Speaking of tofu, I’m sure the number of readers wary of this soy protein could rival those turned off by purchasing a live fair lamb for later consumption. Wednesday’s Associated Press story in A la carte listed several ideas for using various types of tofu. But some, like a scrambled egg substitute, seemed a little blatant for [...]
I admit to feeling a slight qualm about depicting a wooly fair lamb on the cover of today’s A la Carte — complete with plenty of ways to cook it inside the section. That’s because, for many people, looking their food in the eyes can be a trying experience if not life-changing. A longtime lover [...]
Like many of you out there, I celebrated Memorial Day with the season’s first outdoor barbecue. And as there had been such a lapse since our last grill fest, my husband, Will, requested our household’s signature side dish — Wild Rice Salad Olivo. The salad became a special treat at the Lemon home in my [...]
Ready-to-eat produce remains scant at weekly meetings of Rogue Valley Growers and Crafters Market in Medford. Although summer’s sure to bring loads of garden-fresh veggies, many farms, like Bigham and Happy Days, are staking their market presence on plant starts. I did, however, run across artichokes at Fry Family Farm’s stall yesterday. They drew my [...]
Just when it seemed “boutique” food couldn’t get any more preposterous, along came Donald Trump’s $999 collection of steaks. I’m sure I wasn’t the only A la Carte reader rolling her eyes at today’s Associated Press snippet on Trump’s latest business venture. I looked up Trump Steaks online but, considering them akin to sideshow oddities, [...]
When it comes to cooking, I generally don’t go about it by the book. But the few cookbooks I do own — “A Taste of Oregon,” Betty Crocker’s “Big Red Cookbook” and “Joy of Cooking” — are as indispensable as my dictionary, thesaurus and Associated Press Stylebook. Like a journalist’s most vital reference books, my [...]
My friends and family would agree. There’s not much that puts a smile on my face like a trip to the grocery store. Pity the unprepared. Mail Tribune photo editor Bob Pennell was dragged into a full-fledged shopping trip this week when he thought we were only in the market for a singular item of [...]
Spring temperatures giving way to summer’s invariably puts me in the mood for making chili. I guess it’s the last “hurrah” before full-on Rogue Valley heat makes eating chili a less-than-savory prospect. I ran across this interesting combo of chili and cornbread via the newspaper’s wire service. Proficient cooks usually don’t advocate rushing soups of [...]
Forget grass skirts and plastic leis. Coffee is always the best Hawaiian souvenir. A few co-workers, in fact, called me at 7 a.m. “island time” last week to put in their order for Kona coffee. I, too, anticipated bringing home some of the world’s best beans grown a few miles south of Kauai on Hawaii’s [...]
I can already taste the juicy pineapples, papayas and guavas. The Spam, not so much. Hawaiian food is (mostly) one of the best parts about vacationing in the islands. But while I’m off this coming week swimming, sunning and eating some of the freshest fish I’m likely to encounter this year, this blog also will [...]
