The Food & Wine Diva

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Fall Rosé Wine Picks Liquid Assets for Boaters Article by Linda Kissam Photos by Allan Kissam (except as indicated) Rosés are the darlings of warm fall weather and the boating life … and for good reason. They pair well with pretty much any food you might have on board …from hot dogs to shrimp. Throw in an avocado or two and you have pure heaven.               Rosés can be made into various...

Beautiful Wines from New Zealand’s Mt. Beautiful Winery By Linda Milks Exploring wines from different regions of the world opens our taste buds to the nuances of grapes grown in different soils and different climates.   The Wine Review Council, a group of wine lovers reviewed wines grown on the South Island of New Zealand (about an hour and half north of Christchurch.) This is the area where...

Best Ciders for Summer Boating The summer cider sip experience In the heat of summer we're looking for a refreshing adult beverage to bring along on our boating adventures. Certain lighter or bubbly wines and soft drinks are tasting pretty good this time of year, but I am thinking a dose of cool hard cider might just be the alternative ticket. I appreciate the joys of cider. It’s a market that...

Mt Beautiful Summer Wines Each summer as my husband and I take out our 42’ Grand Banks out for an 8-10 week cruise I choose some special wines to bring along to review and do some sea-going food pairing. This year we traveled around the beautiful San Juans and Canadian Broughton area with two other couples each with their own boats. Caption: Heron, Cowabunga and Jubilant rafting As a wine...

Allan & Linda's Family Boat Cruise Log aboard their 42' Grand Banks cruiser "Jubilant" #10weekcruise Along with the other articles I post, I decided this year to add a b/log of our June - August 2018 cruise around the Canadian inner coastal waters. The log will expand as we move around to each port and bays and Internet is available. Photos are especially hard to upload, so be patient. This...

True Food Kitchen Proves Green Food Tastes Good BY: Linda Milks Can healthy food taste good? Our regional International Food, Wine and Travel Writers group was on a conquest to see just how good healthy eating can taste. We were invited to the True Food Kitchen in El Segundo, CA. There are currently 24 locations of True Food Kitchen with 9 new locations being added from the West Coast to the...

The Liquor Store, One Couple’s Delicious Diner Success Story By Linda Milks On a recent trip to Memphis I was inspired by the story of one woman who grabbed her dreams and made them a reality. I wanted to know more, so I met Lisa Toro at The Liquor Store on Broad Street in Memphis’ Broad Avenue Arts District. Lisa didn’t start out her working career thinking she would have her own business...

Siriously Delicious 100 Nutritious (and Not So Nutritious) Simple Recipes for the Real Home Cook Article By: Adrianne Morrison and Linda Kissam Photos provided by Siriously Delicious by Siri Daly, Time Inc. Books Fun, check. Easy, check. Creative, check. Inspiring, check, and lots of food Shots, check –check. This cookbook pretty much covers our must-haves for a cookbook. Top with a cool blog...

An adventure in art on Camano Island, WA Matzke Fine Art Gallery and Sculpture Park Call it an outdoor gallery, a sculpture garden, art in the garden or perhaps an outdoor sanctuary. Any way you look at the outdoor sculpture display at Matzke Fine Art Gallery on Camano Island, WA you’re going to have one heck of a personal experience. Walk the 10-acre site following rolling grass trails...

Groovin’ in Memphis—Insider Hotspots and Traditional Passions By Linda Milks Memphis is a city of both traditional tourist sights and restaurants as well as new hotspots which only a local knows and can share. Music, history, and barbecue are at the heart of this much loved city where I was fortunate enough to be hosted for several days along with a fellow writer. Get ready! I am going to take...

NOT FOR YOU Family Narratives of Denial & Comfort Foods Book One is DEFINITELY for you! Recipe included at the end of the review: A Freedom Fighter’s Tea Review by Linda Kissam and Adrianne Morrison Do you know your family’s history back through multiple generations? Who came before you—where did they live—did they live on easy-street or was life difficult? How did they celebrate? Are there...

Wines You’ll Love For Spring Pair with brunch, an ocean breeze, a dinner, a poolside lounge, boating or barbecuing Photos by Allan Kissam I am a seasonal drinker. This means I don’t have one specific wine I drink year round. I like to drink what goes with the season. As I pen this wine review the cold weather has given way to cool temperatures. Spring is here. Hurray! It’s a delightful time...

If it’s April in Washington State, it’s time to tip toe through the tulips – literally- in Mount Vernon, Washington. Visitors from all over the world make the journey to the annual Skagit Valley Tulip Festival. So did I. Of course, nowhere in the literature does it say tulips love the mud – wear appropriate shoes. As I got out of the car, my sparkling tennis shoes did a nosedive into a pocket...

Modern Pressure Cooking for the Home Chef The new modern pressure cooker is a game-changer for the time-challenged home chef The slow food movement is wonderful. I love watching, smelling, and knowing my dinner is gently simmering in the oven. That being said, time is an issue in my life, how about for you? I’ve been thinking a lot lately about how to save time in the kitchen. A chef friend of...

Kitchen Creativity Unlock your creative potential with the help of the world's most imaginative chefs Review by: Linda Kissam Photographs by Andrew Dornenburg Ever wish you could pick the brains of experienced chefs to see how they do what they do? Kitchen Creativity: Unlocking Genius – with Wisdom, Inspiration, and Ideas from the World’s Most Creative Chefs gives you that opportunity in 427...

ISTANBUL & BEYOND Exploring the Diverse Cuisines of Turkey A cookbook review by: Adrianne Morrison & Linda Kissam At the end of this review, be sure to check out is a marvelous recipe for Spicy Okra & Lamb Sauté Author Robyn Eckhardt Photographs by David Hagerman Anyone with roots that trace to Turkey will appreciate ISTANBUL & BEYOND, Exploring the Diverse Cuisines of Turkey, and those who...