We knew it was inevitable.  Mom’s passing was an event that we all dreaded but understood given the many years she was blessed to be here.  She had a smile, a wit and a charisma that lit up a room.  The humor groomed over 86 years, a 43-year marriage, eight children, 17 grandchildren and six… Read more »

(Reprinted from Feb. 21, 2013 issue) Bram Stoker wrote that “we learn of great things by little experiences” and you would be hard pressed to find any aspect of life to which that philosophy doesn’t apply. In the kitchen, we often find ourselves overwhelmed by learning how to cook, a concept that is further removed… Read more »

Plans do not always come together; that is the way of it.  Eventually things always seem to get done.  Whether it’s getting the kids off to school or trying to knock out schoolwork, there’s always that one phone call.  That one friendly stop in the supermarket where you end up talking to an old friend… Read more »

One of the pleasures of teaching is watching a kitchen full of qualified students tackle something new and different.  The easiest and most accurate way to determine whether a competency is not in the students’ repertoires is by noting the condition of the kitchen at the end of class. Today happened to be such a… Read more »

Every now and then we see something in class that brings back vivid memories associated with food; memories rushing through our minds as images just seem to come together in our imagination.    Recently, as one of our students, Bob, made a fresh remoulade, I tasted it and was immediately transported to countless late nights… Read more »

The whirling of angle grinders and computer hard drives are matched by the raised voices of teenagers as they make, mend and tweak their robot during the third week of the six-week build.  Pencils and markers are always on hand as solutions to this year’s challenge are drawn, scribbled and tweaked; redrawn or thrown away… Read more »

There is simply nothing in this world that can’t be fixed by listening to the theme of “The Benny Hill Show” sans video.  Having run across it this week for the first time in eons, I giggled – chortled even – as the saxophone blurted out the ridiculous and inspirational melodies known to so many,… Read more »

We were watching television the other day as my wife and I had a little kid-free down time to enjoy some random shows.  Truth be told, we didn’t have the remote, weren’t in any hurry to get up and weren’t really paying attention to the telly since we were talking. I made the comment that… Read more »

Among many New Year’s resolutions floating in space right now is the desire by many to eat healthy.  We all know that we can do better than we did in 2013.  We are well aware of the conventional wisdom that warns of fat content, sugar levels and fried foods. We listen to the TV ads… Read more »

Sometimes all I need is a stroll through our cool little town of Berlin to realize what a quaint and wonderful place it is.  Not having been able to snap into the holiday spirit yet, I decided with the kids to do a 12 Days of Christmas gift giving crusade for my wife, and Berlin… Read more »