We adore celebrating the holidays with family and friends. There’s nothing better than a house filled with laughter and aromas of the foods that bring us together. But, when you add hosting to already challenging to-do lists, it can take your holiday stress to a whole new level. All the shopping, chopping, wrapping and decorating while juggling regular commitments can become overwhelming.

Michael knows just where to find me once he realizes I’m missing. My husband doesn’t need to worry, because I’m only a few booths behind, photographing a table of vegetables. On the way here, he prepares for me to vanish, since it happens on all of our trips to the farmers market.

Gardening in spring always brings a rush of hope. I’m eager to see the tender green seedlings mature, which fills me with promise about the season ahead. I spend those lengthening sunny days managing the new growth with countless hours of pruning, watering, staking and harvesting.

“Hey, how are you? Is this a good time? Really quick, I have a cooking question for you.” It was my son, Aaron, who lives with his wife and kids in Park City, Utah. Many of the conversations I have start with someone asking me a quick cooking question, and my kids are no exception.

On a recent visit to the upscale modern Mexican restaurant in Detroit, I tasted and tasted, trying to determine which chilis created the subtle heat and smokiness? Where was the nuttiness coming from? A nut, seed or both? What makes it so textural and velvety that I want to pour it over everything from eggs to meat?

Visitors stroll the grounds of the historic property at the Franklin Cider Mill in Bloomfield Hills, sipping cider, munching on doughnuts, caramel apples, specialty foods and artisan baked goods.  

Summer is my season for garden experimentation. I test ideas, push boundaries, and observe what thrives and what fails.

I wait all year to stalk the aisles of the farmers market to hunt for ripe, peak-season fruits and vegetables.

For as long as he can remember, Jonathan Peregrino wanted to do something culinary, but he wasn’t always sure what.

Would the epicure on your holiday list adore exploring a new place through food and wine or meeting with chefs, farmers, and artisans to taste local specialties?