Mary gave me a watermelon today. I put it on the front seat, stopped at the stop sign, and it bounced onto the floor, bruising all to *#!#. That means one thing: watermelon agua fresca.
Mary is the backdrop to my life–so much so that I hardly mention her. One thing I love about our relationship [...]

On my way up to Bellingham with the kids last weekend, we stopped at one of the roadside produce stands.  Is there anything better than Skagit Valley produce in October?  We got apples, pears, apple cider, kale, an incredible baguette from The Breadfarm, carrots, and Wyatt stood in the truck-bed and picked out 10 ears [...]

There are a handful of things I’ve made over and over and over again–easy recipes that never fail me, standbys that most our friends have eaten at our house or found on their doorstep during illness or after a baby’s been born.  Rebecca’s Tortilla Soup is one of them.
There aren’t a lot of soup recipes [...]

Raising a glass of Sangria to leaving town.  With my mom.  To Portland.  Where we can geek out on food, watch TV in bed, fill our hotel room with cooking magazines, and generally be responsibility-free.  This is my belated birthday present. Now that the day is here, I feel really tired.  It occurs to me [...]

We have just-home-from-vacation fridge–meaning, slim pickings.  When we got home, I dumped a bunch of pinto beans in a bowl for soaking.  When all else fails, it’s rice and beans.  I buy the 25 pound bag of pintos at Costco.  It’s something crazy like $14.99.
I had a hard day today.  I was telling my friend [...]