I love finding new California winemakers who are making clean, delicious and extremely interesting wines that are actually affordable. The Living Wines Collective, a band of four young winemakers based in Orinda, California, are doing just that, with several edgy brands under their umbrella (among them, Populis, Elizia and Les Lunes).
This rich, rustic tortilla soup with warm, smokey spice nourishes the body and soul. And it seems just right for these late season warm days that turn into brisk nights, as summer fades into fall. I love all the different textures – chunks of chicken, earthy kale, soft avocado and crunchy homemade tortilla strips. And let’s be honest – my boys love the opportunity to eat tortilla strips for dinner…
Jair Tellez, chef/owner of the progressive Laja Restaurant in Valle de Guadalupe (Mexico’s wine country), is the guy behind Tecate-based Bichi, the only known natural winery in Mexico. A few years ago, he decided to make the kind of wine he wanted to pair with his food, and began resurrecting old vines in Baja to make delicious, authentically-made wine from grapes suited to Mexico’s hot, dry climate – with awesome label art (bonus!).
Those lovely, inexpensive summer rosés that go down like water? Most are industrial products, with conventional farming, high sulfur levels and who knows what else. Not these. Super clean, from smaller, family-owned estates or even smaller mom & pop shops. They’re all practicing (or certified) organic, with a few taking it one step further to biodynamics, […]
For me, and many a parent, I suspect, cupcakes have become ubiquitous. Birthday parties, class treats, play dates – they all call for a cupcake, portable, portioned for tiny hands and crowd-pleasing. So, as the mom of two little boys, I make a lot of cupcakes. And being the healthy hacker that I am, there […]
Originally written in 2008 for a luxury travel blog, this is a partial recap of my honeymoon in Southern Italy that summer. Please forgive the posh tone – it was geared towards a pre-economic crash jet setting audience. I’m posting it now, with a few updates, because, after emailing it around for years to countless friends and friends of friends traveling to Rome or the Amalfi Coast, I realize that honest travel insight filtered through a food, wine and style-focused lens is valued by some. And hopefully inspiring for others.
So here’s the thing. I love wine, and it makes me happy opening up people’s eyes to great bottles, something I’ve been doing professionally for the past 10 years. But something changed for me in the last few years: I learned about natural wine, essentially just fermented grape juice, and was shocked that all wine wasn’t made that way. So I started researching, learning how different producers were working, and discovering a whole range of delicious natural wines that I wanted to drink.
Once a year on his birthday, my husband, born without a sweet tooth, wants dessert. But not just any dessert. He’s not a fan of chocolate (what??), so that rules out most anything I’d pick. He likes lemon, so we generally do some sort of not-sweet lemon cake. But what he really loves is butterscotch pudding.
This recipe for chocolatey-banana muffins is adapted from a great pregnancy nutrition book called Feed the Belly. I made them dozens of times during my two pregnancies, tinkering with the recipe as I went. They’re a great snack for mamas-to-be, as they’re high in fiber, protein and omega-3s, and they got me through many a serious […]
I have an on-and-off again relationship with coffee. I love the smell of it, and the idea of it, and how well it serves as a vehicle for my favorite accoutrement, like nut milks, cinnamon, and chocolate. But I’d almost given up on coffee – the acid is rough on my gut – until I discovered cold brew, which is less acidic […]
I’m a mom of two young boys, a sommelier, a former restaurateur, and a passionate home cook. I believe in eating well and celebrating life every day, not just on weekends or holidays or vacation. With delicious, healthy food, good wine and family and friends gathered around the table. This is my happy place.
My goal is to inspire to get you into the kitchen, and to take the mystery out of serving wine with food. On a Tuesday night. With picky eaters, even toddlers. It’s totally doable. Especially with a glass of wine. Trust me.
