From Scratch

I’m still incredulous.
I saw this about a week ago and have been shaking my head ever since. A 6-quart KitchenAid stand mixer for $899. What’s special about it? The finish. You have your choice of a copper or nickel alloy.
To me, this is not a tool for a serious baker. It’s a prop to be […]

By suburban standards, Manhattan supermarkets are tiny so I always assumed if they sold something, larger stores everywhere did. Not so. Even though many recipes call for it, crème fraîche is not a staple in every dairy aisle is America, as I learned when I moved to New England. Of five markets I use, only […]

Just a shortie to say I won’t be posting for the next two weeks or so. Aside from needing a real get-away vacation, I’m also perilously close to blogger burnout after nearly 500 posts — about 200 of them recipes — in 15 months. So I’ll see you back here in a couple weeks!

Sphere: Related […]

                                                                  Celebrate freedom.

To my Canadian friends old and new, on both sides of the border. And have a Molson’s Labatt for me!
 

The mere thought of “practicing” for a diet sounds crazy, but when I decided to try this diet I knew I’d need a practice day or two to try to sort it out. All we have to go by, until someone writes the inevitable book and gets rich, is the study methodology - 1,240 calories per […]

There’s an old saying: Eat like a king at breakfast, a prince at lunch and a pauper at dinner. New research finds that can be a good way to lose weight and keep it off.
A small study divided 96 obese women into two groups. Those who had big breakfasts, with lots of carbs and proteins, […]

Cereal giant Kellogg has instituted de facto price hikes for five popular cereals by making the boxes smaller without changing their prices. The new boxes began shipping this month.
A spokeswoman says the boxes were reduced by an average of 2.4 ounces for 14 items sold under the Apple Jacks, Cocoa Krispies, Corn Pops, Froot Loops […]

I’m normal! At the very least, I’m not alone. Certain things in recipes make me put them down or turn the page, never to make them. They’re my recipe deal breakers and I hope you’ll share yours.
A week and a half ago Kim Severson wrote about this in The New York Times, a fun piece […]

NBC News confirms reports that Tim Russert has died. He was 58.
He collapsed and apparently suffered a heart attack at NBC News in Washington, where he was the bureau chief and long-time host of Meet the Press. The network hasn’t made available further details. [Update: NBC now says he collapsed and “was striken.”]
Just today, he spoke […]

The federal Centers for Disease Control says an outbreak of salmonella, reported yesterday, has spread from Texas and New Mexico to 14 other states and authorities are trying to pin down the source of the raw tomatoes believed to be the cause. Texas now reports 56 cases of salmonella food poisoning and New Mexico 55. 
The […]

Whole Foods Market has halted sales of Roma and large, round field-grown tomatoes without attached vines or stems at all of its more than 270 stores after an outbreak of salmonella linked to raw tomatoes. In addition, stores are no longer using tomatoes in sandwiches and salads.
The voluntary recall follows a warning from the Texas Health Department […]

I tried a recipe from last week’s Washington Post for a fast version of pork vindaloo – I’m posting it separately and the link is below. This mild paste was an alternative to jarred curry paste and I’m glad I tried it. It gave the dish a restaurant quality and would be wonderful with other […]

We have a long holiday weekend coming up in the US for Memorial Day and it’s the unofficial start of grilling season with millions of cookouts planned. But they’re going to cost more this year. My country, like many others, is enduring higher food prices and the government says it’s going to get worse.
Last year food […]

Since I do practice what I advocate — cuisine d’opportunité – I have another, but very different, raspberry recipe on the heels of raspberry fool. I found gorgeous berries at a great price a few days ago and bought several containers; the savings with this raspberry vinaigrette recipe alone pays for them all.
I don’t know what bothers […]