Started in 2010, Pitchfork Diaries was my first blog and scrapbook of culinary exploration, culinary archaeology and food musings.  It focused on old-but-new-again techniques and cooking tutorials for a huge variety of homespun and hip food endeavors.

It is December 1981.  Our kitchen table is surrounded by twelve first grade girls, all swathed in various shades of magenta and violet, guests of my eight birthday party.  The clown-slash-balloon artiste has just left and it is time for the meal I have chosen above all others for my big day.  Cheese fondue.

...Drawing on ideas of recipes like a sour cherry sauce, or a deeply flavored Indian chutney, I came up with my own condiment that I would actually want to add to my holiday meal to enhance its flavor, not mask it. 

More than any other food I can think of, there is something both universal and incredibly personal about chicken soup.  It seems each culture, right down to each family, has its own history, relationship to the soup, and a recipe that makes their own perfect pot.

Rose, Hibiscus, and Thai Basil Lemon Granitas: Three Frozen Lemonades