Steve's Notebook

Creativity and Life

Food

My love of food, drink, and cooking began sometime when I was in college in the late 1990s. As a freshman, I would cook my own dinners at the "wok station" provided at the cafeteria.

Later on, when I moved off campus, I bought a cookbook called the "Better Homes and Gardens New Dieter's Cookbook," and began experimenting with the recipes. I would visit the stores to stock my kitchen and buy ingredients. It started as an attempt to save money by cooking at home, but developed into a passion for cooking.

I was never a bartender, but being a 21+ college student, I also developed a taste for alcoholic beverages. I built up my collection of liquors and bartending gadgets, and began experimenting with building cocktails. I also developed a taste for craft beers and tried new beers whenever I could.

Then while I was in graduate school, I met my future wife. We began going out to eat a lot, and I discovered the foodie world of trying different restaurants and styles of food.

These days, I still cook almost every day for my wife and three kids. There are about 50 unique dishes in "The Rotation," featuring dishes I've perfected for convenience and taste. I take pride in cooking Indian chicken biryani one night, Ghana peanut soup another night, and Peruvian lomo saltado the next night.

The love of food is a lifetime evolution. With this section of my blog, I hope to publicly explore new cuisines, restaurants, technologies, and ideas surrounding the world of food.

Beef and Mushroom Burgers

Food

For those not wanting to eat so much red meat, this burger solves the problem by mixing in about 50% mushroom and breadcrumb fillers. Ingredients small onion, finely chopped 2 cups mushrooms, finely chopped 1 pound lean ground beef 1 cup breadcrumbs 0.5 tsp sage 0.5 tsp oregano 1 tbsp tomato paste 1 tbsp water […]

5 Recipes to Cook Like a Pro for Your Pregnant Wife

Food

The now-defunct BabyWorld.co.uk site was an excellent baby resource based in the UK.  When my wife was pregnant years ago, I tried out several of the pregnancy recipes on the site.  The recipes make great dishes even if you’re not cooking for a pregnant wife. Since the BabyWorld is now gone and the content was […]

Cooking the World: German Schnitzel & Spätzle

Food

  One of the au pairs who took care of my kids was from Germany, and one of the things she missed most was the schnitzel and spätzle back home.  I enjoy learning to cook new things, so I took it as a challenge. Schnitzel is a flattened, breaded and fried meat.  Spätzle is a type […]

Pinot Noir Beef Stew

Food

Here’s a family favorite soup I’ve been making for many years now.  I started making it for myself as a single college student in my apartment, and now I make it for my family of five! #recipe: Pnot Noir Bf Stw: 1# bf, 3 leek, 2 garlc, 1T oil, 2C broth, 1C wine, 1t thym, […]

Supplementing with Whole Foods

Food

Pills aren’t always the best solution for getting nutrition.  When in doubt, get your nutrition through whole foods instead of supplement pills.  Supplement pills are for those times when you need to increase the amount of a particular nutrient, fast.  For example, if you have severe vitamin D deficiency, you should take vitamin D supplements. […]

How I Make Coffee

Food

I’m no coffee connoisseur, but I do love my coffee. I also like to explore a little more than the average coffee lover. These days most of my coffee is brewed on a Keurig Vue V700 machine, with a Solofill refillable Vue cup for my self-ground coffee.  I grind my whole-bean coffees with a Breville […]