The Crabby Cook - by Jessica Harper

My dog Oliver is turning five this month. That puts him at 35 dog years.

A few years ago, I still felt that Oliver’s acts of domestic destruction were charming. He was a fourteen-dog-year-old boy, after all. Bad behavior comes in that package. At least he wasn’t out riding motorcycles, his pockets full of weed. But now that he’s older, I’m ready to move on. Read More

I’m in desperate need of new grilling tips and recipes, in the hopes of inspiring my lazy ass husband to do more cooking this summer. As many of you know, grilling is the one culinary act Tom is willing to perform. If I can offer him a few new, simple  ideas, maybe he’ll be willing to try his hand at something other than burgers and dogs.

So please send me your thoughts–what and how do you like to grill? The person who sends the best, Tom-friendly tip or recipe wins a signed copy of The Crabby Cook Cookbook, as well as a Crabby Cook apron and a stunning happy face spatula!

Click here for details….

Don’t you hate it when you hard boil an egg, and then you peel it and half the egg comes off with the shell and the yolk is green around the edges and it’s a big fat mess and you get even crabbier than you already were before you undertook this annoying task? This video shows you how to hard boil a perfect egg, so you can avoid egg-related irritation…

If, by any chance, you are wondering where you can purchase the smiley face spatula you saw in the scrambled eggs video, click here. You KNOW you need this utensil, to help ward off crabbiness in the kitchen, and also whack the knuckles of people who try to snatch cookies from the cooling rack, like my chocoholic husband, who will eat a dozen chocolate chips before they even reach room temperature.

MAMA BEANS

This is a great make-ahead side dish for grilling season (or any season, for that matter). It’s also good for those nights when you completely forget to buy food for dinner. The clock strikes five and you realize you have no chicken, no beef, no pig products and no interest in going to the market at rush hour, but you do have a few cans in the pantry. Read More

Both my daughters are home from college. (Well, one has graduated, so she’s not home from college, she’s just home, for a measly two weeks before she goes to New York to start her Life.) One of the pleasures of having my girls here is that it gives me an excuse to make all kinds of desserts, which I never do when my nest is only occupied by Tom and myself. Read More

How to make scrambled eggs that are a little bit more tasty than the usual…
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Anne, my sister-in-law, was having a ladies’ potluck dinner for her sister-in-law. Well, actually it’s her soon-to-be sister-in-law, who is marrying Anne’s brother, who also happens to be my friend Amy’s brother-in-law. I know, don’t even try to figure that out. Read More