I like tuna. Really. I do. I like it as a big, ol’ tuna steak, sliced raw on my sushi, seared and dipped in wasabi-infused sauce. I do NOT, however, appreciate what most American households are likely to have as their tuna standard: Chunk Light Tuna…at least in most cases. You’ve seen it in cans of various sizes. It makes appearances in casseroles, pasta salads, on sandwiches all across the country for lunch, dinner, potlucks and snacks. There are benefits to chunk light... more

I made my first cheesecake when I was 15. My grandma always made cheesecake for Sunday dinner. She would keep it hidden in the guest bedroom or downstairs on the coffee table, but I knew it was there, thick and baked, topped with cherries (always cherries) and with a perfect graham cracker crust. Waiting until everyone had their fill of noodles and gravy, roast and jello mold. When she passed away, I needed that cheesecake, in part because I was longing to hear her call me Schatzi or Schätzchen... more

My employer was generous enough to give me Friday off in addition to Monday for Memorial Day this year, so I’ve decided to pass the generosity on with a recipe guaranteed to elevate your backyard BBQ to “best ever” status.  Today we’re doing a Twin Cities original – the Juicy Lucy. Now, even many native Minnesotans may be unsure as to what that is.  I have to admit that I was in the dark until I moved to Minneapolis eight years ago from Southern Minnesota.  One of... more

Have you tried to buy salt lately? The aisle has been overrun by grinders, Mediterranean sea salt, Celtic salt, pink Himalayan salt, kosher salt, the familiar iodized and many others. Cooking shows and recipe books specify “kosher salt” and “sea salt,” and there are even restaurants focused around one specific type of salt. How do you know which salt to use when in your everyday cooking? We typically have three varieties of salt in our house for cooking purposes: iodized... more

We eat a lot of avocados.  I like them.  In case you hadn’t noticed. Avocados are a lot like mushrooms. People either hate them or they love them, and then there’s a group that just has never tried them because they were never introduced to them when they were sitting around their dinner table at night in third grade. I urge you to give them a try. They’re good for you. Avocados are wonderful sources of B vitamins, fiber, folate and potassium, which can help lower blood pressure.... more