My friend, GraceAnn Walden, asked if I wanted to join her at OysterFest 2010 this past weekend, an annual event held at Waterbar in San Francisco.  She was to serve as a celebrity judge for various competitions at this “celebration of the sust...

I wait all year for that brief, shining portion of late summer that brings me luscious, flavorful heirloom tomatoes for about $2 a pound.  Big, red, Beefsteak types, like the Beefmaster you see in the photo, which weighed in at 19 ounces. Tha...

The Travel Channel has been using the Beatles' song Day Tripper in their ads and I can't help but think it helped motivate us over the weekend. We love to travel and stay overnight but our current budget constrains us a bit. I've been checking out ...

It was time to man up and realize that my tomato plants probably won't produce much of a crop this year. Oh yeah, I've been whining about their demise by cool weather and ruthless deer. No more of that. I gave in to my annual urge for tomatoes ...

San Francisco never experiences warm summers like other parts of the country—or even other parts of the Bay Area. But we still enjoy summer beers. Darker beers, like porters and stouts, might be cozy and warm for long winter nights, but the lazy su...

Burgers don’t need to be too complicated, but over the past few years, the humble hamburger has become a cause celebre. It’s not enough anymore for a burger to be just a meat patty with melted cheese, lettuce and tomato. Celebrity chef Hubert Kel...

Following the outbreak of war in 1917, President Woodrow Wilson urged Americans to observe “Meatless Mondays” and “Wheatless Wednesdays” to help the war effort. He assured families that conserving food at home would help support our troops ...

  Historians say that “Everything in Moderation” was the motto of Rutherford B. Hayes. He reportedly drank “one cup of coffee at breakfast” and “one cup of tea at lunch.” Dinner was often chicken or steak followed by a slice o...

This is a delicious way to enjoy the last few days of summer and very simple to prepare. Ingredients: 1 avocado 1 pink grapefruit 1 5oz pkg of baby arugula Dressing: 1 lemon 1 T white balsamic vinegar 1/2 T olive oil sa...

Panos Bakery is a neighborhood bakery that's definitely worth a visit. On their window they advertise tahini bread. Having lived in Turkey for a couple years, tahini and bread in the same phrase gets me very excited! Though this is not a Turkish...

  Look at this cake. It's all dressed up for you. Isn't it pretty?   Aw, poor cake. At least it has its looks.     This cake looks like luscious, heavenly death-by-chocolate, but it's all beauty and no substance. A few re...

I'm not the type that needs everything in my pantry to be homemade. Sure, do-it-yourself vanilla extract and freshly ground chili powder sounds great and all, but those things are kind of tough to keep fresh. One thing I really li...