In these times of worry, confusion and even the sense of confinement it is good to look back with gratitude to the people who have made life marvelous as well. It is especially nice when it is a local hero who our community was so very proud. I was a long time...

KITCHEN CONVERSATIONS WITH NORMAN VAN AKEN© Monique Truong is a highly decorated writer. I first became familiar with her through her book, “The Book of Salt”. I have become a lifelong fan.  Please visit her website at https://monique-truong.com Our Conversation: What is the very first thing you remember eating and enjoying deeply?...

In Uruguay and Argentina, where the cuisine is strongly influenced by Italy, there is a curious tradition of unknown origin. It is believed that if you eat gnocchi on the 29th of each month, you’ll have plenty of cash for the next 30 days. Some people even place wallets on their laps...

We had a restaurant in Los Angeles for awhile. “Norman’s On Sunset”. It was a wild ride for many reasons. One of the things that made it spectacular for a person who loves to cook is their magnificent bounty of produce out there. Oh. Don’t get me wrong. I think in South...

By Journalist Jessica Giles “We wanted to know how some of our state’s most notable and noteworthy citizens have been coping, creating and adapting during this time. Our Sunshine State of Mind series comprises virtual fireside chats with everyone from famous chefs to Grammy Award-winning musicians to iconic authors to extraordinary athletes...

Joyce Carol Oates wrote, “In a time of social distancing writers find themselves, surprisingly, at an advantage.  Ever adaptable, we humans are also the storytelling species:  No matter the technology, no matter the grimness of our condition, we want to be told stories.  In November of 1959 a delicious story began at...

When folks get the food they have ordered at a restaurant .. and it accompanied by a side of french fries I’d lay heavy odds that the very first thing that is touched, tasted, sampled, eaten and enjoyed … will be the fries. It is a lock. I’ve seen it time and...

As many of you know I have lived a good portion of my life in Key West. Though a fishing paradise, my primary interaction with fish is to cook them. I like to think I do it with reverence. When I learned that it was considered ill mannered if not corrupt to...

When I was a boy we lived in a sylvan place in Northern Illinois. A town not far from our was named “Half Day”. It was given that name in that it took half of a day to ride there from Chicago by horseback. Our town was Diamond Lake due to the...

We were in France on vacation some years ago. The people of Cannes were sauntering down the boulevard, many in bright scarves on an Easter Sunday afternoon … holding or walking their tiny dogs. The dogs almost seem like accessories to a wardrobe…like a scarf or a jaunty chapeau. Not like our...

My first knowledge of a book with this stately title was spoken about in reverentially hushed tones by the chefs cooking around me. I had not yet become aware that cookbooks could change my life. I had cooked for 6 or 7 years before that thunderbolt struck my noggin. I was in...

It seems to me that the greatest flavors can only be obtained by the most menial jobs. When we start off cooking in the restaurant life … we ‘grunt cooks’ are given those jobs. In time we move up to other chores that are less monotonous from those on the outside watching....

Scientist and author Alan Lightman was born and grew up in Memphis, Tennessee. His father Richard Lightman was a movie theater owner. His mother Jeanne Garretson was a dance teacher and Braille typist. Early on, Lightman demonstrated an interest in both the sciences and the arts. A few years ago he wrote...