Remembering my father and the dishes we shared — “If there is any immortality to be had among us human beings, it is certainly only in the love that we leave behind. Fathers like mine don’t ever die.” — Leo Buscaglia Flipping through a stack of recipes earlier this year, my dad’s handwriting jumped out at me and I…

The preparation is far worse than the procedure itself — If you‘re the sort of person who likes to start the story from the beginning, check out Part One, here. Baby’s First Colonoscopy: Part One In which I am filled with overwhelming and largely irrational dreadmedium.com Ilie awkwardly on a wheelable hospital bed, somewhere on the Cleveland Clinic’s vast main campus. My hospital gown has inched its way up and I laugh at the irrational concern…

In which I am filled with overwhelming and largely irrational dread — “Getting older is a struggle. I always feel that just under the surface of acceptance and enjoyment of the aging process is a terrible hysteria just waiting to burst out.” — Michael Sheen It happened so fast. A few minutes ago, I was 23, decked out in knee-high platform boots and a short skirt…

Twenty years later, as violent crime increases in my suburban Cleveland neighborhood, I’m reliving the trauma — Heading west across the Kinzie Street Bridge over the Chicago River after work one night, I saw him approaching me on the deserted sidewalk. Head down, bracing against the frosty winter air, his scarf was pulled up over his face, bandana-style. That itself wasn’t cause for alarm. It was early…

Loudon Wainright III’s “The Swimming Song” is my personal time machine — Loudon Wainright III’s “The Swimming Song”, the first track from his 1973 album Attempted Mustache, is the epitome of summer. I’ve always loved it for its lilting simplicity. It’s a perfect time machine song, transporting me back to days when life was far less complicated. …

10 delicious meat-free recipes to help you celebrate — Lately, it seems there is a national or international “day” for just about everything, and foods are no exception. Stuffed Mushroom Day, anyone? Something on a Stick Day? Or, let’s celebrate Clams on the Half Shell Day! How oddly specific. Across the United States, we’re getting ready for Independence Day…

If your neighbor leaves a bag on your doorstep, rejoice! — Hooray! It’s zucchini season in Northeast Ohio where I live. Chances are (if you reside in North America) it’s in season where you live too. If you don’t think this is cause for celebration, read on! I recognize that zucchini’s time of plenty may evoke memories of zucchini bread, a…

I wanted a flipping SANDWICH but I got a lesson in meditation instead — There’s nothing in the refrigerator today. Well, that’s a flat-out lie, as you can imagine, so let me clarify. There’s nothing that I want to eat. The span between grocery cycles is winding down and I’m in that no-man’s-land of the last few days before I shop. While I’m feeling…

When my favorite breweries switched to aluminum, it was time to rethink my anti-can bias — Drinking beer from cans has always created a low-end association in my mind. It takes me back to being a teenager, chugging Busch or Natty Light in the back of someone’s car on a random Tuesday night as we careened through the Southeast Ohio hills on winding country roads. I…