I love the bitterness in raw baby artichokes, radicchio, unsweetened chocolate, dark espresso and other bitter drinks. And spices like allspice and cubeb pepper to name a few. I’ve already ordered Jennifer McLagan’s new book Bitter: A Taste of the World’s Most Dangerous Flavor, With Recipes published by Ten Speed Press. She’s explored neglected foods before in Bones: Recipes, History and Lore. Maybe she’ll have uses for the last wiry arugula in my garden. Of
Wednesday, August 06
Wild Mushroom Risotto
We’re fortunate to find many edible varieties of wild mushrooms where we live, and we use them to make Wild Mushroom Risotto. The dish is something we make to celebrate the rich variety of mushrooms in the Northeast. And every time I make it I say merci to our dear friend Gerry Miller, mycologist, artist and shaman who taught me everything I know about foraging. With his harvests every year, we were able to offer
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Saturday, July 05
Antica Pizzeria da Michele
The hubcap on my plate is a Pizza Margherita served at Antica Pizzeria da Michele in Naples, Italy. You find the pizzeria on the eastern fringe of the old city, which dates back to Greco-Roman occupation. After waiting with a crowd for a table bunched outside, you have few choices. The pizza comes with sauce or with cheese and sauce, each variety around 4.5 euros each. You place your order. And when it comes, you
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Wednesday, June 18
Salade Lyonnaise
Want to start eating local? Foraging in your own back yard? Unless ChemLawn makes weekly visits, front lawn dandelions are delicious. Early spring through the fall, Salade Lyonnaise, a dandelion salad is a perfect meal. A few years back I toured the old city of Lyon, France with Lucy Vanel, a talented writer, photographer, baker and cook leading a flavorful life in Lyon, France. That city holds a special attraction for me. It was one
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Wednesday, May 14
Better from Scratch: Almond Milk
If you drink neither bottled fruit juice nor canned soup, why would you purchase almond milk in a carton? It is just too delicious and easy to make at home. I call this Better from Scratch: Almond Milk. Drink it alone on a hot day, in your coffee, on cereal, soups and in smoothies. Bake with it, cook with it. Enjoy it. The market for “alternative dairy beverages” is more than 23 billion dollars as
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Monday, April 07
Cookbook Cleanup
If your shelves bulge with cookbooks yet there is nothing to eat, Eat Your Books to the rescue. They specialize in cookbook cleanup, helping recipe hoarders and collectors alike take advantage of their collections. Cookbooks occupy a wall in our office and a corner of the living room. Medieval elixirs to food truck kimchee, we’ve got the recipe. On humid days, some of our cookbooks exude the smell of old kitchen grease reminding me of
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"Let no man fancy he knows how to dine Till he has learnt how taste and taste combine."
-Horace, Satires, 2.4They're here!
