Sometimes I think I was supposed to be Italian. It's a bit silly, really, since I don't have a drop of Italian blood in me nor do I speak the language or, for that matter, have the metabolism to pack away a plate of pasta at every meal.

How does this happen every year? One minute I'm looking at the calendar and it's the beginning of December, and the next minute Christmas is barely a day away. Actually here in Germany it's Christmas already, since the main part of the celebrating is...

Complete the following: if it's December, it must be time for... Did you say Menu for Hope? Of course you did!

Being abroad is hard on Thanksgiving, probably harder than on any other holiday. After all, here in Germany it's just another Thursday full of work and errands and all the usual mid-week hassles. Years ago in Edinburgh I tried to make Thanksgiving...

I think it would be somewhat of an understatement to say I have fondness for books about food, travel and culture. So when Laura Kelley asked if I would like to see a copy of her new cookbook The Silk Road Gourmet -  the first of a self-published three...

I've never understood beet-haters. I can fully sympathize with brussels-sprout-haters, for instance, since I even used to be one myself before realizing that a splash of olive oil and a turn in a hot oven make all the difference in the world. Also...