Swanky info about pasta

Do you love pasta? Of course you do. Who doesn’t?

But how much do you know about pasta? (Not that you need to know anything about pasta to love it.) Maybe you know some stuff, but I’m guessing you don’t know as much as Chef Swanky. And he’s here to share his swanky knowledge.

Check out his latest FYI video:

Got a question for the great Chef? Drop us a comment below, and we’ll pester Chef Swanky to impart some more wisdom.

Follow Chef Swanky here and on Instagram at chefswankyhw.

Feed Your Soul: take a break

[Enjoy this guest post from Mrs. Swanky]

My four-year-old is upset today that his big sister’s boyfriend wanted to sit down for a few minutes … after he had been playing and running in the house for 45 minutes.

I said, “Hey, sometimes big kids need to take a break.”

Four-year-old said, “But he’s not a big kid, he’s a dolt!” (He wasn’t insulting him. That’s four-year-old speak for “adult.”)

And you know what? He’s right. Big sister’s boyfriend is an adult, and sometimes the grownups need to take a little break. Have a sit. Meditate. 

Even as few as five minutes of meditation can help calm your system and settle nerves.

I like to light incense at the end of the day and “have a sit” after all the kids are in bed and the house is quiet.

It’s relaxing to know we made it through another day.

* Obligatory disclaimer: We are not paid to promote these items. We just happen to like them.


Our guest blogger,
Mrs. Swanky, posts
on ways to Feed Yourself
— in body, mind, and spirit.

It’s the beginning of September and I just want to wish you a Happy New Year

Let’s be honest, September is the actual New Year.

Sure, January has its brand new calendars with 12 blank months that invite you to start afresh. That time of year is a big, wrapped box waiting to be opened (at that point, wrapping paper and boxes are still in our brains), and they’re holding whispers of possibilities inside.

You get to say “buh-bye” to the old and take the hand of the new, all of it accompanied by fireworks and champagne and a quick kiss at midnight.

But September is where rubber meets road, as they say, where resolutions morph into to-do lists.

Vacations are over. School starts. After the ambling pace of summer, September brings structure, routine, and office supplies. Sticky notes, notebooks, new pens, more notebooks, more sticky notes.

It’s a checklist time of year, which means things are getting real. Only X number of days until Halloween, until Thanksgiving, until Christmas. No time to waste. Up and at ’em every morning. Hit the ground running.

Which is why this past weekend I celebrated New Year’s Eve. Yes I did. There I was making resolutions, dining on steak and lobster, popping a bottle of champagne, setting off fireworks at midnight.

Haha, just kidding. I didn’t go that far. Supper was the usual fare, and fireworks did not happen. But there were resolutions, and they immediately jumped onto my daily to-do list.

And yes, there was bubbly. Because of course there was.

Feed Your Body: a rec of books and food

[Enjoy this guest post from Mrs. Swanky]

New Achievement! Bandwagon.

You’ve joined countless others who have delved into the World Dungeon. You are now committed to 10 books of absolute chaos. Lucky you!

Reward: You understand this reference.

(p.s. If not, here’s a clue.)

* Obligatory disclaimer: We are not paid to promote these items. We just happen to like them.


Our guest blogger,
Mrs. Swanky, posts
on ways to Feed Yourself
— in body, mind, and spirit.

26 in 26: September

[Note: I’m doing a 26-word post on the first day of each month of 2026. It’s an exercise in concision and precision, which every writer should attempt now and then.  Also Note: This explanation is separate from the 26-word count.]


January, Schmanuary. September – with its sense of “new” everywhere: pencils and notebooks and a season that promises cooler days and nights – is the REAL New Year.