From Scratch

The scope of the salmonella outbreak blamed on tomatoes has increased, with more than 800 confirmed cases in 36 states and the District of Columbia, while federal health officials now say tomatoes might not be the source, but they remain the primary suspect.
The Associated Press reports officials are looking into whether another ingredient, which they […]

Federal health officials say the number of confirmed cases of tomato-related salmonella now stands at 383, and Dr. Robert Tauxe of the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) says, “We do not think the outbreak is over.”
Two states, Pennsylvania and New Hampshire, have reported their first cases. The outbreak has now sickened people in 30 states […]

Think of this as a cousin to Spanish rice but with a kick, a high kick the Rockettes might envy. I love rice, I love hot stuff. Put ‘em together and I’m in heaven.
You can tone it down, of course. Most of the heat is from Tabasco sauce, not the jalapenos, which are mild. I […]

The US Food and Drug Administration has expanded its warnings to consumers nationwide about the purchase and handling of tomatoes in the wake of a salmonella outbreak that has now sickened 145 people. The source of the outbreak is still undetermined. The FDA says the following are the only types of tomatoes consumers should buy […]

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 […]

This quick and easy recipe of angel hair pasta and shrimp delivers heavenly flavors but can be made in roughly the time it takes to boil water and cook the pasta. Dinner’s on the table in 15 to 20 minutes.
There aren’t many steps here, but when the garlic and oregano were in the pan with olive […]

Cinco de Mayo is tomorrow but there’s plenty of time to make this classic. It only takes about five minutes, even less if you start with a can of tomatoes which, sometimes, is unavoidable.
Some people use the terms pico de gallo and salsa interchangeably but they are different. Salsa, the most popular condiment in America, […]

The first time I had turkey chili, back when the idea was a novelty, it was so bland it was almost tasteless. Turkey is hardly full of flavor. A friend who made turkey chili would try to compensate for that by loading up on the hot stuff, giving everyone at the table a runny nose and […]

I was attracted to this hearty stew the moment I saw the recipe, but it was 100 degrees (38C) when it was published last summer in a New York Times article about Senegalese food in Harlem. Now that it’s about 90 degrees colder, it was a perfect time to try it.
And I am bowled over […]

The temperature doesn’t have to drop much for me to think of beef stew. Depending on which appliance you use, the cooking time for this flavorful meal in a bowl will be either 10 minutes or 8-10 hours. Either way, it’s carefree.
It’s a pressure cooker recipe but I’ve also made it in the slow cooker […]

There’s nothing that’ll cut down on pizza consumption faster than moving from the Big Apple to the Little Snowball. The local pizza joints’ pies range from bad to worse to inedible. At least one of them uses frozen crust already rolled into a thick circle and all of them have chewy, doughy crusts. That’s blaphemy for someone […]

When I am back in New York, I torture myself by going to the Greenmarket at Union Square. It’s enormous and the variety of foods for sale, not just produce, is amazing. It was at the Greenmarket that I was given this recipe ages ago when I bought either basil or tomatoes, perhaps both, I don’t recall.
They’re […]

I suspect the old saw that the way to a man’s heart is through his stomach came out of the decades-ago beliefs that women needed to know how to cook and had to “catch” a man. Nowadays those attitudes are relics, at least among most people, and cooking is not gender-specific except with Neanderthal men.
What hasn’t […]

Even with a roadside sign, this tiny farmers’ market is easy to miss, tucked as it is in the verdant front grounds of a New England church.

I was in a bit of a rush, as usual, but of course I stopped. The line between “almost late” and “late” is a fine one and I was […]