had no idea what do to (and by this I mean the men)... More »