Horror in the garden: Carnivorous plants take a bite out of pests

With their sweet fragrance and pretty colors, pitcher plants beckon, inviting insects to partake of what must be the most delicious nectar nestled in the depths of the wide open red and green lined mouth. But the slope is slippery and tiny plant tentacles carry the insect down into depths ma…

Mario Batali's pick: Corbo's Bakery Cassata Cake

If Mario liked it, who was I to argue?

Shelf Life: 'Dreaming in French'

It reads like the plot of a novel – three women from different backgrounds spend time in the early 20s in Paris, returning to the U.S. transformed. One, raised in an upper crust East Coast society family and named “Deb of the Year,” would become the very polished and popular wife of a handso…

Foraging dinner

Nancy Pennell, one of the founders of the Porter County Herb Society, and Dave Hamilla, a former chef who teaches classes in cooking wildcrafted foods, discuss the menu, featuring ingredients the group members picked the day before.

Greens

Foraged greens are pictured.

Grilling salmon

Pauline Engels grills salmon for the herb society dinner.

Mushroom Soup

Eight varieties of mushrooms are used in this soup.

Foraging dinner

Members of the Porter County Herb Society display a salad they made for a recent dinner.

Local herb society crafts varied recipes from wild ingredients

What to many of us would look like a collection of weeds - after all, I have spent hours pulling chickweed from my gardens before learning that it is edible and tasty - are the foods that once made up the ingredients of ancestors' meals.

Vote with Your Fork: Herbal Apothecary

According to Lisa Starner, infusing honey is a very simple process involving little more than adding freshly gathered herbs and flowers to a jar, covering them with honey and then storing the sealed jars in a cool dark place.

Tidal Travelers: St. Joseph's history of storied resorts and their resurgence

The Grand Hotel, Mackinac Island's majestic and iconic resort sitting high on a bluff overlooking the Straits of Mackinac, may be one of the best known of the state's many resorts.

Mommy bloggers dish the dirt on parenthood

When I was pregnant with my first child, I had images of whipping up organic baby food in my food processor and saw myself dressed in Ralph Lauren pastels placing my child in a car seat in my Volvo station wagon. Sure, I didn’t have a Volvo or any expectations of getting one but I did have t…

'Moms Who Drink and Swear: True Tales of Loving My Kids While Losing My Mind'

“I am an over-educated, opinionated, tenderhearted mother of two who has a potty mouth and a bleeding heart,” writes Nicole Knepper as an introduction to her blog, chicagonow.com/moms-who-drink-and-swear.

'In the Body of the World'

Diagnosed with Stage 3 uterine cancer and already emotionally vulnerable from having worked with Congolese women who had beenbrutally raped, the barriers that Eve Ensler had erected to ward off.her own memories of childhood trauma, came flooding back.

Back to pioneer basics

Built in 1816, the three-story gristmill at Spring Mill Pioneer Village in Spring Mill State Park in Mitchell, Indiana continues to grind, the river flowing down the mill race making the wheel turn corn into meal for making breads. In this delightful collection of historic restored buildings…

'First Son: The Biography of Richard M. Daley'

Beaten by Harold Washington in the Democratic mayoral primary in 1983, Richard M. Daly threw his hat into the ring one more time after Washington's death in 1987.

Blue cheese beignets and almond brittle

Dinner was at Orchids at Palm Court, the exquisite French Art Deco restaurant in the historic Hilton Cincinnati Netherland Plaza — a swank room filled with gilt, six foot palms rising from oversized urns, elaborate murals, ornate lighting fixtures, super high ceilings and even a waterfall. I…

Miller Beach Marketplace takes a step up

"In the next five years, I think Gary is going to be the coolest place in the world," Carmella Saraceno tells me as we sit at one of the cafe tables under a brightly colored beach umbrellas suspended from the ceiling of her recently opened Miller Beach Market Place.

Gourmet food for champions

Does what you eat and where you eat it matter I ask Roger Chapman as we eat lunch at the Grand Mere Inn in Stevensville last week.

International Antiques Fair brings rare finds to Chicago

This Thursday evening marks the beginning of the 16th Annual Merchandise Mart International Antiques Fair.

Shelf Life: 'Snapper'

For the last decade Brian Kimberling has lived in Bath, England and before that years spent years in Mexico, Turkey and the Czech Republic teaching and developing websites. But he never forgot his Indiana roots and even now yearns for Indiana. In "Snapper" (Pantheon Books 2013; $24.95), his …

Celebrity cooking from days gone by

I can’t decide whether this is totally in bad taste or rather fun in a macabre sort of way. But someone sent me The Dead Celebrity Cookbook: A Resurrection of Recipes from More Than 145 Stars of Stage and Screen and its follow-up The Dead Celebrity Cookbook Presents Christmas in Tinseltown: …

Scarred for life? Treatments to improve scarring and skin blemishes

Scars, can be an unsettling and unsightly reminder of previous traumas—accidents, prior surgeries or severe acne. Even when they can’t be completely be removed, they can be revised into a new, more aesthetically pleasing and less noticeable scar.

Revitalizing lips after a cold winter

Brutal winters take a toll not only on our souls yearning for sun and warmth but also on our skin. But while remedies for restoring faces abound, filling cosmetic and drugstore shelves, lip care often seem relegated to a small selection of lip balms. But poor lips, lacking sweat and oil glan…

Shelf Life: The Third Coast

Thomas Dyja grew up on the Northwest side of Chicago in a Polish, German, Irish working-class neighborhood at a time when almost two-thirds of the city was Catholic.

National Maple Syrup Festival and some festive recipes

A few posts ago, I mentioned that I would be traveling, as I have done for the last four years now, to Medora, a hamlet in Southern Indiana to be a judge at the National Maple Syrup Festival, held at Burton’s Maplewood Farms each year on the first two weekends of March. This year was even mo…

Curacao: Colonial charm in crystal blue

The charms of Dutch Colonial Willemstad, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, with its rainbow palette of gabled buildings accented with louvered shutters and white gingerbread trim, never lose their appeal. The winding cobblestone streets and alleyways of this 17th century city, located on Santa A…

The story of Story

When I was a student at Indiana University, my friends and I would follow the winding country roads in the rolling hills of rural Brown County, stopping to poke around in antique stores and order coffee and persimmon pie at the small town cafes. As we traveled along the edges of the Hoosier …

Touring Michigan's artisanal food scene

Food crafted in small batches, small farms growing lush vegetables, fruits and pastured animals feasting on grass and grain, these are all the hallmarks of artisanal foods. And in Michigan, with its bounteous harvests, artisan food crafters and farmers abound.

Bite & Sip: Drier's Meat Market-a family tradition of culinary excellence

Ed Drier was 10 years old when he first started working as a delivery boy, earning 25 cents a week at the Union Meat Market in downtown Three Oaks, Michigan.

House & Grounds: Gull Lake home designed for lakeside living and entertaining

Mary and Kevin Beyer knew they wanted to take full advantage of their waterfront property on scenic Gull Lake in Hickory Corners, Michigan.

New book examines the post-closure fate of steel mill country

Any of us who grew up in the steel mill belt lining the shores of Lake Michigan knows how the downsizing and closing of the once powerful industry which employed hundreds of thousands and generations of families, was overwhelming.

Gardening for a well-stocked bar

When Amy Stewart orders a drink, she doesn’t consider how cooling a gin and tonic will be after a long hot day or about the sweet minty punch of a Cuban-style rum mojito.

Service dogs lend a helping paw

While most pooches snooze on the couch dreaming of what table scraps they'll be able to score that evening, other canines are earning kudos by helping others.

Brothers Emanuel: A Memoir of an American Family

Many memoirs seem to be about overcoming a dysfunctional past but what stands out in "Brothers Emanuel: A Memoir of an American Family" by Ezekiel Emanuel is how much love, structure and encouragement the siblings received.

Shelf Life: 'Evil in All Its Disguises'

In Hilary Davidson’s third mystery "Evil in All Its Disguises" featuring travel writer Lily Moore, it’s not all Champagne and good times.

Hot Cross Buns: An Easter Tradition

Soft, chewy and studded with currents and sometimes pieces of dried fruit, their taste sweet and citrusy, hot cross buns are an Easter tradition stretching back centuries and though the white cross made from drizzled frosting would seem to indicate a connection to Christianity, their history…

Delicate sweets: Macarons are a delicious spring pastry

It was love at first bite - two tiny circles of meringue, their centers nicely chewy, sandwiching a filling of sweetly flavored buttercream - think miniature whoopie pies but much more sublime.

Author talks about how we feed ourselves and others

Winner of the 2012 James Beard award for Best Individual Food Blog, Elissa Altman first started writing her Poor Man’s Feast blog in 2008.

Old fashioned Southern favorites on the Ohio

It was spring several weekends ago when I was down in Madison, Indiana, a river port city on the Ohio River, known for its large historic district. The city dates back to the early 1800s and for some reason escaped the architectural nightmare of the 1960s and 1970s that overtook many other c…

Mies van der Rohe analyzed in new book

Mies van der Rohe, one of the most acclaimed modernist architects of the mid 20th century, left his imprint on Chicago.

Miller Beach home offers minimalist luxury

A member of the Mies van der Rohe Society, George Rogge adhered to the architect’s philosophy when he began designing his Miller Beach home; a modernist three-story house with floor to 12-feet ceiling sheaths of glass providing panoramic views of Lake Michigan.

Anne Willan's latest cookbook traces history of recipes and menus

Here we peruse four centuries of gastronomy including the heavily spiced sauces of medieval times, the massive roasts of King Louis XIV and the elegant 18th century chilled desserts.

Decadent, delicious truffles with gnocchi

I just had a chat with Chef Matthew Millar, who was recently named as a semifinalist for the James Beard Foundation’s 2013 Best Chef: Great Lakes award. Matt is one of 20 semifinalists who made the list. Beard judges (total disclosure here – I am one of the nominating Beard nominating judges…

Festive and hearty corned beef sandwiches

For those who wouldn't miss eating corned beef this St. Patrick's Day, consider celebrating the holiday by tasting and rating a wide range of corned beefs this St. Patrick's Day when David's Delicatessen and Coffee in New Buffalo hosts their 3rd Annual Corned Beef Off. That's when owners Joe…

Fernwood Symposium: Growing and consuming the best fruits and vegetables

Thomas Jefferson’s revolutionary credentials go far beyond Founding Father and authoring the Declaration of Independence; he also inspired a revolutionary cuisine according to Peter Hatch, who for 35 years was the Director of Gardens and Grounds for Monticello and the Thomas Jefferson Foundation.

'Captive Audience: The Telecom Industry and Monopoly Power in the New Gilded Age

Suffered heart palpitations last time you clicked open your cell phone bill? Wondered why your unlimited data package morphed into a monthly limit that seemingly reaches the top just a week or so into your billing cycle? And why can your son’s college roommate get good reception on home visi…

House and Grounds: Miller Beach home offers minimalist luxury

A member of the Mies van der Rohe Society, George Rogge adhered to the architect’s philosophy when he began designing his Miller Beach home — a modernist three-story linear house with floor to 12-feet ceiling to floor sheaths of glass providing panoramic views of Lake Michigan and the surrou…

Storm Kings: The Untold Story of America's First Tornado Chasers

Lee Sandlin grew up in the Chicago suburbs, but he had a fascination with his father's stories about the tornados that roared across the flat plains of rural Oklahoma.