Fresh Spring Pea, Fennel and Mint Salad
Peas have been a delicious food since ancient times and archaeologists have found them in Egyptian tombs. They probably dried them for the afterlife (and beyond). Today, only about 5 % of all peas grown are sold fresh. Peas are a good low calorie source of protein. A ¾ cup serving of peas (about 100-calories) contains more protein than a whole egg or a tablespoon of peanut butter and has less than one gram of fat and no cholesterol. So there.It's a fleeting pleasure to stumble ...
Raise a Glass of Sherry to the USA
The USA has a lot to be proud of for its birthday this year. With the passing of equal rights for gay marriage nationwide we are showing signs of maturity for a country that’s only a wee 229 years old. Another great triumph and cause for patriotic celebration is the USA’s victory in the 2015 International Food & Wine Competition COPA JEREZ. For the first time ever, USA took home the big win led by Chef & Somm team of San Francisco’s 15 Romolo, Michelle Matthews and Ian J Adams ...
Love Giving Thanks: Turkey Thoughts
You gotta love Thanksgiving. Delicious food, gratitude, and generosity joyous enough, but to top it off, there's pie. Yum!Yet, for the last few years, come this time of year, we start to think about a New York Times piece a few years back about the "humane" slaughtering that certain “privileged” turkeys experience. We’re talking the 1%ers here. It may or may not be news to you but some fancy NY Hudson Valley (and similar local farm) birds get a one-two blessing of a higher ...
Our Food Web — Bright Mites at the Soil Frontier
This Day in Food: May 1, 2012 It's May Day today and we're at the edge of the soil frontier, discovering a miniscule link in the enormous food web.Today we were poking around in the garden, checking on the emerging spinach, and we saw a red dot move across the soil. Then another. Finally, crouching way down and picking up the clump of earth one of the dots was moving across, we saw it - a Red Velvet Mite."The Ruby lord of the love garden," as it is called by the Chicago ...
Spring Rush – Harnessing the Season to Grow
As we keep hearing, the weather's been unusual in 2012. It's only April and even though it sometimes seems like we've already experienced all four seasons, there are unmistakeably signs that in the Northern Hemisphere, the Earth is finally experiencing real Spring.If we look around, we see plants and insects emerge, hear more birds and find increasing traces of wildlife. The whole soil web starts to wake up, bringing the opportunity to grow. Increasingly, more of us are taking up ...
Chicken of the Woods & Mushroom Karma
Mushroom karma time.This year, we became obsessed with the chickeny deliciousness of theLaetiporus sulphureus – Chicken of the Woods – after we purchased some at a nearby farm stand (for $27/pound!). They taste so much like chicken that they make vegetarians feel a little odd - like somehow they are cheats for enjoying them. So, this being a good (great) mushroom year, we set out for a quick walk in the local woods right near where we live.After a beautiful walk, but few ...
Watch: Chinese Exploding Melons
What is causing the rash of melon explosions and the horror faced by Chinese melon man (this poor soul couldn't bear to check them it was so painful)? Should you be concerned? Don't worry- the little old lady does get to make some watermeron pickre (watermelon pickle) with the exploded bits.This story was reported along with news that the Chinese government is trying to shore up its image as lax when it comes to food safety. Or beyond lax. Anyway, nice to see the Chinese are ...
