“I’ve met a lot of people while traveling. I’ve even encountered myself.”
I’m leaving for Israel on Wednesday morning so this will likely be my last post until I return in mid January. I’ve added a little countdown script to the sidebar so that my husband, family (and you, if you’re interested) can see how much longer I’ll be off gallivanting …

Chanukah began tonight and to celebrate we made a semi-traditional dish: beignets! Now, I know what you’re thinking. “Ari, what on earth is Jewish about beignets? They’re French!” But wait, wait – it all comes together.

Chanukah Beignets
Chanukah – also known as the “Festival of Lights” – is an eight day Jewish holiday that commemorates a battle for freedom fought over …

“I feel the end of finals approaching. Quick, bring me my dessert, coffee and liqueur.”
It is said that ’sanity is madness put to good uses’ and that pretty much sums up my relationship with baking during finals period at school. Sure I have tons of reading to do, papers to write, lesson plans to research and classes to teach. But …

“There’s nothing better than a good friend, except a good friend with chocolate.”
With all this talk about winter comforts (not to mention the 18 degree weather outside) it seems like the perfect time to write about the winner of the recent recipe poll: Classic Drinking Chocolate! This recipe is from “The Essence of Chocolate” and the author, John Scharffenberger, introduces …

“To feel safe and warm on a cold wet night, all you really need is soup.”
Though I’ve been on the East Coast for almost ten years now, every so often I find myself missing the warm southern California weather I grew up with. As a child I spent late December splashing through the ocean, early January running around green fields …