In Love with Lavender

By Katie Barreira

Your immediate associations with lavender may include eye pillows, scented dresser drawers and massage oil. But the fragrant buds are also a standard culinary herb most commonly known for its starring role in the classic French spice blend, herbes de Provence.

It dawned on me during a recent visit to the Lavender by the Bay farm in Long Island, NY, where the violet stalks are in bloom, that lavender buds are a versatile and underutilized ingredient. So I picked up a sack of dried culinary lavender to tinker with at home…my suitcase still smells fabulous, but that’s nothing compared to the warm, sweet scent wafting from the oven.

Now, no matter how inspired you might be to cook with these fragrant florets, don’t run to your dresser drawer and rip open the sachet perfuming your skivvies. There are specific varieties of lavender that are good for cooking, sold as “culinary lavender.”

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Living the Life of Pie

By Sandy Hu

I just took my apple pie out of the oven, juices bubbling and sputtering from between the lattice crust. And now my whole house smells of butter, sugar and apples – a mouthwateringly delicious combination.

I’ve been working most weekends and baking a pie isn’t what I would do normally to relax. But I am inspired to make pie after a hands-on class I took recently with a remarkable teacher, Kate McDermott, who had flown in to San Francisco from Seattle to teach a series of hands-on pie baking classes. I came home that night with a scrumptious, freshly baked rhubarb pie with the most delectable crust.

And while I loved the pie lesson and couldn’t wait to try the techniques I had learned, Kate also taught life lessons – about how we can approach food and cooking, and the value of staying in the moment as we prepare our food.

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How to Cook an Artichoke

By David Hu

When we were kids, my family would occasionally drive down to Monterey, California, for a day trip to get out of the city. On the drive down we’d pass through Castroville, the self-proclaimed “Artichoke Center of the World.” We’d always make a stop at the Giant Artichoke Restaurant for fried artichoke hearts – a tradition I still follow to this day.

I love artichokes – and not just the fried kind. While many people think of artichokes as a special occasion food, I beg to differ. Artichokes are really low maintenance. All you need are a few prepping tips, less than 5 minutes to get them ready for the pot and about 35 minutes to steam. Use cooked artichokes as an appetizer or a side dish.

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Movie Night Caramel Corn

By Marilyn Hunter

Ben’s love of popcorn began when he was a toddler and we lived in San Francisco. We popped popcorn every Thursday night when his best friend Sebastian would come to play. It’s a tradition we continue even though Sebastian now lives in London and we live in Los Angeles.

Our boys’ affection for popcorn continues to grow as they discovered kettle and caramel corn while strolling through our neighborhood farmers’ market on a recent Sunday afternoon. They liked it so much we were inspired to try it at home.

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Some Quick Meal Tips when Company’s Coming

By Lori Powell

Company has come and gone! It’s always such a treat to have guests in your home and every time I do, I learn how to do it at least one step better.

Having company truly is one of the best excuses to get your house in order since it gives you a deadline to get all your ducks in a row…well, at least those that can be seen by the naked eye and are not lurking behind closed doors in the closet.

Just this past Saturday I had eight people over with two of them wee ones with an appetite. The week before, my parents came for a visit so I had a lot of extra mouths to feed.

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