cooking
Gluten Free 101
The following is a lecture I prepared for our annual state innkeeper association meeting next week. I thought the overview was worth sharing. It’s geared toward innkeepers, but may be of use to others as well. Gluten Free 101 What is gluten? Gluten is a protein in wheat, rye, barley and oats (more on this). […]
Spice Up Your New Year
A new year mean’s new resolutions. Often these include eating better and losing weight. One of the easiest and most effective ways to do this is to incorporate more spices into your cooking. Here are my top spice tips to help you spice up your new year: 1) Make sure your spices are fresh. Spices should be […]
My Top Tips For Lightening Up Your Recipes
I know it’s the holiday season and we should absolutely indulge this time of year. But I always feel bad when the New Year comes and I’ve gained that pesky 5 pounds because of all that indulging. So I thought it would be helpful for all of us to talk about my top tips for […]
Food For Thought
Yesterday I had the honor of participating in a career fair for high school kids at a local community college. I was instructed to offer some food for thought to those who may be thinking of pursuing a career in the culinary field. I wanted to make sure I encouraged the kids while simultaneously making sure […]
Allergies and Dietary Restrictions
Allergies and dietary restrictions are becoming the norm these days. It seems that virtually every reservation I get someone in the party has some kind of special dietary request. Other than asking details and knowing exactly what cannot be consumed, I don’t often question the person about their knowledge of the allergy or dietary restriction, […]
Never Trust a Skinny Chef
Never Trust a Skinny Chef. How many times have you heard this one? Well I think it’s nonsense. I can’t tell you how frequently guests jokingly say this to me and I always chuckle but in the back of my mind think the stereotype is extraordinarily ridiculous. Historically speaking, yes, there were a lot of […]
Loving and Loathing Food: The Reality of Eating Disorders
Everyone knows I love food. I love eating it, cooking it and sharing it with people. It’s my art and my zen. It’s my singular mission to bring the joy of eating and cooking to others and to educate them about healthy eating. What everyone doesn’t know is that it wasn’t always this way. In […]
Lucy and Ethel’s European Vacation on a Plate
For those of you who have been following the continuing escapades of our cooking classes at Hy-Vee, you have likely attended one of our Lucy and Ethel themed cooking classes. Last week we did another one titled “Lucy and Ethel’s European Vacation on a Plate.” This was the last of my classes at Hy-Vee and […]
Spring Has Sprung!!!
Happy first day of spring!!! While I cannot say that spring has sprung quite yet with the long winter we have been having, I sure am anticipating some of the first bounty of the spring. Some of my favorite vegetables come with this season. Here are a few of them and a few suggestions on […]
Snowy Days and Wednesdays Always Get Me Down
Snowy days and Wednesdays always get me down. And by get me down, I mean I like to get down. Me, my tunes, cooking up a storm. Why be blue when you can have fun in the kitchen. If this endless winter is getting you down, take a look. I promise it’ll cheer you up. […]
