Most folks think the only difference between red, green, yellow and orange bell peppers is the color. This is preposterous. As absurd as writing a blog post on the topic? Perhaps not.I eat bell peppers like apples. Teammates and coworkers look at me strangely when I do, but I'm unashamed of the peculiarities in my eating habits. Given my familiarity with the nightshade … [Read more...]

You know our superstar, know-it-all editor and my partner at Kaplifestyle, Stephanie. You’ve seen her guest posts and recipes. We can add a new data point to her résumé. She can flavor soup. Yesterday, she introduced me to galangal. Galangal (pronounced guh-lang-guh) is often found in Thai, Indonesian, and Malaysian cooking. It's a rhizome - an underground creeping stem of a … [Read more...]

If you have a peach tree in your yard like I do, you can pick the fruit before they're fully ripe and allow them to continue to mature to peak sweetness inside.Some will tell you that you have to pick the initial offerings of the tree. There seems to be a debate about whether to remove the first fruits of a peach tree (or any fruit tree). Some say removing the first fruits … [Read more...]

Don't go into the restaurant business if you're not ready to compete with the baddest on earth. If you're aiming to build the perfect food/coffee/bar business, look no further than Lux in Phoenix, AZ. It’s the Sugar Ray Robinson of dining options. Pound for pound, it's the best Phoenix has to offer.If you've been following this blog, you know I rarely write traditional … [Read more...]