The next time you make bacon, save that grease!! It’s great for making fried eggs, slow-cooked collard greens, sauteed chicken … just about anything, really. And rendered bacon grease is essential for making your own tortilla chips. Fresh-off-the-stove chips are worlds away from the pre-bagged varieties you find at the supermarket (which are usually made [...]
It’s hard to say whether the current status quo is due to an onslaught of commercials featuring kids eating carrots while playing in valleys or whether Americans have a group-mind when it comes to dressings, but one thing is clear: Ranch is just about everybody’s favorite dressing. I love the concept, too — you can’t [...]
Duck eggs are getting lots of buzz lately. Apparently, ducks are hardier than chickens and therefore easier to raise in urban backyards in the Midwest. Assuming you have a pond, of course. (Inner-city urban farmers in Detroit are saying that ducks are the current Big Thing. Both water and empty lots are copious in the [...]
Ever since I went to Spain last year, I’ve started to enjoy the occasional cup of coffee. Turns out the reason I didn’t like coffee before going to Spain was that I had only had bitter, instant-style American coffee. Freshly roasted and ground beans taste entirely different — mellow, almost sweet, and needing only a [...]
In Brazil, manioc flour is often toasted and then used as a garnish or seasoning. (Manioc, by the way, is what Brazilians call tapioca. In African nations, it’s called cassava; in Central American countries, it’s called yuca. But tapioca by any other name is still that familiar tapioca.) Toasting the flour gives it a nuttier, [...]
Most people like brownies better than blondies — after all, brownies have a chocolate base and blondies don’t. But what about blondies spiked with two kinds of chocolate? Even better, what if the blondie batter is made with almond butter? (Or any nut butter, for that matter.) Then you’ve got a nutty blondie base that’s [...]
Ever heard of matcha? It’s powdered green tea that’s a specialty of Japan, usually presented and served during an elaborate tea ceremony. The ultra-fine green powder is whisked into hot water with a bamboo whisk until it has completely dissolved. Not much is used since matcha is only made from the highest-quality, most flavorful tea [...]
Even though green salads are more of a summer dish, sometimes I find myself hankering for salads even more in the winter months, when the days are chilly and overcast. Thank goodness for greenhouse greens! In the winter, I’ll happily devour greens from someone else’s gardens. Markets often stock pre-washed organic greens of all types: [...]
Anti-inflammatory omega-3 fats are all the rage, and rightly so — we could all benefit from less inflammation in our lives. Especially those of us who have any condition ending with -itis: arthritis, colitis, diverticulitis, bursitis, etc. That four-letter “itis” ending means “inflammation.” Experts agree that eating anti-inflammatory foods is one of the best ways [...]
For sheer flavor punch — and kitchen economics — you can’t beat pickled ingredients. From pickles to olives to capers, a little goes a deliciously long way! And if you’re looking to create contrasting flavors, you can’t go wrong pairing a savory pickled ingredient with a creamy rich one, like cheese with olives or sour [...]
