tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16224312529752094952011-12-02T01:46:24.954-06:00Eat, cook, and moreCynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11884673305001701045noreply@blogger.comBlogger521100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1622431252975209495.post-67184882116731025292011-07-20T08:33:00.003-05:002011-07-20T09:14:58.023-05:00

It's no shocker that a study this week in the Journal of the American Medical Association found that the calorie contents listed by popular restaurants was sometimes blown away by the actual calorie contents of the food. To be fair, the majority of calorie listings were pretty much on the mark. But if you need to watch your calories, that isn't good enough, especially considering that some of

Cynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11884673305001701045noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1622431252975209495.post-32328130613508720022011-03-11T18:17:00.004-06:002011-03-12T14:27:28.342-06:00

Trout with coconut sauce The pun is deliberate. As lent has gotten under way, Catholics spend several weeks eating no meat (at least not from land or air) on Fridays and heading for the fish counter. The problem is that many choices, at least at my supermarkets, can be bad for the oceans (and us) in the long run. Some species, including Chilean sea bass, are overfished to the point that their

Cynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11884673305001701045noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1622431252975209495.post-88352872625143535642011-02-14T23:55:00.000-06:002011-02-14T23:55:20.641-06:00

If it were up to me, the only gift acceptable or traditional on Valentine's Day would be chocolate. Just try eating roses, diamonds or lingerie. Well, maybe I should leave the latter off the list. There are purportedly edible versions, BUT ...lingerie isn't really a gift for the recipient anyway. Here's to chocolate. My husband bought me the chocolate pictured. He knows me. Sweet.

Cynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11884673305001701045noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1622431252975209495.post-59770719475167633082011-02-02T23:33:00.006-06:002011-02-03T13:47:52.072-06:00

These dumplings tasted delicious in spite of improper folding. Gong xi fa cai, xin nian kuai le, or happy new year, everyone! The eve of the Chinese New Year found the family and me snowbound. The only thing I forgot to pick up before the storm was a package of dumplings, or jiao zi, for our dinner to celebrate the arrival of the Year of the Rabbit. That's almost like forgetting the stuffing

Cynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11884673305001701045noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1622431252975209495.post-19196220157977932212011-02-01T19:56:00.002-06:002011-02-01T22:11:11.311-06:00

A blizzard is whipping the house, it's effectively 4 degrees below zero outside with the wind chill, and the family and I are relaxing. We don't have to be on the roads, and there's plenty of food to keep us fed for a couple weeks. Not so long ago I was one of those people who rushed to the supermarket the day before a major storm (or even after the deluge of flakes started) to grab what I

Cynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11884673305001701045noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1622431252975209495.post-87772882320850815392011-01-10T17:10:00.002-06:002011-02-01T22:20:21.369-06:00

When my husband and I went to Paris (while we were still dating), we went to an old-fashioned little neighborhood restaurant that we had found. I don't remember how we found it, but we had heard that the former prime minister liked the place and we wanted to check it out. Since we were in the neighborhood, and it was a weekday and we were early (and presentable) for dinner, I figured we could

Cynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11884673305001701045noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1622431252975209495.post-32953862754216762582011-01-06T23:01:00.003-06:002011-01-06T23:24:31.497-06:00

A galette des rois, or king cake, is relatively easy to put together. When I was 5 years old my family moved to an apartment complex in St. Louis, Mo., where my mother got to know a French Canadian woman and I got to play with her daughter, Nathalie. One evening we went to visit and played what to me was the coolest game. My parents and I and Nathalie and her parents sat around a table for

Cynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11884673305001701045noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1622431252975209495.post-47103975104009341752011-01-05T01:14:00.003-06:002011-01-05T01:22:46.966-06:00

Cornmeal-coated tilapia with couscous, lemony carrots and green beans I may not make New Year's resolutions, but that doesn't mean I think my self improvement is done. It's just that I'm constantly reflecting on myself and how I can continue to grow, learn new skills, make smarter decisions, treat people and the planet with respect and be a better person in general. Shouldn't those aspirations

Cynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11884673305001701045noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1622431252975209495.post-7914313304067414712011-01-03T11:34:00.056-06:002011-01-03T13:07:30.620-06:00

I have high hopes for every year, 2011 being no exception. If I didn't, then what would be the point of going on? Of course, I won't hold my breath for some things. For example, I hope that more people learn to use some common sense, which is rather an oxymoron isn't it? Sense is very uncommon. I'm not talking about intelligence. Sure we could use more intelligence to go around. But the really

Cynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11884673305001701045noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1622431252975209495.post-55467794503618202082010-12-30T00:46:00.001-06:002010-12-30T00:54:38.449-06:00

I love eggs in just about any form, so it's inevitable that they show up on my table at all times of day. It doesn't hurt that they are so easy to prepare, which is a nice break from some of the other cooking projects I've had during the holidays. Sometimes I make bacon, egg and cheese sandwiches. Sometimes I have soy sauce eggs with rice or noodles. And then sometimes I bake quiche. The first

Cynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11884673305001701045noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1622431252975209495.post-44185955533413585552010-12-19T06:26:00.000-06:002010-12-19T06:26:16.399-06:00

A pomelo and lemons. Since when is pineapple considered citrus? At least since yesterday for The Wall Street Journal, which featured a story and "recipes that unleash the sweet power of citrus," including instructions for fritters in which pineapple is the only fruit. The reporter wrote, "It's fitting that chefs looking to play around with produce turn their attention to fragrant

Cynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11884673305001701045noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1622431252975209495.post-59837255599762097512010-12-09T10:38:00.004-06:002010-12-09T13:43:00.205-06:00

Small squares of chocolate are hidden in the madeleine-shaped financiers. Eggs are an important component of so many of my recipes, so when I found out about the salmonella outbreak in August and then the massive recall of eggs from two egg producers tied to the outbreak, I worried that the eggs I was feeding my kids were dangerous time bombs. I checked our refrigerator. Ours weren't part of

Cynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11884673305001701045noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1622431252975209495.post-56430282099820137202010-12-06T04:37:00.002-06:002010-12-06T04:48:56.922-06:00

The pastry cools in peace, until my son and I go for it simultaneously. It's been far too long, but at least I've been cooking and baking during my absence. One of my favorite things was an impromptu Pop-Tart, er, I mean toaster pastry, that I made to use extra pie crust dough. I filled it with some pear butter sitting in the refrigerator. I'm going to have to make a batch of dough just for

Cynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11884673305001701045noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1622431252975209495.post-88224976696326120152010-11-02T05:58:00.002-05:002010-11-02T13:46:48.411-05:00

Soups are a good way to use leftovers and prevent waste.  Coincidentally, Tara Parker-Pope in The New York Times writes about wasting food just as I'm on a kick to use up leftovers instead of forgetting them. Now that we have a preschool tuition to pay that we didn't last year, I've had to be much more conscious of our expenses, including groceries. It's easy to underestimate the cost of food

Cynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11884673305001701045noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1622431252975209495.post-78914720480428830502010-10-21T17:21:00.001-05:002010-12-12T13:02:14.811-06:00

I love easy meals, and I love meals the kids will eat. I'd say lettuce wraps filled with this sweet and savory, barely tangy filling falls into both categories. I don't have time to nag anyone to eat, and I hate - really hate - to toss perfectly good food in the garbage. An added bonus is this recipe is budget and health conscious, especially when some of the meat is replaced with textured

Cynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11884673305001701045noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1622431252975209495.post-27722190043670058612010-10-09T09:10:00.004-05:002010-11-02T06:11:29.045-05:00

People don't complain when they think something sucks. Why bother? It wouldn't make a difference. Or so I thought. But then Frito-Lay caved like an empty bag when customers bitched about the noise from biodegradable Sun Chips packages. The company's going back to using the old bags for all flavors of Sun Chips except the original. Power to the people! So why am I all "What the f?%!" ? Well

Cynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11884673305001701045noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1622431252975209495.post-79685172758645033132010-10-06T16:09:00.002-05:002010-10-06T16:27:15.193-05:00

Posole, a hominy and pork soup, uses inexpensive shoulder, or Boston butt. Posted at 4:09 PM This past weekend my 3 year olds were sick — and crabby and irrational. And that's different, how? Oh, right. It's even more fun for their 7-year-old brother to rattle their cage. All. The. Time. Think "monkey house on Mountain Dew." The sun was shining, the air was crisp, and the universe had

Cynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11884673305001701045noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1622431252975209495.post-44193914323074983222010-10-01T14:22:00.002-05:002010-10-06T16:24:59.883-05:00

Posted at 2:22 PM Among the peppers I've gotten from the farmers market were a few miniature bell peppers. I wasn't sure what I'd do with them at the time. They were just so cute I had to take them home with me. Finally I decided to fill them with some leftover empanada filling, a bit of cheese and a little green tomatillo salsa. Unfortunately there were only three. As for the other peppers ...

Cynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11884673305001701045noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1622431252975209495.post-37248678697778843142010-09-27T17:14:00.006-05:002010-10-06T16:26:30.487-05:00

Hong shao ji, or red cooked chicken, is a bargain meal. Posted at 5:14 PM Why did the cook cross the supermarket aisle? To get to the chicken calling, "Cheap, cheap!" One of my supermarkets was selling drumsticks this morning (and still is) for 89 cents a pound, so I had a great reason to make one of my favorite comfort foods, hong shao ji (红 烧 雞), or red cooked chicken. Not counting the

Cynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11884673305001701045noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1622431252975209495.post-66076278408316423592010-09-25T15:24:00.011-05:002010-09-28T04:34:21.383-05:00

Posted at 3:24 PM This is one of the vendors' tables at the Bloomington, IL, farmers market (this morning). It may be tiny compared with those in New York City or Paris, but it has its gems. I got enough long beans to double my recipe — after one of the vendors collected the loose ones that had fallen in the bed of his truck — and I nabbed a creamy sheep's milk cheese called Ewe Bloom made

Cynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11884673305001701045noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1622431252975209495.post-34440237988207225382010-09-24T08:00:00.188-05:002010-10-07T19:16:34.993-05:00

These white radishes were grown locally. Posted at 8:00 AM One of my favorite vendors at a Saturday farmers market in Bloomington, IL, posts pictures of his crops and livestock on the farm's blog. Customers get monthly tours during the growing season. It's the real deal. They see for themselves where their long beans and shiso come from. Purple and green long beans When many of us head

Cynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11884673305001701045noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1622431252975209495.post-47677472316328236852010-09-21T14:18:00.013-05:002010-09-25T02:00:34.122-05:00

Moon cakes (月餅) range from traditional to cartoon inspired or ice cream filled. Posted at 2:18 PM When I was a girl, my mother's monthly loot from the Chinese grocery store occasionally included moon cakes. Red bean or lotus seed paste filled a tender layer of thin dough molded into shapes with symbols I didn't understand. A full moon of yolk, from a preserved duck egg, virtually glowed at the

Cynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11884673305001701045noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1622431252975209495.post-24115112629082350822010-09-20T19:36:00.002-05:002010-09-21T14:47:17.359-05:00

Potato latkes, the edges still shatteringly crisp.  I was making a gratin Dauphinois and realized I had cleaned and peeled too many potatoes. I couldn't just slice and pile them into the baking dish; that would make the gratin too deep. What to do if you have too many potatoes? Or should I say, what not to do with extra spuds? Celery root and potato mash? Fries? Wedges? Gnocchi? Potato leek

Cynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11884673305001701045noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1622431252975209495.post-71666295869996783842010-08-28T21:08:00.002-05:002010-09-25T14:00:22.908-05:00

When I was studying in Aix-en-Provence, France, there was a little hole in the wall called Crepes a Go Go where I'd regularly stop to pick up my lunch, usually an egg and spinach filled crepe with a smoothie on the side. What I liked best about it was that I could choose the fruit and they would take my chosen fruits, a whole kiwi or pear or peach, and peel and cut it right in front of me before

Cynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11884673305001701045noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1622431252975209495.post-80736260701037934992010-08-20T10:47:00.006-05:002010-10-07T07:58:11.418-05:00

Just as the chicken shit was hitting the fan and hundreds of millions of eggs were being recalled, I was playing around with an egg-free, fat-free, dairy-free "ice cream" recipe I had seen bouncing around the Internet for a while. To be precise, I probably shouldn't call it a "recipe" because it's just one ingredient. But really, this frozen banana whip does taste like ice cream -- even my

Cynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11884673305001701045noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1622431252975209495.post-34983023883881297742010-08-15T23:51:00.007-05:002010-09-24T18:10:10.918-05:00

Pork shoulder makes a great substitute for belly in this sandwich. Until I learned about the Momofuku eateries in Manhattan and eponymous cookbook this year, I hadn't realized that Chinese pork sandwiches, a popular menu item, were so appreciated here in the states. Momofuku's creator, Korean American chef David Chang, apparently knows a good thing when he tastes it and has shared his

Cynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11884673305001701045noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1622431252975209495.post-52903935743062003012010-07-19T09:37:00.002-05:002010-09-24T18:11:29.222-05:00

I've enjoyed going to the local farmer's market every other Saturday morning even when the offerings are pretty much what I see at the supermarket. After all, the stuff is about as close to homegrown as I'm likely to get. I have a black thumb (I'd be on trial for attempted genocide if plants had legal rights), and if somebody else didn't grow it, I'd probably starve. The one drawback for a city

Cynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11884673305001701045noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1622431252975209495.post-54818207044638702772010-07-16T12:12:00.011-05:002010-10-11T22:16:21.683-05:00

Lambs quarters are delicious, like spinach, according to descriptions on television and on the Web that I've seen earlier this month. I love, love, love my greens, including spinach and collards, so the idea that a prolific weed could be not only free but also fabu-licious and nutritious got me so excited I was ready to throw on my sneakers and run out the door with a big bag like some

Cynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11884673305001701045noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1622431252975209495.post-29908068529354075622010-07-15T12:14:00.000-05:002010-07-15T12:14:35.554-05:00

Last night, I was about to scrape the last bite out of my daughter's bowl and into my mouth when she shouted, "NO, NO, NO!" Whoa. You'd have thought I was swiping the kid's precious ice cream, or her lovey, Yang Yang ("Lambie"). I was simply trying to help her clean up the dregs of her ma po tofu. I couldn't blame her. The recipe is really tasty, and she wanted that last spicy bite herself. But

Cynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11884673305001701045noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1622431252975209495.post-68704636464996465072010-07-14T16:08:00.002-05:002010-08-20T11:07:04.790-05:00

I still love dips, even if the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention warned us of the danger potentially lurking in salsa and guacamole, especially in restaurants. I'll take a homemade salsa of roasted tomatillos, onions and other goodies any day. And don't even ask me about guacamole. I could support the California avocado industry single-handed. But my new favorite is hummus. It works as

Cynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11884673305001701045noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1622431252975209495.post-1823275360875448122010-07-13T08:55:00.006-05:002010-10-07T19:13:31.421-05:00

Drop that tortilla and step away from the dip! You might want to beware the nasty stuff waiting to get scooped up. In a report released yesterday at the International Conference on Emerging Infectious Diseases, the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said outbreaks of foodborne illness linked to salsa and guacamole accounted for 1 in 25 restaurant-associated outbreaks from 1998

Cynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11884673305001701045noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1622431252975209495.post-39729197951731729642010-07-04T12:29:00.004-05:002010-07-14T22:58:12.310-05:00

I'm always looking for ways to make a little go a long way, especially when it comes to red meat. For one thing, satisfying a family of five with steak can get expensive. For another, too much red meat isn't healthful. One way we get a lot of enjoyment out of a modest amount of meat is to either stir fry or grill strips with a highly flavorful marinade. Today being the 4th of July, we're in the

Cynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11884673305001701045noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1622431252975209495.post-24028930907810327892010-06-30T08:34:00.013-05:002010-07-30T22:28:38.781-05:00

Quick! You're invited to a barbecue at the last minute and you need to throw together a contribution. What to make? That's why it's always good to have a couple of quick crowd pleasers in your repertoire. Like an easy blueberry sour cream cake. This one evolved from a raspberry buttermilk cake published last June in Gourmet (sigh, I do miss it).  I always have almonds in the cupboard, so here,

Cynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11884673305001701045noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1622431252975209495.post-74848747538857641982010-06-28T13:52:00.004-05:002010-10-07T19:15:26.541-05:00

If Shrek can get kids to eat onions, then maybe he can get them to do just about anything. Anyone who dismisses the food industry's power to influence kids' minds and palates should take a look at today's Wall Street Journal and a Yale study on the influence of licensed characters on kids' taste, published online last week in the journal Pediatrics.  In a page 1 story of the Wall Street

Cynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11884673305001701045noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1622431252975209495.post-31525920763241101652010-06-25T10:58:00.010-05:002010-12-12T13:13:02.272-06:00

I can't believe it's been a couple of months. We got sick after the week of birthdays and other doctors' and school district appointments that couldn't wait -- I was burned out. Then came the Disney vacation, then the recovery from vacation and getting kids who are home from school to occupy themselves with something other than a glowing, mind-melting TV screen. But I promise I'll do better and

Cynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11884673305001701045noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1622431252975209495.post-15535335251786002732010-04-26T10:30:00.003-05:002010-04-26T11:27:24.145-05:00

I'm done, finally, with a week full of birthdays. And don't comment about the less-than-tidy look of the cakes or the photography. I love baking, but the past week, with celebrations for my dear hubby and the three kids (yes, they all conspired to be born the same week), has kept me busy trying to stuff into my already crammed schedule two variations of Jean George's chocolate lava cakes, an

Cynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11884673305001701045noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1622431252975209495.post-76563038363812765692010-04-14T16:39:00.004-05:002010-10-07T19:25:42.207-05:00

Slate's Green Lantern columnist wraps her head around the question of whether packaging leftovers in aluminum foil or plastic wrap is better for the environment. The takeaway is, it depends. Farm-to-Table vs. Farms-to-Test Tube-to-Factory-to ... At Huffington Post, Steve Ettlinger describes two meals -- one based on economies of huge scale and scientifically based processing at Archer Daniels

Cynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11884673305001701045noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1622431252975209495.post-6509768587291307602010-04-05T14:28:00.007-05:002010-10-07T19:24:34.951-05:00

Looks like the health chuckwagon driven by celebrity chef Jamie Oliver (and before him by Alice Waters) is becoming somewhat of a bandwagon with other television cooks along for the ride, including Rachael Ray and Paula Deen (who has never batted a preturnaturally long-lashed eye at bacon, butter or shortening).  If these divas of dining, together with Oliver, help people eat better, then who

Cynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11884673305001701045noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1622431252975209495.post-10448080545424684952010-04-04T15:22:00.014-05:002010-07-14T23:04:08.565-05:00

Ham, ham, everywhere, and yet another bite (make that numerous bites) to eat. What do you do with two adults and enough Easter ham for eight? Besides having ham and eggs; or ham, cheese and egg muffin sandwiches; ham omelettes; grilled ham and cheese sandwiches, or ham salad (or deviled ham) sandwiches, one of my favorite ways to use leftover ham is to make pineapple fried rice. First I take

Cynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11884673305001701045noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1622431252975209495.post-27914390906213529432010-04-03T02:06:00.001-05:002010-04-03T02:14:14.765-05:00

In spite of my black thumb (just killed a rosemary plant this week), I may try growing some of my own horseradish. According to writer Anne Raver, horseradish (Armoracia rusticana) seems hardy enough.

Cynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11884673305001701045noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1622431252975209495.post-36322877580940304752010-03-30T16:46:00.012-05:002010-10-07T19:17:57.256-05:00

 Thanks to some German researchers, my vice just became "therapy." The researchers, studying more than 19,000 people for about eight years, report a link between daily consumption of a small amount of chocolate and a reduced risk of heart attack or stroke. Study subjects who ate an average of 7.5 grams of chocolate per day, or roughly the equivalent of one square of one chocolate bar, had a 39

Cynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11884673305001701045noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1622431252975209495.post-49796383365875826502010-03-27T11:24:00.012-05:002010-09-25T14:19:28.133-05:00

There's a lot of debate over global warming, or climate change, and what the effects would be if it continues. Perhaps maple syrup would become a rare and precious substance. This year, in fact, a little less maple syrup will be flowing to foodies because of an unusually early warming trend this season. The atypical weather has cut maple syrup production in southern Vermont, reports Katie

Cynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11884673305001701045noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1622431252975209495.post-59628316024627708612010-03-26T13:28:00.005-05:002010-09-25T14:20:39.535-05:00

So much for spring. I wake up to the temperature below freezing and the windchill well below that. I guess it's a hot soup day again. One of my favorites is this pumpkin red lentil soup. My husband, when he was still my fiance, introduced me to a vegetarian version of this recipe that I've adjusted for my taste and whatever is on hand. That's what I love about this soup. It's so convenient and

Cynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11884673305001701045noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1622431252975209495.post-90352143327734627342010-03-25T15:38:00.001-05:002010-03-30T22:13:19.233-05:00

I've been missing dim sum (yam tsa, as my mother also calls it) ever since we left New York and moved to the Midwest. I came across a story today in the Wall Street Journal that reports that the art of dim sum is losing experts. How sad. The good news is that the little eats are not in danger of disappearing entirely. Although I don't imagine I can match the skill of a true dim sum master, I

Cynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11884673305001701045noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1622431252975209495.post-5715547772861364662010-03-24T15:05:00.009-05:002010-10-07T19:21:37.047-05:00

PepsiCo announced that it plans to "encourage people to live healthier lives and to address growing consumer desire for healthier, great-tasting products." I'm a skeptical type, so I'm not jumping for joy yet. Among the improvements will be an increase in the whole grains and other healthful ingredients in its products and a reduction of the average sugar content by 25 percent and the average

Cynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11884673305001701045noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1622431252975209495.post-76175094915341267562010-03-19T12:17:00.010-05:002010-03-26T14:04:53.356-05:00

When I was growing up, my mother had to make a special trek to a Chinese grocer to find soy sauce or tofu. Yogurt was just becoming the magic health food, and tofu was unheard of at the local supermarket. Forget about asking the store manager about it -- hardly any non-Asians had even heard of it. Now it's so easy to get all sorts of soy products, including tofu -- soft, firm, refrigerated,

Cynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11884673305001701045noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1622431252975209495.post-88591989186911652662010-03-11T12:00:00.017-06:002010-09-27T17:21:27.839-05:00

Born half Chinese and half German-American, and reared in a New York City suburb densely populated by Italian-Americans,  my younger sister and I were obligated to like pork. On our round woodish-laminate dinner table, we often found pork schnitzel (breaded cutlets), bacon, baked ham, Italian pork sausage, Black Forest ham sandwiches, Chinese pork sausage (la chang), ro sung (fried

Cynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11884673305001701045noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1622431252975209495.post-66818359005585111632010-02-01T15:05:00.016-06:002010-07-14T23:13:14.685-05:00

Everyone who knows me at first thinks I picked up my love of madeleines in France. After all I spent a bit of time there and went to a bakery or two every day. But it wasn't love at first sight. It wasn't even first sight. I didn't notice the little cakes shaped like elongated scallop shells when I was in Aix or Paris or Marseilles or Nice. No, it was the flashier tartes and chocolate endowed

Cynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11884673305001701045noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1622431252975209495.post-54897676343451596482010-01-26T14:38:00.018-06:002010-09-25T14:25:07.480-05:00

I first came across these spice cookies one November during a visit in Lille, France, near the border with Belgium. During the day my host would go to work, leaving me to explore (ie. sip un cafe, watch passersby and then troll every food establishment or market in town, practically drooling over all the goodies I couldn't get back home). I would make at least a daily trip (often twice daily) to

Cynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11884673305001701045noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1622431252975209495.post-37808899548522750832009-12-24T08:55:00.017-06:002010-11-09T16:25:22.592-06:00

A partidge in a pear tree ... the first gift in the classic Christmas song involves one of my favorite fruits, and this is the time of year to enjoy ditching diets, so what better holiday treat than a buttery pear and almond tart? The pear and almond cream combination has been a favorite of mine since I passed my time sampling patisseries, er-hem, I mean studying, during my semester in France,

Cynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11884673305001701045noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1622431252975209495.post-50537283145523973032009-04-26T09:49:00.009-05:002010-09-25T14:28:54.964-05:00

A little more than a month before my husband and I got engaged, we took a trip to Paris, which I think is my favorite city in the world after New York. He loves good food and had taken a weeklong course in French cooking at Peter Kumpf's New York Cooking School (which is now the Institute for Culinary Education, in Manhattan). Still, he had never gotten around to visiting a country that

Cynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11884673305001701045noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1622431252975209495.post-65815854769946883492008-11-20T08:45:00.010-06:002010-03-19T13:15:28.175-05:00

We're going to my brother-in-law's house for Turkey Day, and I'll be bringing the gratin Dauphinois I made last Thanksgiving. Everybody loved it, and his wife's parents couldn't get enough, so I figure I'll make everyone happy while making something super easy. I've loved potato gratin even before I spent a semester studying passersby on the Cours Mirabeau literature in Aix-en-Provence. I

Cynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11884673305001701045noreply@blogger.com0