White canopied tents lined Nicollet Avenue, vendors unloaded baskets of fresh produce, and pedestrians gravitated toward the freshly cut flowers. I was a sophomore in college and this was my first experience with a farmers market, a seasonal gathering in downtown Minneapolis. I bought some vibrant stems to adorn my dorm room and I returned [...]

Last weekend my mom, aunt, and three of my cousins drove five hours from Red Lake Falls, MN to Minneapolis to catch a plane to Seattle for the weekend. I fret, as I always do when family comes to town, about where to take them, what to share with them, how I can best show [...]

Decadence is a word that just feels inherently guilty. I have to look over both shoulders to make sure no one is watching before I take a bite of something decadent. But, if I share a piece of decadent chocolate, for instance, I feel automatically relieved of all guilt… partly because I have just reduced [...]

We spent the first two weeks of our married existence tromping through Italy. Very shortly after we fell in love with each other and long before our engagement, Charlie and I had decided an Italian honeymoon would be the epitome of a romantic voyage. Twenty four hours after exchanging vows, we escaped to Milan and [...]

I am in LOVE with soup! And I have fallen even more in love with soup since the acquisition of my heavy-bottomed bright green Calphalon dutch oven. The layering of flavors, the flexibility, the aroma, the presentation, and the taste all make me wander back to this staple fare on a regular basis. I am [...]