Signs that spring is on the way warm every gardener’s heart. Not that I’m much of a gardener; I’m in it mostly for the food. But last weekend spent weeding vegetable beds with my mother-in-law refreshed my culinary creativity and a resolve to make the most of every harvest, including the remnants of last year’s. [...]
If some of the newspaper’s food stories — and this blog — tend to sound like a broken record, my defense is that I have readers’ best interests at heart. I conduct interviews almost daily with Rogue Valley residents on some aspect of health, fitness, cooking or eating. And the same myths persist: Health can [...]
Where peanut-butter cookies are concerned, Tagalongs hold a special place in many a heart. When Girl Scout Cookie season rolls around, I’m always reminded of a former newspaper copy editor who, desperately trying to combat winter blues and homesickness for her native Kentucky, would chant “I want Tagalongs” through her evening shifts. Me, I’m more [...]
It comes as no surprise after news of salmonella and now filthy processing facilities that shoppers are losing their stomachs for peanut butter. So strategies for peanut substitutes seemed appropriate to include in this week’s A la Carte. The Associated Press acknowledged that very few actual peanut butters have been subject to the recall. But [...]
Network television sure knows how to capitalize on a holiday, which is why fans of Travel Channel’s Andrew Zimmern and Anthony Bourdain were watching episodes featuring aphrodisiac edibles and food “porn” this past week. But if Zimmern is behind it, you have to expect some bug consumption. One almost feels sorry for shoppers at Minnesota’s [...]
As the newspaper’s food editor, I try to provide a range of recipes that fill the home cook’s need for quick-and-easy meal solutions, as well as dishes that are a little more unusual or refined. Since there’s a lot of mouths to feed out there, the most user-friendly recipes usually are those that accommodate an [...]
The newspaper’s food section in the past couple of years has featured various twists on the take-and-bake meals concept, the latest of which is Susan Powell’s Soup and Supper. While the consensus among newspaper staff and my own circle of friends and family is these sound like great business concepts, everyone seems to share the [...]
In the wake of Allyson Holt’s departure from her namesake gourmet emporium Allyson’s Kitchen, the store’s chief financial officer Lynne Galligan said last week that customers would see no change to hours, inventory and wine-tasting events. What about cooking classes? I wondered. Unless a guest chef was on the schedule, Holt was at the helm of [...]
There’s nothing like a bout of food poisoning to kill a food writer’s inspiration. Since I spent much of Monday recovering from the follies of a Super Bowl party, I was thankful last night’s dinner was prepared and waiting in the fridge. By chance, it was not only a nourishing, tasty dish but one of [...]
