In their new book, The Lost Art of Real Cooking, authors Ken Albala and Rosanna Nafziger write that “we’ve been convinced that cooking is drudgery, a task to be avoided” and, conveniently enough, the marketplace has stepped in to offer fast, cheap alternatives to that “drudgery.” But as the authors argue, quick and easy hasn’t really turned out to be all it was cracked up to be. We may think we’re saving money and time with the rise of cake mix, Rachel Ray, and Lunchables, but perhaps we’ve lost more than we’ve gained in our quest for convenience. In between bites of his freshly prepared pickle, salumi and smoked goose, I spoke with Albala, a professor of history at the University of Pacific, about his and Nafziger’s ideas for a “new old-fashioned approach” to food and what we have to gain from rediscovering our kitchens. Read & Discuss
By: 
Could taking responsibility for preparing what you eat for a week be a consciousness-raising activity? The folks at the 
What is affordable housing? Seems obvious but it’s anything but. What’s affordable in one place may be astronomical in another, for example. The difference between rent controlled and rent subsidized might be unclear. And people often have misconceptions about who is eligible for and/or who lives in affordable 
It’s a COLD week for those on the eastern seaboard. But you know the old saying, if life gives you lemons, make lemonade—or in this case, if you’ve got snow, why not make an Igloo? Or snow man? Or snow castle? The good (snowbound) folks at Washington, DC’s 
Little City Gardens
Frank Lloyd Wright, that is. Future shelter builders will go nuts for 
For the first time ever, glatt kosher food will be served to fans at the 
Every day when I pick up my preschooler and ask what she did at school, her description of snack time usually takes center stage in her narrative of the day. But when did snacktime become such a major part of childhood? There’s an interesting piece in the 
