As I enthusiastically welcomed the New Year, with visions of delectable potato soup prancing in my head, and excitement brimming over for my new holiday gift of "The Easy Potato Soup Cookbook," I was not prepared for the culinary mayhem about to rain down in my kitchen. It was December 31st, and I was embarking on my annual tradition of "cooking something new," which I always like to do on those New Year's Eves in which I am "sans plans." How cozy. How fun, right? Well, u

Starting my personal blog "Color Me..." was a true dream come true. It was December 2015. And while I had an "idea" of what I wanted this blog to be, and a "quasi-plan" of how I wanted to go about achieving this seemingly mammoth endeavor, the real motivation didn't come until I watched that iconic, dreamy, oldie romance film called "An Affair to Remember" (1957). Yes, I kid you not. Call it the pink fizz in my champagne glass that, once imbibed, truly brought my dream to

Somewhere between yesterday and today, between last year and this year, I have grown deeper in my capacity to endure loss.  I suppose it comes with age.  The older we get, the more relationships we’ll forge, and the more loved ones we’ll see pass away.  A big sad sigh.  It’s simple logic. For me, this 2025 year, I have said goodbye to my mom.  She was a bona fide “feisty” force of nature, a funny “crackpot,” a talented “crochet artist,” an avid “Dutch-team” soccer fan, a “sin

Chickpea season is back!  Well, the hot, cook-over-the-stove kind of chickpeas, best enjoyed during those cooler October to April months.  Scroll back to two previous posts.  I sing the praises of another “hot” Milk Street chickpea dish called “Crispy Pasta with Chickpeas, Lemon, and Parsley” (Italian-style). Mmm. That dish is all fun to gobble up during those early spring days, when the sun is quite noticeably keeping us company longer, and the screen door is starting to r