A Soup Only Tuscany Could Make

The Minimalist from The New York Times
A dish that makes fantastic use of stale bread, sausage, ricotta salata, carrots and spinach, extracting the maximum flavor from each while blending them perfectly. WHEN you’ve gained enough experience cooking, you’re quite likely to "invent" ...
... a recipe that already exists in cuisines and even cookbooks. Especially if the ingredients are common, the techniques standard. But not this recipe, or at least I don’t think so. The ingredients are fairly common, but their combination is not exactly the kind of thing a non-Italian, or perhaps even a non-Tuscan, ...
Full Story: A Soup Only Tuscany Could Make; By MARK BITTMAN

LIFESTYLE ESSENTIALS: Clarins > ≈ Organic > ≈ ≈ ≈ Mix > ≈

Foods You Have to Try on the Road (but probably won't try again)

Travel's Food on BootsnAll.com
For many people, sampling local food is the most important part of travel. For others it’s the bane of their trip, a massive stress that leads them all over their chosen countries in search of a familiar lunch. ...
... A lot of us get squeamish about sampling new meats, shunning anything that’s not considered ‘normal’ fare in our homelands; others seek out the weirdest dishes they can find. ...
Full Story: Eight Traditional Foods You Have to Try on the Road (but probably won't try again); By: Lucy Corne
[Photo: Haggis]

LIFESTYLE ESSENTIALS: Clarins > ≈ Organic > ≈ ≈ ≈ Mix > ≈

Don't Rule Out the Succulent and Inexpensive Lamb Shoulder

Food on the San Francisco Chronicle
Not only is lamb shoulder cheaper than other cuts, but it's also hard to ruin, Janet Fletcher writes in praise of the cuts. Said one Berkeley chef: "There's so much gelatin in the shoulder. It gets that kind of sticky quality. You don't need any sauce, just a little wine or water to deglaze." ...
... Some of us are leg people and others are shoulder people. Unfortunately, this truth was revealed to me slowly. Over three decades of dinner parties, mistakes were made. Today, I cook leg of lamb only for dinner guests with suspected lean tendencies, the sort of folks who eat dry toast and drink nonfat milk. Lamb shoulder I reserve for trencherpeople like me, ...
Full Story: The kindest cut: Lamb shoulder is succulent, forgiving and inexpensive; by Janet Fletcher

LIFESTYLE ESSENTIALS: Clarins > ≈ Organic > ≈ ≈ ≈ Mix > ≈

Artichoke Heals the Body and Mind

Recipes for Health on The New York Times
The edgy bite of artichokes is a testament to its many remedial properties. Not only does the vegetable aid the eyes and liver, but its time-consuming preparation provides a pause from life's stresses. ...
... Whenever I find bitterness in a vegetable, I suspect that there are beneficial ingredients hidden within. Artichokes, for instance — although they aren’t overly bitter, the flavor has a definite edge. No surprise, then, to learn that they are a rich source of silymarin, an antioxidant thought to be the active ingredient in milk thistle, traditionally used in many cultures to treat liver, gallbladder and digestive disorders. Artichokes also are a good source of magnesium, potassium and ...
Full Story: In the Humble Artichoke, a Lesson in Patience; By MARTHA ROSE SHULMAN

LIFESTYLE ESSENTIALS: Clarins > ≈ Organic > ≈ ≈ ≈ Mix > ≈

Showcasing Farms on the Menu

Food & Drink on IndyStar.com
Restaurants that use food from local farms are putting the farms on the menu, too. The biggest challenge when buying locally is making sure the farms can keep up with day-to-day demand. ...
... More chefs are seeking locally grown meat and poultry, turning suppliers into food-world stars. Mustard-braised rabbit. Pork shoulder in apple cider. Heritage-breed rock hen. Skirt steak with tomatillo salsa verde. These dishes - all featuring Indiana-raised meats and poultry - appear on the menus of Indianapolis' and Chicago's trendiest restaurants. They represent the future of Hoosier farmers who've begun to market directly to chefs, first to survive and now to thrive. ...
Full Story: High-end local restaurants create a new farmers market; By Jolene Ketzenberger

LIFESTYLE ESSENTIALS: Clarins > ≈ Organic > ≈ ≈ ≈ Mix > ≈

People Flock to Foodservice for Careers

Business on MSNBC.com
From young students to midcareer professionals, people are looking to get into the food industry, which is the No. 2 employer in the U.S. And they're not just looking to be restaurant chefs; hopefuls are looking into jobs in grocery stores and nursing-home kitchens as well. ...
... Restaurants alone expected to add 1.8 million jobs in the next 10 years. It’s all about food lately. Culinary shows like “Top Chef” and “Hell’s Kitchen” are all the rage. Tainted peanuts have us worried about what we eat and how to make it better. Books such as “The Omnivore's Dilemma” and “Barefoot Contessa Back to Basics” are bestsellers. And even first lady Michelle Obama is getting in on the act, ...
Full Story: Cooking up a new career in the food industry; by By Eve Tahmincioglu

LIFESTYLE ESSENTIALS: Clarins > ≈ Organic > ≈ ≈ ≈ Mix > ≈

Cooks Can Be Green, Too!

Celebrity Chef Chat on the JSOnline.com
Kate Heyhoe lays claim to starting the first online food and cooking eZine, Global Gourmet, www.globalgourmet.com, in 1994, plus eight cookbooks. One of them, "Great Bar Food at Home" was a finalist for a James Beard Award. Eating organic and ...
... being green always have been important to her, and she felt people needed some help figuring out how to do that. "I had been watching the green movement for a long time," she says. "The message is out there, but I realized that there were a lot more things we could do to conserve energy." ...
Full Story: Cooks can be green, too;

LIFESTYLE ESSENTIALS: Clarins > ≈ Organic > ≈ ≈ ≈ Mix > ≈

Where To Draw The Line When Defending Cultural Norms

When we respect the sovereignty of other cultures, is there a danger of compromising our own values? I came across a wonderful article in the May/June 2008 issue of Psychology Today about the authentic self. ...
...It discussed the North American obsession with self awareness, and whether or not there is a “true” self that determines enjoyment in life. “A hunger for authenticity guides us in every age and aspect of life,” says the author Karen Wright. “It drives our explorations of work, relationships, play, and prayer.” ...
Full Story: Where To Draw The Line When Defending Cultural Norms; Written by Emily Hansen

LIFESTYLE ESSENTIALS: Clarins > ≈ Organic > ≈ ≈ ≈ Mix > ≈