I live in my kitchen, breathing flour and blinking butter, skating from the pantry, around the island, and back to the stove to stir. More concerned with my dish than the condition of my clothes, I rarely tie on an apron.  An extra step, a nuisance I once thought, until I owned a few. My [...]

The last Stratejoy ReFresh of 2009 was one of reflections. Too often we focus on the future and forget to turn around and see how far we have come. The ReFresh girls and I sat around the table and took turns shouting out our favorite book of 2009, favorite vacation, moment of power, etc. Then [...]

Purchase or borrow unwanted tacky holiday sweater, wear it with pride, and gather in room of like-dressed people. Twelve months later, do it all again with a new/old (new for you), recycled, or swapped-with-a-friend sweater. Repeat for five years and here you are, at the 5th Annual Tacky Christmas Sweater Party.

Through the Twitter grapevine but mostly from the mouth of @LolaLocal, I discovered the Cascade Harvest Coalition’s Eat Local Challenge for Thanksgiving. I unofficially took on the challenge, but there was just one small glitch. My grandma-in-law is the sanctioned Thanksgiving chef in the family and I couldn’t step in and dictate her ingredient choices.

When our friends Chris and Renee got engaged this past summer there was no question that Charlie and I would host an engagement celebration for them. After all, they did the same for us when Charlie got down on one knee. Three weeks ago we opened up our doors and a few bottles of champagne.

This post is a salute to my heritage. I am in the midst of taking a food writing class and through explorations of my foodie past, I’ve found such a comfort in the Minnesota Hotdish. I have been working on an article to bring this gem to light. At the same time, I signed up [...]

“Give a man a fish, feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish, feed him for a lifetime.” – Chinese Proverb
At FareStart, food is the tool that empowers lives, nourishes families, and builds communities. It is an organization that empowers homeless and disadvantaged men, women, and families to achieve self-sufficiency through life skills, [...]

As a child, I sat next to my mom when she boiled tomatoes for salsa, placed dill in the jars filled with cucumbers, and dunked the glass containers into the water bath canner. Not exactly sure what my mom was doing, I just figured it had to be done. We had a plethora of leftover [...]

“Supper’s ready!” Grandpa’s voice echoed down the hallway into each room of the house, catching everyone’s ear as it passed by. Caught mid-stroke while combing Barbie’s hair in my Aunt Suzie’s room, I moved with the family herd as we gathered around the dining room table, some of us spilling into the adjacent living room. [...]

Loving Local Food is a food lover’s (that’s me!) adventure with cooking, eating, wining, and dining. It is my continued quest to discover new culinary techniques, sample dishes from local chefs, and share my foodie experiences through photos and text. The food snaps pique people’s interest and often spark a conversation, so I want the [...]