Kitchen Report

Growing up in New Hampshire far from relatives in the Midwest, we would occasionally join church friends at their home in Woodstock, Vermont, for Thanksgiving.

Safely tucked in my childhood memories is the image of their classic, white colonial house with black shutters and a thin blanket of snow covering the lawn. After crunching up the gravel driveway we entered the house through the back door that led straight into the kitchen. Inside the room was warmed by a wood burning stove and a braided rag-rug on the polished floor. A copper lantern chandelier hung over the oval kitchen table. It was a quintessential New England scene.

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Talk of a Chicago Cubs victory party started way before the Cubs actually made it to the World Series this fall. (This is what happens when you marry a fourth-generation Chicago Cubs fan.) And at this party, it was promised that Italian beef sandwiches would be ordered from Chicago’s iconic Portillo’s restaurant.

I said I’d take care of the chocolate cake.

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A simple banana bread recipe is a quick way to make a new kitchen smell like home.

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I’m in the process of having my kitchen renovated, which means I’ve been limited to my electric tea kettle and my microwave to make something hot to eat or drink when at home.

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Chicken soup from ‘Soup for Syria’ by Barbara Abdeni Massaad/Photo courtesy of Interlink Publishing

“Soup for Syria: Recipes to Celebrate our Shared Humanity,” by Barbara Abdeni Massaad, is a cookbook with a humanitarian purpose: 100 percent of the profits goes to support Syrian refugees. Visit soupforsyria.com to see how you, too, can make a difference.

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