There’s a good article in the Boston Globe this morning about a farmer who devotes part of his crop to organic cranberry farming. Once again, you can take out all the considerations of pesticides, non-eco friendly farming etc and it still boils down to the fact that the organic is just a better quality product. I love their description of the “bounce” quality test and the resulting fate of the berries which pass vs those who are, let’s say, “flat”…. “Berries that bounce seven times are keepers. The rest are used for processed foods or [...click to contimue reading...]
As the demand for organic food broadens we are seeing more and more folks entering the business. And that means greater competition and therefore (thankfully!) lower prices. So we took a saunter down to the local Costco Store and picked up some of their Kirkland Organic Salsa. First, the price for a 65 oz. jar was $5.66. Nice. .. Especially when you look at how much those small jars of the non-organic salsas cost. Next, ingredients. This stuff contains (all these are organic) .. tomatoes, jalapenos, onions, tomato paste, cilantro, sugar, vinegar, cumin, garlic and [...click to contimue reading...]
As I’m sure you’ve all heard Cadbury has announced that it has found the chemical melamine in it’s chocolate products made at it’s factory in Beijing. This is believed to be related to the melamine found in powdered milk for babies that so far has caused the deaths of four infants and other medical problems in 54,000 others that we know of. Melamine as you may know is used to create a thermosetting plastic resin. One of it’s main problems is it’s tendency form insoluble crystals in the bloodstream that can cause blockages in the kidneys. [...click to contimue reading...]
Just visited my daughter in Arlington, VA last weekend. The purpose of the trip was to help her out with her new house so I was doing the Dad thing with plumbing and landscaping which really turned out well. But in the course of things I noticed that her culinary life could also take a step up. Sure it seems daunting to her to pull together a quick creme brulee (sounds better in French than “burnt cream” in English doesn’t it?) which may be why she has a ton of cookbooks but never seems to make anything. So [...click to contimue reading...]
Over the past few months my diet has been transitioning to being closer to vegetarian than anything else. And this is a smart thing given it’s effects of lowering cholesterol and increasing physical and mental energy. Now don’t get me wrong, I’ll still enjoy non-vegetarian cooking from time to time (and if I’m going to have something non-vegetarian I make sure that it’s an outstanding party in my mouth. .. Hamburger helper need not apply). However, one of the challenges of eating this way is making certain you are getting an adequate intake of protein (you need to consult with your nutritionist or [...click to contimue reading...]
Jul 222008
Was visiting the other day and the hostess was preparing some fresh strawberries for strawberry shortcake. .. And you know what happened, large bowl, chopped strawberries and a ton of sugar. Into the frig and out comes this very sweet, runny type of deal. .. Don’t want to complain here but it has to be done. Over the top with the sugar and way too watery. Ideally sweetness like salt and pepper is best left to everyone’s personal preference. So after some experimentation we’ve arrived at a yogurt based strawberry topping that’s full of strawberry flavor, [...click to contimue reading...]
Jul 072008
It’s hard to believe the amount of resistance and the number of fresh pineapple virgins there are out there. .. The last recipe called for fresh pineapple and it was if I was asking people to become Julia Child or something. So basically for all those who’ll never admit they’ve never prep’d one, here you go short and simple: Using a long blade knife cut the end off Cut a slice (outer rind and all) Using a paring knife go round the slice and remove the rind Lay the slice on a cutting surface and with [...click to contimue reading...]
As with all cooking (and as in relationships for that matter) what ingredients you bring in determines what you get out. Or said another way GIGO – Garbage in / Garbage Out. … As we said before one of the biggest favors a cook can do for himself and his guests is to use the finest ingredients possible. And you know what, they really don’t cost that much more, especially if you consider it from an added cost per meal. .. With all the prep, cooking, clean-up time and effort use the best to get [...click to contimue reading...]
Well, back from the no-blog vacation (like blogging about food is something I needed a vacation from). Anyway goofed off for a number of weeks, met some incredible people and just up’d everything by two levels. .. It’s been a very, very nice couple of weeks. Anyway, back to Soy Milk. This is West Soy’s brand. One of those beverage products that comes in a box that needs no refrigeration.. And this is nice especially if you’re roughing it with a backpack in the middle of nowhere. It has this plastic tab kind of thing with a [...click to contimue reading...]
May 162008
The last thing you want on your fresh organic salad is tired old dressing….. Or, just as bad, some secret flavor packet that you “easily” add oil and vinegar to and shake. And the reason for the “easily” is that this is something that the Conventional Food People along with Madison Ave. has convinced us of. Let’s do it real and natural and FRESH .. and trust me it will be just as easy as shaking in a bag ‘o stuff. By the way, take another step from the conventional foodies by making sure you use [...click to contimue reading...]
