My friend Mark Tafoya and his partner Jennifer Iannolo at the Culinary Media Network are preparing to publish the Gilded Fork Cookbook and they’ve asked for volunteers to test and photographs some of the recipes. One of the recipes I tested was Dilled Crab Salad on Artichoke Bottoms, part of their Summer Picnic menu. The recipe could be served as an appetizer on artichoke bottoms or on a bed of lettuce as a salad. What I loved about this recipe was the combination of fresh flavors–lemon, dill, cucumbers. The lump crab was a little pricey, but well worth the extra dollars. I also liked that the preparation was super simple and fast (about 20 minutes), but the final presentation was very impressive. After tasting the appetizer and salad, my mom and I enjoyed the remaining crab salad on water crackers with a glass of white wine from Argentina. Perfecto!

I never met a cranberry I didn’t like. Cranberry sauce, cranberry relish, cranberry chutney, cranberry granola…and my latest guilty pleasure—Cranberry Cosmopolitans. In my mind, cranberries go with everything. That’s one of the reasons I look forward to this time of year. Fresh cranberries are plentiful, even in Central Texas. I actually like to eat cranberry sauce all year long–with pork, chicken, even barbequed brisket (I know that’s blasphemy here in Texas), but I made a warm cranberry chipotle sauce that was absolutely born to go with barbeque.

One day last year my local supermarket was out of fresh cranberries!!! And this was about a week before Thanksgiving. I was so distraught I went to another store and bought several bags. Of course, I didn’t get to use them all, so I threw the bags in the freezer. And guess what? They freeze beautifully! I pulled out a bag a few days ago to make a relish to go with baked chicken for an impromptu dinner party and I could not tell that it was made from frozen cranberries.

The City of Austin, as have many cities across America, is implementing a ban on plastic bags at the grocery store. They’ve made this announcement near a year in advance so that shoppers can prepare and get used to bringing their own reusable bags to the store.

As a personal chef, I shop 3 to 5 times per week.  When my groceries are sacked in those flimsy plastic bags there are sometimes 15 bags per shopping trip.  Do the math–that’s over 3,000 bags per year!  I’ve heard they take 1,000 to degrade!  I know…you can recycle the plastic bags at drop-off stations at some grocery stores.  Unfortunately, my plastic bags never make it there.   On the up side, whenever possible, I ask for paper bags–more often than not the sackers look at you like you just asked them to dig a ditch!  I think I’ve figured out why.  There’s not much strategy required in plastic bag sacking.  Just be sure to sack the produce separate from  the chicken and the bleach separate from the bread and you’re good.  Sometimes there’s only one or two items in each sack!  What do they care how many bags you have to carry into the house?  Sacking paper requires a little more thought–heavy things on the bottom, flat versus round items, etc.

Anyhow, I love my reusable bags–two from Whole Foods, two from HEB, and an assortment of washable canvas bags.  Trick is to remember to take them into the store with you.   I’ve started unloading the groceries and then sticking the bags right bag into my car–preferably where they’re visible (front seat).  Just doing my part to help the environment.

I was inspired to reorganize my pantry after reading a “Good Housekeeping” article about Jamie Lee Curtis’ organizing tips. Sadly, the online version does not have her kitchen pictures, featuring deep drawers filled with plastic containers, each labeled on the top. Her tips about making product packaging more pleasing to the eye really intrigued me; it seemed so “doable.” Armed with my trusty Brother label maker and some clear plastic organizers, most of which I had on hand already, my daughters and I spent a couple of hours repackaging and labeling my pantry contents.

I turned the large plastic containers on their sides thinking that I could stack them if I needed to. It also helps not to have to look behind stuff to find what I need. I love to use clear plastic and glass containers so that I can see at a glance what I’m low on and need to restock. The 8 and 16 ounce plastic deli containers are the same ones I use for my personal chef clients to package soups and sauces. In the pantry they are handy for things like nuts, pasta and raisins.

The white snack bin on the lower shelf is my daughter’s idea. She likes to have her chips, Ramen noodles and crackers readily available. The wooden bin next to it was recycled from a gift basket and it holds packets of hot chocolate, dip and soup mixes.

Canned goods sit on lazy Susans on another shelf. The rolling cart with baskets (also by Elfa) underneath that shelf is great for storing things like bread, napkins, trash bags, onions, potatoes, etc. And a door rack holds bottles, jars, and more deli cups.

Where, you might ask, are the spices? Well, that’s another post…