• books,  food,  kitchen

    Julia Child on Obeying Your Whims

    Kickass women, from any period in history, never cease to inspire. Julia Child was one of those women, which is why multi-published author Karen Karbo chose to write about her for the latest book in the Kickass Women series, Julia Child Rules.  Other subjects in Karbo’s series—which are one part biography, one part humor essay, with a dash of motivational speaking tossed in—include Katherine Hepburn, Georgia O’Keefe, and Coco Chanel. Hmmm. Art, fashion, film, and food? Why have we never had lunch, Ms. Karbo? Oh, because you live in Portland. Each chapter of Karbo’s book, Julia Child Rules, lays out a truism that Julia preached and practiced in her life.…

  • cooking,  food,  humor,  imperfection,  kitchen,  parenting,  perfectionism

    Last night I set my dinner on fire

    Yes, it’s true. I debated whether or not to tell you. After all, I publish recipes on this site. But, as someone who battles perfectionism, I think it’s important to share imperfections. So there it is. Some days I interview pastry chefs. Some days I visit award-winning artisanal farms. Some days I spend 8 hours making pesto or canning pickles. And some days, I put a carton of Trader Joe’s Mojito Salmon in the oven and forget about it until there is smoke wafting from the oven. I’m not kidding about the flames. I had to toss the whole damn thing outside in a snow bank to keep the smoke…

  • coffee,  creativity,  desserts,  food,  local,  seasonal,  sweets

    Of Creativity and Cupcakes

    This fall, Edible Madison editor Jamie Lamonde contacted me to ask if I was interested in writing a feature on Bloom Bake Shop and its owner, Annemarie Spitznagle, for the winter issue. Bloom is a small-batch dessert bakery in Middleton, Wis. that uses local, seasonal, and organic ingredients.  Of course I wasted no time in saying, “OH MY GOD, YES!” I mean, who wouldn’t love to sample and write about cupcakes, whoopie pies, and to-die-for French press coffee?   The afternoon I spent at Bloom was about so much more than cupcakes, though. Annemarie and I talked about goals, determination, and finding the place where work and passion intersect. You can read the…

  • art,  edible madison,  farmers market,  farms,  food,  local

    Art in Unexpected Places

    For my first article for Edible Madison magazine in fall 2010 (which was, in fact, my first published piece of food writing), I visited Fountain Prairie Inn and Farms. I had a lovely time meeting and interviewing John and Dorothy Priske about their herd of Highland Cattle, which they raise for grass-fed beef on their sustainable farm.  You can imagine my surprise and delight, then, when I went to drop off a package at the post office in downtown Madison and saw an art installation featuring pictures of the long, curly horns of the Priskes’ cattle, in very Georgia O’Keefe-like style. I love finding art in unexpected places, especially when it…

  • booze,  bourbon,  food,  recipes

    Cooking with Bourbon

    Last summer, I discovered that I like small-batch bourbon. But I also don’t have the tolerance to sit around sipping it, which I suppose is probably a good thing. The solution? To cook with it, of course. This is a super simple flank steak recipe that my husband and I made on a weeknight. It took less than 5 minutes to throw the marinade together, then just a few minutes on the grill after we’d given the marinade some time to soak in.   Flank Steak with Bourbon Marinade (adapted from a recipe from Fountain Prairie Inn and Farm) 1 flank steak (1 ½ pounds) 4-6 cloves crushed garlic 1/2…

  • beer,  blogging,  booze,  food,  local,  microbrews

    Craft Beer Week: Drink it in

    It’s craft beer week here in Madison, which means that there are tastings, dinners, and “meet the brewmaster” events all over town. It’s an embarrassment of riches, really, and I’d need a whole team of bloggers–and a string of babysitters–to be able to do justice to even a fraction of the flavors on tap throughout the week. Despite having neither, I’ve managed to sample a few things, and I’m noticing a theme emerge– I’ve been enjoying some things that I normally wouldn’t order. I tend to be an ale kind of girl, particularly IPAs. So it’s been good to sample some things out of my comfort zone. The best of…

  • food,  recipes

    A hearty one-pot meal

    Despite the fact that Glossing Over It is subtitled “a blog on fiction, fashion, food & wine,” there hasn’t been a whole lot of food blogging going on here lately. It’s probably because, even though I love to cook, I haven’t been doing much of it since a certain little bundle of joy arrived last July. These days, most of my dinners come from the frozen section at Trader Joe’s. Mmm… pot stickers. On the weekends, though, my husband and I usually try to make at least one big meal that we can eat as leftovers during the week. Actually, to say that “we” make the meal is kind of misleading.…

  • art,  food,  handmade,  recipes,  writing

    A spicy recipe for the solstice

    The winter solstice is upon us, but before we can look forward to incremental surges of sunshine, we first need to get through the darkest day of the year. If you need a recipe for comfort food to ease the way, chef Dani Lind has a recipe for sweet potato and black bean chili in the winter issue of Edible Madison magazine that might help. The recipe goes along with an article I wrote on how local potters are organizing grassroots events to fight hunger by donating their artwork.  The sweet potato chili recipe was served at one of such events. Besides being delicious, the recipe is healthy, too. Perhaps I’ll whip up a…

  • beverages,  booze,  bourbon,  food,  recipes,  seasonal

    Hot Toddy Time

    I hate to see summer end, but there are a few things I like about fall: football, tall boots, pumpkin bread, and hot drinks. My husband, son, and I recently visited an apple orchard near Lake Kegonsa just outside of Madison. Since our son is only 3 months old, we eschewed apple picking for simply buying a few bags of fresh McIntoshes and Empires and a half gallon of fresh cider. At our house, cider is the main ingredient in one of our favorite fall beverages. My husband modified his recipe for hot toddies from an episode of Semi-Homemade with Sandra Lee that he caught while flipping through the channels. I wonder…