When I come across them–in farmer’s markets, roadside stands in Eastern Washington–I must buy the beautiful chiles and peppers that signal autumn.  Especially the hot ones.  My kids think Yancey and I are certifiably NUTS.  They don’t understand why we would knowingly infect almost all our food with painful granules.  I want them to be [...]

Sorry. With a name like In Praise of Leftovers, you are signing up for repeats.
More Summer Ratatouille, this time with eggplant and less tomatoes and peppers than the Ross Lake version.  Yancey took some for lunch, we have a small tub still in the fridge, and the rest topped pizza dough.  I would likely never [...]

Wow.  Five days in the North Cascades, staying in floating cabins at Ross Lake Resort, fishing, swimming, playing games.  Yancey has been going since he was a kid, and every year my wonderful father-in-law Wayne pays for all of us to go up and be together. First Sunday in August, every year.  In October, Wyatt [...]

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 [...]

On Friday night, Yancey was at the station and I opened up the fridge to see what could be thrown together.  My inventory:

Cold rice
Leftover quinoa collard salad from my cooking class
half a ziploc bag of shredded cabbage from my cooking class
2 small zucchinis
1/2 yellow pepper
carrots
a few sugar snap peas leftover from our Farmer’s Market picnic [...]