Small Plates

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 […]

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 post that popped up […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

  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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

People who follow this blog know how much I rely on Nancie McDermott's cookbooks. Having friends over? Serve them summer rolls with shrimp and mint along with meatball soup from "Quick […]