Category Archives: Recipes

Oh, the weather outside is frightful: Arroz con pollo

Posted on February 13, 2021 by warmkn

Weather Report, Birdland   Northwestern Washington gets no respect when it comes to weather—the assumption is that it just rains all the time. In Houston, Atlanta, Tallahassee, and Phoenix, they snicker when they hear that our Cooling Centers open during … Continue reading →

Posted in Family and friends, Recipes | 2 Comments

Six more weeks: Texas-style beef and pork chili

Posted on February 6, 2021 by warmkn

Listen to Badfinger’s Day After Day and Sonny and Cher’s I Got You Babe Who knew? According to Apple News, along with the famous Punxsutawney Phil, two other groundhogs have the power to doom us to six more weeks of winter: New York’s Staten … Continue reading →

Posted in Family and friends, Recipes | 3 Comments

Shopping cart shame: Kung Pao Chicken

Posted on January 16, 2021 by warmkn

In celebration of a perfectly good day or to chase away those ten-grey-days-in-a-row blues, here’s John Phillips Sousa. Thanks, Ginny. (Don’t know how those musicians can avoid the urge to march around!) Last time we were at Costco, I watched … Continue reading →

Posted in Rants and Raves, Recipes | 2 Comments

Polio and the pandemic: Braised Pork Shoulder

Posted on January 2, 2021 by warmkn

One of my favorite ‘50s singers, Patsy Cline. In the early 1950s Midwest, along with lazy days, ice cream trucks, and DDT spraying, summer brought the ominous threat of polio. The specter of “infantile paralysis” showed up every summer, terrifying … Continue reading →

Posted in Family and friends, Recipes | 2 Comments

2020, a look back: Thai noodle soup

Posted on December 26, 2020 by warmkn

Listen to Ella Fitzgerald singing New Year’s Eve by clicking on the post title. In January 2020, we worried about our traveling friends and the brushfires near Sydney, Australia, growing tensions between the U.S. and Iran, Britain’s upcoming Brexit, and … Continue reading →

Posted in Family and friends, Recipes | 4 Comments

Ghosts of Christmas past: Pumpkin chiffon pie

Posted on December 19, 2020 by warmkn

We’re on our second artificial Christmas tree. Our first one came from the Hillcrest Ace Hardware in San Diego and twinkled every Christmas for twenty years. But last year, expecting the usual, I opened the long tree box, found the … Continue reading →

Posted in Family and friends, Recipes | 3 Comments

Cooking in the shadow: Crab cakes with thyme aioli

Posted on November 21, 2020 by warmkn

Listen to John Handy’s Hard Work by clicking on the post title. I was fifty when I finished my final shift working for Tom Douglas at the Dahlia Lounge. I punched out, changed my sweat-soaked socks, let myself out the … Continue reading →

Posted in Chefs, Recipes, Restaurants, Sound Food | Leave a comment

Walk stories: Slow-cooked pork with tomatillos

Posted on November 14, 2020 by warmkn

Listen to John Popper and the Blues Traveler by clicking on the post title. Walk on the wild side, walk like a man, a walk in the park, walking the walk, walk of fame, walk of shame—walking runs through our … Continue reading →

Posted in Family and friends, Recipes | 2 Comments

Soup Stories

Posted on November 7, 2020 by warmkn

 Click on the post title to listen to Tigertown’s Lonely Cities. It’s dark by 4:00, there is no baseball, the virus is still raging, the election is still raging—what to do? Make soup. Soup is the ultimate comfort food: cream … Continue reading →

Posted in Family and friends, Recipes | 4 Comments

Heronswood: Sheetpan chicken with plums

Posted on October 24, 2020 by warmkn

For no good reason, here’s Tusk, with a young Fleetwood Mac and the 1979 USC marching band. Click on the post title to listen to the video. While browsing for wildflower tips, the Sweetie came across Dan Hinkley’s book, Windcliff, and … Continue reading →

Posted in Family and friends, Recipes | 2 Comments