The March Towards Spring

Food in Season on BBC.co.uk
The first crocuses have made their appearance and a trickle of early season produce is injecting market stalls with the first hints of spring. Now's the time to know your onions, ...
... gulp down oysters, get stuck into sole food and go wild with passion fruit. As the days get longer and the weather gets milder, the first fruits of the season, such as rhubarb, will be finding their way to market. Also oysters are still at their best. ...
Full Story: March;

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Wales, St. David's Day - Mwynhewch eich bwyd!

Food Events on BBC.co.uk
Culinary diversity can often be closer to home than we think. This weekend, pay foodie homage to the Welsh in celebration of St David's Day. ...
... From cawl to Caerphilly, the principality is bursting with distinctive seasonal produce. The fresh flavours of Welsh national dishes herald the arrival of spring but still warm the cockles. From cheeses and wine, Welsh beef and lamb to fresh fish and seafood, the cuisine of Wales has a lot to offer. ...
Full Story: St. David's Day;

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Baking - Gluten-Free Recipes

Healthy Kitchen on the TimesAndDemocrat.com
Ms Harter, a lady from South Carolina, shares her gluten-free recipes. She started cooking everything from scratch after being diagnosed with celiac disease. ...
... "It's hard, but once you do it, you've got it. At first, I bought a bunch of recipe books, but then, I just kind of started messing with it on my own and figured it out. Once you do it, it's not that hard," Check out recipes for gluten-free flour, cream cheese tart shells and pastry dough. ...
Full Story: A guide to gluten-free baking; By WENDY JEFFCOAT CRIDER



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Nutritional Benefits of Eating Berries

Nutrition on About.com
A healthy food can bring you a number of benefits, from feeling good to helping your body to fight aging. Berries, for example, provide the body with nutrients and much more (not to mention they are delicious). ...
... If you have ever had the pleasure of picking berries right from a garden or gathering wild berries in the woods, you already know how wonderful fresh berries are. Most berries are naturally sweet and require little effort to prepare. ...

Full Story: Nutritional Benefits of Eating Berries; By Shereen Jegtvig

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Meaty Bones Give Soups a Leg Up

Dining & Wine on The New York Times
Adding soup bones to the soup pot actually saves a step because the stock is created alongside the soup. Several recipes are included. ...
... MY pipes froze. I had shoveled 1,350 linear feet of snow in the last five months. I wanted soup. If it’s damp, I haul out the soup pot. Usually I prefer water-based vegetable soups, because I think stock muddies the flavor. Besides, no matter how easy it is to simmer a few bones with an onion and a carrot, I hardly ever do it. To me, making stock is a hassle, and ...
Full Story: The Taste Bone’s Connected to the ... Soup Bone; By JANE SIGAL



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Organic? Free-range? How Do You Know What's Your Beef?

Food News on the OregonLive.com
Consumers looking for more healthful, sustainable meat often are confused by labels and marketing promising that the meat is grass-fed, organic or free-range. Explanations are provided here, along with several recipes. ...
... When I read the press release, something didn't seem right: At a taste test conducted by Oregon State University, Portland elementary and middle school students compared hamburgers made from grass-fed beef and grain-fed beef. And there was no clear winner. ...

Full Story: What's your beef?; by Leslie Cole, The Oregonian

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Plunging Lobster Prices Inspire Indulgent Recipes

Luxury on Sale: The Lobster Glut | nytimes.com

Lobster prices are about a third lower than they were last year at this time, making them a relatively affordable indulgence. An opulent dish such as lobster with herbed egg noodles, sherry and salmon caviar is one way to enjoy the bounty. ...

Lentils and Cabbage Pack a Nutritional Punch

Fitness & Nutrition> Recipes for Health on The New York Times
A hearty dish of stewed lentils with cabbage is satisfying and nutritious. The recipe calls for cooking the cabbage with onion and garlic in a wide-lidded skillet to release its sweetness. ...
... An article last month by Tara Parker-Pope about the challenges of eating fresh food on a tight budget got me thinking about cabbage. It is a very economical vegetable that is easy to find in any supermarket and it gives you a huge nutritional bang for your buck. This humble food has always been a mainstay for the poor and in cold climates people of all classes have relied on it to feed themselves through many a winter. ...
Full Story: Cabbage, an Inexpensive Nutritional Powerhouse; By MARTHA ROSE SHULMAN



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Fried Crickets Taste Better Than They Sound

World> Today's Dessert on Boston.com
During a visit to Beijing, this writer had a dessert of fried crickets that "tasted pretty good." Skewers of edible insects, plus snakes, sea horses, starfish and other things you never thought of ingesting, are sold at the outdoor Donghuamen Night Market. ...
... A cluster of Asian gals gathered a few feet away from me on the sidewalk, staring, squealing and laughing as I munched on what tasted like the extra-crispy sliver-ends of McDonald's french fries. I was actually chomping on a fried cricket (see my photo above).
I'm a bit embarrassed to say it tasted pretty good. ...

Full Story: Today's dessert: Crickets on a stick; by Nicole C. Wong

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How to Skim Stocks & Sauces

Tips & Methods> Cooking on Saveur
Different sauciers have different methods for skimming, but all share the goal of removing as much unwanted foam as possible while retaining the pure meat stock. Four techniques, including the cold-spoon method and the spin method, are discussed. ...
... The French sauces featured in "Mother Sauce" (December 2008, Issue 116) all begin as a meat stock; one of the keys to ensuring that you end up with a refined, velvety sauce is the careful and continuous skimming away of the fat and impurities that rise to the top of the pot as your stock simmers. Different sauciers have different methods for skimming, but all of them have the same goal: ...

Full Story: Skimming 101; by Ben Mims

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Fresh and wild: Chicory

Life & Style> Food & Drink on Times Online
The ancient Greeks ate wild blue succory (chicory) when the leaves were young and not too bitter. Today’s version has larger and much less bitter leaves, but the transformation was a slow process. ...
... The most dramatic breakthrough came in the 1840s, when the head gardener at the Brussels Botanic Garden lifted his chicory (French: endive) plants in the autumn, cut off the leaves, and replanted the roots in a dark cellar where they regrew into a white, tightly clustered, less bitter, head of leaves. He named his variety “witloof” (white leaf), now the most popular forced variety. ...

Full Story: Fresh and wild: Chicory; by Catherine Brown

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Sampling the Signature Flavors of Chennai, India

Travel Feature on TheAge.com.au
A masala dosa with warm potato curry, a glass of lassi, and a tomato and lentil rasam spiced with chili and turmeric are among the flavors found in the southern Indian city of Chennai. The capital of Tamil Nadu is known for its vegetarian, fish, seafood and rice-based dishes. ...
... By the time I tumble out of a crowded train from Kolkata, I'm ready to stretch my legs, breathe some fresh sea air and find authentic southern Indian food. From Chennai's beehive-busy station, one of the focal points in this densely populated city of 8 million, I hail a taxi. ...

Full Story: The signature tastes of Chennai; On teeming streets, Tom Neal Tacker experiences the six elements of Tamil cuisine.

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Balancing the Power of Anchovies

Food & Drink> Recipes on Times Online
Anchovies are more of a seasoning than a sustenance, the salty base that adds depth to sauces and stuffing. It pairs well with garlic, stands up to Parmesan cheese and makes an excellent addition to pasta sauces. ...
... Anchovies are strange creatures, more seasoning than ingredient. They bring an immediate depth of flavour to dishes and sauces (and are primary ingredients of Worcestershire sauce). Their saltiness brings out strong flavours, marrying better with meat and potatoes than fish, with which they can be just a bit too much. ...

Full Story: Short-cuts: how to cook with anchovies; by Joanna Weinberg

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A Humane Way to Cook Lobster

Lifestyle> Food and Drink on the Telegraph.co.uk
Lobster enthusiasts there is a good news: a lawyer has invented a device that will finish the crustaceans kindly and in a way that makes it taste better.
Food lovers no longer have to feel guilty about how their feast died. ...
... Occasionally something happens that provokes a trial inside my head. As a food critic, known often to condemn the cruel practice of industrial pig and chicken farmers, I stand accused of enjoying lobsters and crab that have been boiled alive. I have various arguments for this, mostly on the limp side. For ages, I have believed the myth that having no brain, they feel nothing. ...

Full Story: A humane way to cook lobster; By Rose Prince

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10 Techniques Every Cook Should Know

Food on the San Francisco Chronicle
Trained chefs fold fearlessly, braise boldly, and temper without trepidation. These are the sorts of kitchen techniques that shape the pros' culinary language. ...
... Yet, these same techniques can panic less-practiced cooks, many of whom, with the economy stumbling, are spending more time poring over cookbooks and less time eating out. Here's a crash course for novices and a refresher session for more experienced cooks ...

Full Story: Kitchen Essentials: 10 techniques every cook should know; by Amanda Gold

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A Perfect Valentine's Day Dinner

Food Events on BBC.co.uk
The authentic no-nonsense approach of Jill Dupleix to a sensational and stylish supper will calm our pre-date nerves and shall let us the time to concoct the way for love. Some dishes can be made in advance, leaving us time to clean the house, choose the music, ...
... buy some flowers, set the table, put the champagne on ice… And get in the mood for love. Who needs the "5 Stars Hotels? Surely would be a very nice experience but let's face it - the closest the majority of us will get to that experience is by watching Pretty Woman. ...

Full Story: Valentine's 'date bait'; by Jill Dupleix

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From Russia with Gusto - Taste of Home

on my.telegraph.co.uk
Culinary Notes of an Italian emigrants in the land of Russia. ...
... Although I came to Russia 19 years ago, my kitchen is still a reminder of my family kitchen back in Italy, from the spices to my family’s farm olive oil and dried-peperoncini hanging on the wall. ...

Full Story: From Russia with Gusto - Taste of Home; by OCK Style

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Cozying Up to a Valentine's Day Dinner at Home

Food on the Chicago Tribune
If there is an upside to the downturn in the economy, it might lie in the fact that we're being forced to go back to basics. We're eating out less, spending more time at home ...
... entertaining ourselves, and figuring out what's really important when it comes to material things. Valentine's Day might be a challenge if you're used to splurging on your special one (or the one you're hoping will be your special one!). A dozen roses in a vase delivered to the office could set you back about $100. ...

Full Story: Cozying up to a Valentine's Day dinner at home; By Sandra Pinckney

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Excess Cooking Oil Concoction Makes a Cleaner and Cheaper Fuel

N.Y./Region News on The New York Times
A yearlong experiment of mixing vegetable oil with diesel to fuel vehicles has proven successful and economical. VATS of grease may make health advocates cringe, but Westchester County officials see excess cooking oil from the county’s 3,500 restaurants as a means of cleaner, cheaper fuel. ...
... With seven vehicles that run solely on fuel made from cooking oil and 125 vehicles that run on a mix of cooking oil and diesel fuel, the county has begun a program to take excess oil off local restaurateurs’ hands free to use it as an alternative energy source. ...

Full Story: Turning Cooking Oil Into Fuel for the County; By DIANA MARSZALEK

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Slow Food USA Concoction with a Practical Syracuse Twist.

Business News on Syracuse.com
Paul Mercurio is an advocate of Slow Food, but he also recognizes that Syracuse, N.Y., is not the ideal place for a trend that relies on locally grown food. When he shops, ...
... he weighs the energy-to-calorie ratio in food shipped from all over the world. A Swiss chard pie, some tomato sauce and red beets are the only remnants of summer in Paul Mercurio's refrigerator. The beets will be roasted with garlic, pureed with butter and eggs, sprinkled with gorgonzola and Manchego cheese and baked at 350 degrees for 20 minutes. ...

Full Story: Syracuse man looks to speed up interest in slow food movement; By Michelle Breidenbach

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Hunger for Love

'The hunger for love is much more difficult to remove than the hunger for bread.'
Mother Teresa

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The Catch of the Day, Straight from the Ice

Food on Chicago Tribune
Chefs who are familiar with ice fishing say simple preparations are best to highlight the flavors of the fresh-caught fish. Recipes for panfish tempura, pickled pike and more are included. ...
... For those willing to brave the cold, ice fishing yields some of the year's best-tasting fish dinners. There are two reasons people ice fish: one, to catch and eat gorgeous freshwater fish that are at peak flavor due to the cold temperatures of the water they're drawn from, and two, to socialize. ...

Full Story: Fish on ice; By Monica Kass Rogers

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An Unusual Marinated Rib-Eye

THE MINIMALIST on The New York Times
THIS is a column about luck, not skill - or at least not mine. Having become enamored of Peasant, on Elizabeth Street, I discovered that the chef, Frank DeCarlo, also ran the newer Bacaro. (Bacaro is the name given to a Venetian bar ...
... serving what are called cicchetti but are better known elsewhere as tapas - or small plates, or snacks.) The first time I ate at Bacaro I was struck - even dumbstruck - by one particular dish. It's a marinated rib-eye, and part of the luck came in ordering it in the first place, since I'm not big on marinating meat that tastes fine just by itself. This, however, ...

Full Story: A Venetian Bath Of Wine and Spice; By MARK BITTMAN

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A Sure Guide to a Restaurant’s Quality

Food & Drink on The Financial Times
Vernon Mascarenhas knows his onions. Having had his own restaurant in north London for 14 years, he is now managing director of Secretts farm near Godal-ming, Surrey, in south-east England. ...
... After supervising the picking, which starts at 5am, Mascarenhas spends his mornings talking to many of the 300 chefs he supplies with vegetables, fruit and herbs. Mascarenhas says he loves his job because he enjoys advising chefs on what to buy and what to avoid, ...

Full Story: A sure guide to a restaurant’s quality; By Nicholas Lander

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