It’s August and utter bliss for all who believe that if love grew from the ground it would be a sun-ripened tomato.
The tomato pots on my own balcony are yielding their own modest offerings. But the number doesn’t matter. I could eat bowl for dessert and melt in their sweetness.
Home Grown
Except for one, however. The one which grew a nose.
Is that a nose?
Posted in Eating in season, Salad | Tagged homegrown tomatoes | 6 Comments »
Seattle
I just survived Seattle’s hottest week on record. The temperatures soared over 90 degrees F. most days and the nights were stifling. Most homes and buses do not have air conditioning.
Nonetheless, it was a welcome break from the dreary summer Boston has served up this year. Seattle’s seemingly infinite waterfronts were all the more inviting and I found myself on several different boat rides. Plus, the heat provided an excuse every day for ice cream and iced mochas. And a paper sack of in-season Rainier cherries were a perfect treat after an hour-and-a-half soak in the chilly waters of Snoqualmie Falls.
On one particularly touristy day, after a trip up the Space Needle and a peek into the Experience Music Project lobby, I convinced my friend Kerste to undertake a little foodie adventure.
Posted in Books about food, Food musings | 9 Comments »
Having just seen Food, Inc. I am tempted to give up food altogether, or maybe grow my own food. And in a way, I try. I have a tiny collection of herbs growing in my balcony pots up here on the third floor, a kind of garden in the sky.
Herbs in the sky
Posted in Food musings, Salad | 9 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 Baked goods, Dessert, Food musings | 6 Comments »
A well-crafted meal creates a space for all kinds of wonderful things to happen – family ties can be strengthened, a sense of community nurtured, and love welcomed in. Hours of hard, careful work in the kitchen may reap the rewards of appreciative smiles, warm feelings, and good conversation.
But what happens – if anything – when no one is there except you? In 2000, the Utne Reader featured a short essay that described this kind of day-to-day existence as being “quirkyalone,” meaning subsisting without a partner but not necessarily as a social recluse.
Quirky or otherwise, feeding ourselves remains a daily problem, an unavoidable necessity with or without a companion with whom to break bread. Cookbook guru Deborah Madison and her artist husband Patrik McFarlin explore this question in What We Eat When We Eat Alone with stories from solitary cooks accompanied by 100 recipes. McFarlin’s doodle-like drawings add whimsy to the peculiar confessions.
To read the full review and hear an interview with the author, click here.
Posted in Books about food | Leave a Comment »
Working in a newsroom and writing about food occasionally means that interesting packages sometimes end up on my desk. For instance, a yellow and blue can of Old Bay seasoning.
Good Friends: Steamed shrimp & Old Bay seasoning
Old Bay is celebrating its 70th year since a German immigrant named Gustav Brunn settled in Baltimore and started seasoning local crabs and shrimp with heavy doses of paprika, pepper, and a dozen other “secret” ingredients. Despite Old Bay’s aggressive ad campaign the spice had never really registered with me until 6 ounces of it arrived in the mail.
Posted in Main dish | 2 Comments »
The forecast in Boston calls for rain for the next 10 days. As a New Englander, it’s hard not to think that once June rolled around we would get our share of mild, sunny days after the dump of snow we got this year.
Apparently Mother Nature feels we still need to shore up some more of that hardy Yankee character by postponing our outdoor fun for just a bit longer. Gray clouds fill the horizon. Sidewalks are slick.
So, when stuck in doors as the rain pounds on the roof turning your attention to a nice steaming pot of soup is always a good idea. Secretly, this means we can enjoy the comfort of hearty bread for another week or two before really having to worry about how that swimsuit will fit this summer.
Sunburst Soup
Posted in Soup | 5 Comments »
I have discovered a secret at my corner co-op market. It appears around the first of June and lasts only a couple of weeks.
It is sweet, pink grapefruit.
pink grapefruit
Posted in Eating in season | 1 Comment »
In general, there are two kinds of plants in my mind: The ones that you look at and the ones that you eat. I get a little uncomfortable when those lines get blurred.
For instance, if you carve a happy face into a pumpkin you shouldn’t eat that pumpkin. The same goes for those purple-brown ears of dried Indian corn that people leave about during Thanksgiving – you don’t eat corn that isn’t yellow.
Even though I grew up with a mom who has an ability to grow anything from the ground and who constantly tosses nasturtium blossoms into salads and has been known to sautée dandelion leaves with bits of bacon I simply didn’t want any of her weird dishes. I definitely drew the line when it came to the uncurling leaves of ferns, called fiddleheads.
Fiddleheads
Posted in Eating in season, Main dish | 4 Comments »
The American Farmland Trust (AFT) is holding an online contest for “America’s Favorite Farmers Markets” at www.farmland.org/vote. The contest is a nation-wide challenge to see which of America’s 4,685 farmers markets can rally the most support from its customers. The winning market will get tote bags to distribute to its customers.
Posted in Eating in season, Food musings | Leave a Comment »
Kitchen Report 
