I love to cook. If my brothers were to remember our childhood, my current cooking skill might come as a shock to them. During my mom's last two pregnancies, I was often asked to cook, as she never felt very well when in the "family way." It seems two of my younger brothers asked Mother, "Can't you teach Rosie how to cook something besides hamburgers and chocolate chip cookies?" At the age of 12, I hadn't yet learned that variety is the spice of life, and that it works well in cooking, too. There were no peas, no carrots, and no salad in my meals - just meat and cookies. At my brothers' request, Mom taught me how to prepare pork chops. I then served pork chops and chocolate chip cookies at every opportunity. I still love pork chops Mom's way - thin, bone-in, floured with garlic and onion powders added, and fried. However, I only eat them occasionally now, instead of at every meal as I wanted to then. ...more

January 21, 2009

Various and sundry tips to kitchen problems based on readers' questions. ...more

January 15, 2009

Remember when the price of oil started to escalate? Most of us poor saps knew that the trucking industry would have to raise its rates to transport food and all other merchandise; makes sense doesn't it? One hand washes the other right? We all knew that the price of all merchandise would skyrocket to compensate for the rise in transportation, right? ...more

December 4, 2008

LAND O' LAKES - As landmarks go, the homely red block barn with its face smashed up against U.S. 41's northbound lanes may not look like much. But in the recent history of Land O' Lakes and Pasco County, the global headquarters of Hungry Harry's Famous Bar-B-Que fits neatly between the Old North Church and (appropriately, as we shall see) Wright's Tavern. ...more

November 19, 2008

You don't need to be a true gourmet to pack kids' lunches that look the part. ...more

November 2, 2008

The ebony-blue, bursty blackberry fruit was just too pretty to pass up at the market the other day, so I picked up two pints: one for breakfast (plain yogurt with a generous drizzle of honey and then topped with the berries) and the other pint to experiment with. I was thinking: Sauce. Brandy. Salmon. ...more

August 20, 2008

An absolute essential for any backyard warrior to have in his or her arsenal is a Cajun-style blackening rub. ...more

August 13, 2008

TAMPA - The frying pan on the stove had hot grease and pork chops in it when Celestino Magill picked it up and unloaded its contents on his girlfriend, police say. Magill then threw a dinner plate at the woman as she ran from the kitchen, police say. ...more

June 18, 2008

Today's pork chops are so lean that I have trouble cooking them. I know they need to be cooked thoroughly to be safe to eat. But then they aren't tender and juicy. Is there a trick for making pork chops both safe and tender? ...more

May 6, 2008

Before the 'adults' took over the streets of Ybor City for their alcohol-fueled, R-rated celebration Saturday night, it was time for the kids and their G-rated Guavaween Family FunFest. ...more

October 28, 2007