Zucchini has quite the reputation. The plants are prolific as hell, and with the effortless pick-up of a sports car, their offspring zooms from the cute, almost-ready-to-pick stage to the size of a cricket bat (see above) in no time. Garrison Keillor, chronicler of the small, fictional town of Lake Wobegon on A Prairie Home Companion, has […]

Recently, our stove, an increasingly temperamental 35-year-old Imperial range, busted. I mean, really busted. My husband, Sam, and I were philosophical about this turn of events, having seen it coming a mile off. In fact, we’ve talked about a modest renovation of our postage stamp–sized kitchen (it’s 6 by 8 feet, minus appliances and counter) […]

In the kitchen, as in life, a little finesse goes a long way. And when you are simultaneously in front of the stove and behind the eight-ball, nothing proves my point faster than a pan sauce. Unlike voluptuous egg- or butter-based sauces such as hollandaise or beurre blanc, a pan sauce is an extension of […]

My husband drinks coffee, and I prefer green tea. I’m not taking any moral or health-related high road here; I simply lost my craving for coffee* a few years back after a nasty bout with the flu, and it never returned. That said, if I find myself in a place with wonderful coffee (Seattle! Miami! […]

Temperatures are creeping up, but March in the Northeast is still heavy going. And even though there is beautiful asparagus available at my local supermarket, it’s surrounded by bluff, hearty winter squash, rutabagas, and chard, and, consequently, it looks a little embarrassed to be at the same party. I walk past the showy spears without […]

This small, stocky Le Creuset saucepan—complete with a lid that doubles as a skillet—should be in the design collection at the Museum of Modern Art. Not only does it perfectly balance utility and beauty, it fulfills what Paola Antonelli, senior curator, department of architecture and design at MoMA, calls her litmus test: If the object […]

I love my wok. I really love it. I’ve just never actually used it. Until today, it resided, still in its box, in the hall closet. Sam and I would roll in, stuffed, happy, and inspired after a visit to Chinatown. “We really need to season that wok,” one of us would say. “Is it […]