To: [email protected]

From: [email protected]

Dear Dinner by Dad:

Why don’t you have a photo of yourself on your blog? I follow a lot of food blogs and most of them have the blogger’s photo! A lot of us moms out here in the blogosphere want to know if you’re as adorable as you sound. :)

To: [email protected]

From: [email protected]

Thanks for writing! I appreciate your mail. For the sake of my kids’ privacy, I prefer to remain unseen. You’ll notice that although I post plenty of photos of my food I never post family photos. It’s part of the deal I made with my amazing wife, Jacqui, when I started the blog. It was important to her, so automatically that means it’s important to me. I hope you get a sense of who we are from my charcoal drawings. I also hope I am as adorable as I sound, but it’s hard for me to say for sure.

Yours in home cooking,

Dinner by Dad

To: [email protected]

From: [email protected]

DbD:

I’d love to hear your thoughts on our current president. I heard he really likes his ice cream! #Twoscoops

—Kate

Dear Kate:

While I wish I could share my political views with you, I’ve made a deal with my advertisers and my very own soul to keep all that stuff off my blog. It’s not that I wouldn’t love to talk politics, but I do very firmly believe that part of the beauty of food is that it exists so nicely on its own plane (and I don’t mean Air Force One, ha ha ha). I want to keep it that way. Thanks for reading, and happy food prep!

Dinner by Dad

To: [email protected]

From: [email protected]

Dear Dinner by Dad,

I just picked up my CSA share and these goddamn vegetables are coming out of my ears. What do I do??

—Ophelia

Dear Ophelia,

Can we all say what we really think about CSAs? Yes? No? Okay, I’ll say it for us. We feel really freaking good about ourselves when we’re signing up for them and really freaking bad about ourselves when we’re watching a bunch of kale die a slow death in the back of the bottom fridge shelf, behind the hummus.

First of all, throw that shit away. It’s not going to get less wilted as time goes on. Nobody is looking. I promise. Go ahead.

There. Feel better? Me too.

Second, just because your neighbor and three ladies from your book club are going gaga over the CSA pamphlet doesn’t mean you have to too. If you want to sign up? Go right ahead. But if you don’t, don’t sweat it. Cooking shouldn’t be about that. Go to a farm stand when you need something fresh and local. Get what you need from the grocery store if that’s easier. This is a judgment-free zone.

That said, pickling is a perfect way to use up those veggies in a way that makes them last and last. And it can be the perfect way to introduce your little ones to preserving fresh food. In addition, the fermenting process brings some super-healthy bacteria to your food and your gut. Now that you’ve brought up this idea, I’m going to plan some pickling. Please stay tuned, and thank you, Ophelia!