Author – The Durango Herald

Rachael Ray’s ‘30 Minute Meals’ changed how we cook. Now she’s back to teach a new generation.

“Hi, there, I’m Rachael Ray, and I make 30-minute meals.” The first time we heard those words, it was 2001, and the Food Network had just given a very big platform to someone who,...

DATE: Apr 16, 2019 | CATEGORY: Food

Why food sticks to your pans, and what you can do about it

Raise your hand if you’ve ever burned eggs on the bottom of your frying pan. Now that it’s clear that we’re among friends, take comfort in knowing this fact: It’s not all your fault. ...

DATE: Mar 16, 2019 | CATEGORY: Food

Six ways to make kitchen prep work easier and tidier

When you spend as much time in the kitchen as I do, you pick up a few tricks along the way. Some are designed to simplify recipe prep work. Others help make cleanup easier, which means I can...

DATE: Feb 17, 2019 | CATEGORY: Food

How to take care of your cast-iron cookware and make it last forever

Cast iron. The myth. The legend. The reality. Perhaps no other type of cookware is so surrounded by lore, not to mention a passionate fan base, as cast iron. It also ma...

DATE: Feb 9, 2019 | CATEGORY: Food

Harness the power of garlic in your everyday cooking

There are probably plenty of small but mighty ingredients hanging out in your kitchen. Cinnamon sticks, dried chile peppers, cardamom and herbs are all proof that size is definitely not prop...

DATE: Dec 16, 2018 | CATEGORY: Food

Shipping homemade cookies for holiday gifting

Now that online shopping is an everyday occurrence, receiving a package in the mail has lost a lot of its novelty. Razor blades. Socks. Diapers. Yawn. If your gift recipients are ...

DATE: Dec 10, 2018 | CATEGORY: Food

Add flavor and save money by infusing your own vinegar, booze and more

Laugh if you must, but one of my fondest memories of my honeymoon is visiting an olive oil and vinegar shop and tasting as many flavors as I wanted. This was about a decade ago, before I rea...

DATE: Sep 9, 2018 | CATEGORY: Food

This herbaceous take on a blondie is crispy, gooey and impossible to stop eating

I tend to hoard cookbooks at my desk, waiting to flip through them when I’m on the lookout for something new/interesting/delicious/fast/easy. “Sticky Fingers, Green Thumb” by Hayley McKee ha...

DATE: Sep 1, 2018 | CATEGORY: Food

Buying, cooking and enjoying plantains – bananas’ more versatile cousins

If your local supermarket is anything like mine, there’s a huge display of bananas. And right next to it, there’s a much smaller shelf devoted to plantains. It’s very easy to be in the fruit...

DATE: Aug 26, 2018 | CATEGORY: Food

How to make a good jam without the hassle of canning

It took me an embarrassing number of years to overcome my (unreasonable) paranoia about making jam that would somehow give my friends and family botulism. By the time I mastered ...

DATE: Aug 5, 2018 | CATEGORY: Food

This cozy cobbler can be made to suit almost any fruit - or mood

When I make dessert, I tend to have a plan. I’d rather save the improvising and fridge cleaning for savory preparations. This cobbler, however, might go a long way toward loosenin...

DATE: Jul 30, 2018 | CATEGORY: Food

How to keep your cool when it feels too hot to cook

Congrats, you’ve made it through July! You’ve got this cooking in summer thing down, right? Except there’s still August, arguably the most punishingly hot and steamy month. Even if you can’t...

DATE: Jul 29, 2018 | CATEGORY: Food