Posted in Dessert on November 2, 2009| 2 Comments »
Honeycrisp apples
People in my small world this fall have been talking about Honeycrisp apples. I hadn’t really known they existed until I selected one from a prominent display at Whole Foods to take back to my desk. The Monitor’s art director passing by spotted it and remarked, “Is that a Honeycrisp apple? They are so good!” The following week my cubicle mate held one aloft like a trophy and simply declared, “Honeycrisp!” (more…)
Posted in Baked goods, Dessert, Food musings on July 1, 2009| 6 Comments »
Michael Pollan, the foodie journalist and author of “In Defense of Food,” has coined a new anthem for locavores
Strawberry Rhubarb Pie and Mock Apple Pie
with his pithy phrase “Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants.”
Michael, forgive my foolish ways. I could not resist the temptation to make this recipe and try it out on unsuspecting friends.
Ritz Cracker is celebrating its 75th year and it seems their Mock Apple Pie is making a bit of a comeback this spring.
Mock Apple Pie first appeared in 1934 on the cracker’s package.
It’s hard to imagine WHY anyone would want to substitute crisp apples for buttery
crackers. Were they a stand-in for hard-to-come by apples during the Great Depression? Hard to say, especially since many people turned to selling apples on the streets during those difficult days. Some references suggest that Mock Appl
e Pie was invented by pioneers on the move who didn’t have space or access to fresh apples out on the trail.
Posted in Cookbooks, Dessert, Eating in season on July 30, 2008| Leave a Comment »
If you have traveled the world, there is nothing quite like the aroma of a well-loved dish to bring you right back home. For Mississippi Delta chef Martha Hall Foose, a whiff of slow-simmering gumbo is akin to coming around the bend and catching sight of the bridge that straddles the Yazoo River near her house: Both promise that familiar comforts aren’t far off.
Meals made with ingredients grown right out the back door may hum with flavor, but they also tell the story of recipes passed down the generations and shared among neighbors. To Ms. Foose, author of the new cookbook “Screen Doors and Sweet Tea,” a good, local dish can taste even better if she knows the farmer who has grown the ingredients.
“I’m a big fan of our local farmers’ market,” says Foose. “The green beans you buy from someone you’ve known since elementary school are going to taste better than some ‘unknown’ green beans…. It really does make a difference to have that social and emotional connection to food.”
To read the full article, hear an interview with Martha Hall Foose, and see a recipe for Sunflower Squash and Silent Shade Cobbler, click here.
Kitchen Report 