Tasting cups ... different brew methods.

Coffee and I? We’re old buddies. I grew up in a coffee-drinking family, who gathered every weekend day for a leisurely cup. In summer, we’d all sit on the sun porch — even before I started drinking coffee myself — and chat, sometimes inviting neighbors in with a friendly call out the window. Sometimes, we still do that.

My first cup of coffee was had at age 10. We were in Florida for Thanksgiving, and my vacation friend (she and I were always there at the same time every year) and I decided to be a little rebellious and have a cup from the free coffee bar. My family didn’t bat an eye, and I’ve been drinking coffee ever since. By the time I hit sophomore year of high school, I had my own gigantic travel mug that accompanied me to school every morning until I lost it in college.

Eventually, I cut back on my consumption. I mean, really, brewing a whole pot just for me? That’s a little too much. These days, I usually have one to two cups a day. Sometimes I have three, if I end up at the coffee shop to get some work done. Turns out, all the coffee drinking is a healthy move. My husband is now up to two to three cups a day himself, something supported by recent research that drinking a couple cups a day can lower the risk of prostate cancer in men. (Ladies, good news for you too: female coffee drinkers also have a lowered risk of developing breast cancer.)

A Starbucks in Seattle

But coffee drinking is more than a health move or a morning ritual: it’s a social thing. Coffee brings people together — neighbors over a morning cup, spouses at the kitchen table, co-workers in the latte line. There’s no secret why the term coffee klatch came into existence. Coffee is naturally friendly. Read the rest of this entry…

When someone does something amazing for you — whether it’s helping you shift the furniture in your house, helping you dig out from a massive snowstorm or something more subtle — it’s important to say thank you. And really, it’s a circumstance where words just aren’t enough. Actions mean more.

Cookies mean more.

I’m a little under the weather today, so I am not baking yet. But when I’m all better, I will be making a big, fabulous batch of cookies for my awesome neighbors. And I think it’ll be these Cranberry Chocolate Chunk Oatmeal Cookies, which are mouthwatering. They were my very favorite creation of Christmas 2010.

Have a wonderful weekend.

Homemade pasta with pesto

If there was just one carb to darken my doorway for the rest of eternity, it would be pasta. My kids request it nightly. I like it. My husband likes it. And there are endless ways to flavor and dress it. As far as versatile ingredients go, pasta is right up there.

Typically, we eat dried pasta. Heck, if you were to open my kitchen cabinets, you would find no less than five boxes of dried pasta. Go down to my basement and there is a whole tote of pasta (I stocked up during a great sale). It’s easy, and we like it.

But lately, homemade pasta has been on my brain. When I recently went to Minneapolis, I ate a delicate, tender housemade pasta that was out of this world. Every bite was creamy, silky bliss. Ever since then, I have been toying with the idea of making pasta again. The last time I made pasta was years ago, and I didn’t feel like the results were better than my favorite dried pasta, so I swore it off. But things change — skill levels, interests, desires … so this weekend, I did it again. Read the rest of this entry…

I love this photo. Aren't they cute?

Every year, the kids and I (and often our friends) head to local farms for pick-you-own fun. This past weekend, that meant apple picking. The apple picking season generally starts in September and goes through early November here in Connecticut, so we are more than half-way through the season (and late by our standards). Fortunately, the day we chose was sunny, but neither too hot nor too cold. Read the rest of this entry…

In MFK Fisher’s book, The Gastronomical Me, she begins her forward with these paragraphs:

People ask me: Why do you write about food, and eating and drinking? Why don’t you write about the struggle for power and security, and about love, the way others do?

They ask it accusingly, as if I were somehow gross, unfaithful to the honor of my craft.

The words struck me, because they are something I have pondered much over the years … and, with slightly different words, I am often asked about as well. After beginning as a newspaper reporter who focused on crime, punishment and politics, my career took a dramatic shift when I traded that for food writing. It seems like a fabulous writing prompt. So, here it goes …

Why I Write about Food and Eating

Crafting an answer to this question is much like the chicken and egg debate: which came first? My interest or my passion? My intent or the strong pull? The need or the want? It’s really hard to say.

But at its most basic level, I write about food because it’s happy, life-affirming and something enjoyed by many (myself included, of course). While food politics can polarize us in unbelievable ways, food itself brings people together — families over Sunday dinner, friends for a birthday celebration, coworkers for lunch. Food is something we need to survive, and also take pleasure in enjoying. Read the rest of this entry…

Do you remember what it’s like to be a child and hear the music of the ice cream truck grow louder and louder as the truck nears and passes your house? I do, because even though I am 30, I still relish in buying a little something from one of the infamous trucks.

When the ice cream truck rolled by today, I tried to resist the urge to run after it. Will really wanted to though. When it stopped nearby, idling as it served customer after customer, I tried to say no … but I wanted ice cream as much as he did. So, next thing you know, Shawn and Will were headed out the door to grab some cones.

Hey, it’s summer. And sometimes saying yes is so much better than saying no.

Have a wonderful 4th of July.

Dear Readers, Cooking with Kids will return next Monday with a great new dessert recipe that we’ve been working on. Also, this week we are back to five days-per-week posting. Hope your summer is off to a great start! – Sarah

Happy birthday to me!

This past weekend, I celebrated my 30th birthday. Wow. It’s unbelievable to write or say those words. I remember when my mom turned 30 and we showered her with “Over the Hill” gear and balloons … she took it with grace. Me? I wouldn’t have. Thank goodness no one did that.

While I have long been a “age is just a number” kind of person, turning 30 is a really big deal for me. I’m not in my 20s anymore (well, duh!). I am one year from my 10th reunion for college (and no closer to that graduate degree that I dream about than I was a year or five years ago). It makes me catch my breath a little.

Many friends, who are a little older and wiser, have offered up little pearls of wisdom, trying to make me see that this birthday — this change in number — is as good as any other. They tell me that 30 was their best year, and that the 30s are easier since you aren’t floundering trying to find your direction. When you are 30, you are more established and not fighting as much to be taken seriously.

But 30 … it’s such a number. I am farther from childhood now. That frightens me.

Still, I am the same person I was a few days ago. All that’s changed is my age. And maybe being 30 is a good thing … Read the rest of this entry…

The hardest thing about freelancing is waiting for the checks to arrive … and this was one of those waiting weeks where it felt like they would never, ever come. Fortunately, thanks to My Spending Diet, I have money set aside in the bank for when the finances get challenging.

Aside from this, this was an okay week for spending.

What Happened: Last week, I started using a mostly cash-only spending plan. This week I continued that. We did our grocery shopping as planned last weekend. I ended up breaking it into two days, with one day being a Target (dum da dum dum!) day. We needed some bigger supplies, so it cost more than other weeks. I’d share exact numbers, but I just can’t remember right now. After groceries, we had about $80 left.

Of course, my grocery shopping was majorly flawed this week. For one thing, I forgot to actually buy everything on the list, which meant I had to make a midweek stop at the store. Even with that stop, I still forgot to buy some things. SIGH.

On a good note though, I made a smart choice this week — passing up take out on a busy night for a trip to the grocery store for what we needed. Honestly, I wanted the homecooked meal more anyway!

Also, I used my Amex card this week once or twice for clothes, since it’s summertime and I have finally lost enough weight that I need clothes to fit. As Cate always tells me, it’s a good problem to have. I also used my debit card to pay for tickets to see Shrek Forever After with Shawn and the kids. It was a really cute movie that we all enjoyed — and totally worth seeing. We went to the matinee, which was $6/ticket … a big savings over the normal $8.50/ticket.

It wasn’t a perfect spending week — but then, what week is?

Another thing that happened? I found a big snafu on a bank statement. A few months back, I opened a savings account for Paige to save for her tuition for school. Under the Uniform Trust to Minor Act (a Connecticut law, though other states have their own versions – either called the Uniform Trust to Minors Act or the Uniform Gift to Minors Act), a parent can save for a child for any expenses whatsoever and usually with no penalties for having low balances, etc. However, Paige’s account was getting hit with service fees for having a low-balance. Knowing that this shouldn’t be, I immediately phoned the bank this morning and after a bit of discussion, got it resolved. It just goes to show that you really need to pay attention to your bank statements … mistakes happen (in this case, the account wasn’t properly labeled as a custodial account), and with a little effort you can get them fixed. Read the rest of this entry…

Another week … This was a hard one.

As a freelancer, I don’t receive paychecks on a predictable schedule. So, sometimes I go for weeks without receiving checks. Other times, like this week, I receive several all at once. And even with the best efforts, it can be daunting to not want to send a little of that money.

What Happened: The week started out ok. The kids and I planned and shopped for the week. I tried the personal allowance thing … um, yea. I need to think harder about what an appropriate personal allowance is since I spend that plus some.

On Saturday, allowance in hand, I bought lunch for the kids and I … and learned an important lesson about value. We went to a popular chain deli, where the bread is fab. I thought it would be a nice treat. The lunch we got was simple: two sandwiches, two apples … and it came to $15. Had we bought somewhere else (like the deli around the corner), we would have had two much larger sandwiches for $10 or less. And the worst part? I really wasn’t wowed by the sandwiches we had. It’s important that when you spend on a budget, like I am trying to, that you factor value into the equation. Next time? We’ll head to the corner deli … or just make lunch at home. Read the rest of this entry…

It’s hard to believe that I have been on this spending diet for nine weeks now. My goodness. I have come a long way from that first week when I ran out of all sorts of important items, and spent like crazy.

In the past nine weeks:

• I cut my spending in half.
• I’ve wasted way less food.
• I’ve planned most of our meals, and usually follow that plan.
• I’ve put a lot of money into my saving account.
• I’ve bought way less unnecessary stuff.

So, what about this past week specifically? It was a mixed bag.

What Happened: I planned all our dinners and shopped for food on Saturday. However, my plan – which was more rudimentary than usual – left too much openness and I didn’t follow it closely. In fact, I changed up most of the meals. Some were minor changes, but others were major. It’s clear that my meal plan needs to be recipe-based, not just idea (“pork tenderloin and potatoes!”) based. Read the rest of this entry…