Small Plates
I’ve warmed to stuffed peppers
I’ve started to write about stuffed peppers four times now. Nothing worked out. The peppers just didn’t inspire me, even though they made a fine dinner in a hurry. I can’t blame our current snow and ice on being uninspired. I first made these back in early December. One note of caution: I wish I had made two peppers instead […]
January 16, 2017 9:00 pm
Cioppino linked to Christmas Eve tradition
This column first appeared in Northwest Catholic, the magazine for the Catholic Church in Western Washington. I don’t remember the first time I had cioppino, the hearty Italian-American fish stew that Genoese immigrants created as they made their living as fishermen off the coastal waters of California. I do, however, remember the first time I […]
December 21, 2016 5:48 pm
Pork with spicy green beans on election night
OK, let’s try this again. On Election Day, I was sure that Hillary Rodham Clinton would become 45th president of the United States. With confidence, I blogged about a meme that popped up on my Facebook feed and made plans to deal with the pork chop in the fridge: “I will be so glad when this election […]
November 11, 2016 7:44 pm
Blessings on our beloved pets
This column first appeared in Northwest Catholic magazine, a publication for Catholics in Western Washington. St. Francis of Assisi’s Oct. 4 feast day puts focus on the animals in our lives Years ago on a beautiful October day, I took my aging German shepherd, Barnaby, who was suffering from arthritis and hip dysplasia, to a […]
October 5, 2016 1:27 pm
Back to school, so what’s for lunch?
This column first appeared in the September issue of Northwest Catholic. Boring meals, especially for older students, get poor grades, so try stuffing falafel or caprese salad into pita pockets Hello, students. It’s back to school and time for new adventures — old and new friends in the classroom and a year to explore your interests, […]
August 28, 2016 10:36 am
Thanks indeed to the kind person who found my keys
Janet, Abby, and Lisa Johnson This is a post about kindness, not about food, though I wish I could share a meal with the person who saved my day. Dear kind person who found my keys on the Beacon Rock trail: I am so grateful. I wish I knew your name. Here’s what happened: My […]
August 17, 2016 8:44 am
Lunch with two friends from way back
My Portland State days are far behind me, and I’ve had a milestone birthday that I couldn’t imagine reaching. This week, however, I had a good reminder of days gone by when two friends from our undergraduate days came to lunch. It’s not that I haven’t seen them at all since the late 1960s. We would periodically get together in the […]
August 3, 2016 4:38 pm
Fay retires, and she does it ‘Fay’s Way’
Fay Blackburn, take a big victory lap as we hum Frank Sinatra’s “My Way.” You’ve so earned your retirement. For 43 years, Fay worked at The Columbian. She dropped off and picked up ads. She worked in the advertising and public relations departments and in the newsroom. Her last assignment was to edit letters […]
July 17, 2016 7:57 pm
Salty, fiery and sweet sauce for salmon
I have neglected you, Small Plates pals, for no other reasons than projects, meals that seemed too mundane to share and a houseful of company. But good things happen when out-of-town family show up for an extended visit: You get caught up on news, share some laughs, take some hikes and create strong memories. And we broke bread over not only meals […]
June 30, 2016 4:44 pm
Aroma of onions for soup brings up memories
No. 3 son doesn’t like onions, hasn’t liked them from Day 1. So yesterday, as I was chopping sweet onions for French onion soup, I recalled how I used to make two versions of potato salad, two kinds of scalloped potatoes, meatballs without onions, and spaghetti sauce with lots of garlic and fresh basil. I sharpened my knife […]
March 4, 2016 3:34 pm