by paige on March 11, 2010
MY FAVORITE CITY IN THE WORLD IS PARIS. I went there for the first time when I was 13, and fell in love. I’ve visited there intermittently over the years, and every single time, I leave more charmed. I haven’t had much chance for travel much of anywhere lately, so my Francophilia has mostly been fulfilled, you guessed it, by blogs. Mostly, you’ll be shocked to learn, food blogs. Would you like to join my armchair voyages? Read on. [click to continue…]
by paige on February 10, 2010
THIS HAS BEEN the winter of flu-filled discontent in my house, and as a result, I’ve had innumerable requests for Jell–O. For a foodie like me, this presents quandaries. [click to continue…]
by paige on February 4, 2010
BRRR. BLECCH. IT’S FEBRUARY. In college, this meant something called “Feb Club,” an organized party every single night of the year’s bleakest, longest-feeling month. In real life, this means a search for escape–virtual, if not real. [click to continue…]
by paige on January 29, 2010

THIS IS IT, dear sisters. It’s now or never. Do or die. What’s so urgent? Read on. [click to continue…]
by paige on January 20, 2010
SNOW DAYS AND CABIN FEVER have set in at my house, along with, I fear, the flu. Instead of feeling trapped, I am determined to embrace my short-term life as a shut-in…and clean out the basement. What, you may be wondering, does this have to do with you? Or that pretty cookbook up above? Read on, dear sisters, read on. [click to continue…]
by paige on January 11, 2010
READING MICHAEL POLLAN’S The Omnivore’s Dilemma, which argues convincingly for eating food grown and produced locally, while simultaneously trying to pare down your family’s food budget, is a frustrating (to say the least) endeavor. Such has been my lot of late. [click to continue…]
by paige on December 30, 2009
T HE DAY AFTER Christmas, I found myself hosting an accidental dinner party. In truth, I was cooked out: two Christmas geese and a nasty head cold had used up all the culinary enthusiasm and energy I had previously possessed. I was so dispirited that I (briefly) entertained the idea of serving take-out pizza to our latest guests. But then I remembered a dinner served by a friend, a simple meal so delicious that everyone had seconds. [click to continue…]
by paige on December 15, 2009
THIS YEAR, CHRISTMAS spirit (I’m so, so sorry to report) is somewhat elusive. I’ve been through the wringer, between family health scares and emotional ups and downs and financial instability (and let’s not forget Joe Lieberman!) and I’m just done, done, done with 2009. While I’m looking forward to snowy winter vacation days home with my kids, with a fire in its ‘place and eggnog at hand, I just can’t muster much ho ho ho. Nonetheless, I did load up my cart with sugar and flour this week, because moody or not, it’s time to bake cookies. There’s just one little problem: [click to continue…]
by paige on December 3, 2009
WAY BACK WHEN, when lovely Margaret Roach first told me of the brainstorm that would eventually become The Sister Project, I was a little uncertain about how I might fit into her plans. After all, as you know by now, I am not a sister. I’m an only child, and I have to admit that my lack of biological qualifications had me a little stumped at the beginning of this adventure. But (as you also all know by now) I am a mama to a sister, I am beyond lucky to have many, many incredible women in my life who I think of as my sister-friends, and I am a born-to-the-sisterhood (thanks, Mom) feminist. The result of all these disparate blessings? I am, despite my own sibling-less state, a big believer that indeed, sisterhood is powerful. [click to continue…]
by paige on November 24, 2009
IT’S THAT TIME of year. Thanksgiving, historically, is my favorite holiday. But this year, for various reasons, I’m entering the turkey countdown exhausted, and somewhat lacking in the spirit of the season. As my friend said, when it’s just your immediate family, the big day sometimes feels more like “dinner” than “Thanksgiving.” To counteract my holiday malaise, I decided to capture the best bits of holidays past: to make it festive by making the group bigger, and to let go of my control-freak tendencies over the menu, location and décor. [click to continue…]