Flat tires, new cars and facing our fears
If you’re going to get a flat tire out in the middle of nowhere, it might as well be at a vineyard where several hundred people at a cookoff are […]
Category Archives: traditions
Outside the kitchen: Quilting my little heart out, looking ahead to QuiltCon
It’s been two years since I finished my first quilts, which included that snail quilt on the right for Julian. Over the holidays, I finished my most recent project — […]
A chat with Mom about feminism, marriage and Mother’s Little Helper
Oh, the holidays. Those restful, festive weeks of Christmas break seem so close, yet so far away. I’d almost forgotten that my mom and I recorded this video together while […]
On coffee, death and making moments that make a life
“It’s a pleasure to be here with you. It’s a pleasure to be here. It’s a pleasure to be.” That’s how Michael Fratkin starts his stirring TEDx talk about the […]
Nothing says ‘I love you’ like Thanksgiving dinner
I’ve been processing the emotional baggage that I seem to carry around every Thanksgiving, and this food-filled weekend with my family seemed to be a little different than years’ past. […]
Wading through stories to figure out which ones to tell
This woman has a story to tell. Her picture is painted on a whitewashed wall inside Texana Trails and Lodge, a bed and breakfast in La Grange that we’ve come […]
Don’t forget the catfish in the bathtub
Statesman editorial writer Alberta Phillips wrote a beautiful remembrance in today’s paper about her grandmother, Esther Harrison, who was part of the Great Migration, the exodus of more than 6 […]
A tribute to Jane “Cool” McCool
Jane McCool, a pioneering P.E. teacher in Aurora, Mo., who created the still-in-existence Sweetie Babes dance troupe, passed away this week. She introduced hundreds of young girls to physicality and sport in an era when this was almost unheard of, and she was the “girl coach” opposite my grandfather, who coached basketball and football. That’s how my grandmother and Jane became friends, a relationship that lasted to the the very end.
But Jane wasn’t just a lifelong athlete. She was a foodie, too. She taught me how to make fettucine alfredo, which was perhaps the gateway dish into the crazy food life I lead now.
RIP, Cool McCool.
Celebrating Mother’s Day by digging up family history
You don’t have to be lonely old Eleanor Rigby to be buried along with your name. After Mary Jane Murrell raised her eight children, she took in two of her […]
Speaking out against Time’s “Are You Mom Enough?” cover, but in defense of breastfeeding
Because this is not a parenting blog, I’ve avoided the recent firestorm over attachment parenting. The New York Times hosted one of its (poorly executed and overly polemic) “Room For […]
July Book Club: “A Mess of Greens” by Elizabeth Engelhardt
I feel like a bigger “Hunger Games” fan girl than ever after tonight’s Feminist Kitchen book club + film series at Thai Fresh. Katniss/Jennifer Lawrence-as-breadwinner, the meaning of hunger, our […]
April book club: “The Wilder Life,” by Wendy McClure
Instead of hosting a book club meeting during SXSW — I am thinking about hosting a Feminist Kitchen tweet-up, though. Interested? @me or leave a comment– we’ll meet at 7 […]
A reminder to live life’s moments
In place of blogging these past few weeks, I’ve been caught up in a whirlwind of work (we’re getting ready to launch a magazine and South by Southwest starts next […]
As more men do the grocery shopping, how are stores responding?
News flash! Men are doing more of the grocery shopping than ever before. The story from the LA Times’ Emily Bryson York that ran in the business section of today’s […]
Non-cooks are welcome here, too
Image from Picky Grouchy Non-Cook. I found myself having lunch this week with my boss. Not just my immediate boss or her boss, but the boss’s boss’s boss. Turns out, […]
Compare and Contrast: Bearded pie bakers and women who don’t cook
Tidbits of gender and food in American pop culture to ponder this gray November Saturday, just days before Thanksgiving: • Three burly men with beards — Bud Royer of Royer’s […]
Trick or treat: Sexy chefs and White House meanies
Two food thoughts on this Halloween night. First, since we’ve gone ahead and made Halloween the official holiday of dressing like a slut, why no sexy chef outfits? You can […]
Twenty five or less: Morning pages and school lunches
Trying something new this afternoon. Remember Julia Cameron’s “morning pages”? Does anyone still do those? (I’m pretty sure my mom does.) The idea is this: To help yourself along the […]
An orange on the table
Having just been to my first Passover seder, I can’t adequately explain the significance of all the edible and nonedible parts of the elaborate, symbolic meal that marks the one […]
Because you only turn 76 once
My grandmother turned 76 this week. She probably wouldn’t admit it because she’s not looking for a pity party, but she’s lived a hard 76 years. Growing up dirt poor […]
