Wednesday, March 10, 2010
Select a super-food for a healthier lifestyle
It time to once again to raise your arm, pumping it wildly while screaming, “RD’s rock! RD’s rock! RD’s rock! …
Wednesday, March 3, 2010
Healthy additives give new life to noodles
“Mom, noodle rhymes with poodle, but is a lot more fun to eat,” my son announced on a recent morning. “Yeah, you are right on both accounts,” I said with a laugh. “Thanks for giving me an idea for my column, silly guy. …
Wednesday, February 24, 2010
Chia seeds – ancient, but powerful new super food
It’s not natural to eat black food. Aside from black beans, black pepper and a few black grains, most foods in nature aren’t black. Burned marshmallows, blackened tuna steak and licorice aside, there aren’t too many foods that are naturally black. …
Wednesday, March 10, 2010
Try pork cutlets as a St. Patrick’s alternative
St. Patrick’s Day is still a week away. While I could theoretically wait until then to print my annual Ode to the Irish, I fear that if I tarry that long, most of the people who might benefit from it will be busy “enjoying the spirit of the day,” if …
Wednesday, March 3, 2010
Plan garden now for yummy dinners later
Spurred on by the financial meltdown, Americans set a record last year for the number of families who invested time and energy into growing a home vegetable garden. For those of us who are also cooks, these kitchen gardens re-established that elemental link between the products of the land and …
Wednesday, February 24, 2010
Old cookbooks offer more than just recipes
I love looking for old cookbooks at flea markets, yard sales and thrift shops. The funny part is that while I start out looking for cooking ideas and inspiration, what I usually end up getting instead is a bellyful of laughs. Wedged in between worn copies of the “Frugal Gourmet” …
Wednesday, March 10, 2010
Don’t ban Newberg from your dinner menu
In the time I’ve been writing this column, I’ve seen a lot of strange stories attached to the origin of certain recipes. But, I have to confess, this one is a first: a dish that has its origins in a drunken brawl right in the dining room of New York …
Wednesday, March 3, 2010
Centuries-old hummus remains popular
There are some dishes so ancient that their origins are lost in the mists of antiquity. The case in point here is hummus, variously spelled as houmous, humus, hommos or hoummos. Basically, it’s a mixture of cooked ground chickpeas, tahini (sesame butter), roasted garlic, lemon juice and olive oil, served …
Wednesday, February 24, 2010
Singin’ Hinnies offer a sweet addition to tea
Can she myek an Irish Stew Billy Boy, Billy Boy? Can she myek an Irish Stew, me Billy Boy? She can myek an Irish Stew Aye, and “Singin’ Hinnies” too. …
Thursday, October 8, 2009
Jake’s scoops up sweets – and some science
Deep within the recesses of an unassuming Amherst sweet shop, there’s science afoot. A mint hunk here, a pumpkin there, even some Mexican chocolate – each plays its flavorful part in concocting the unique ice cream flavors ginned up in the back room of Jake’s Old Fashioned Ice Cream and …
Thursday, October 8, 2009
Practice makes perfect for Swan’s chocolatiers
Michael Anderson doesn’t like chocolate. He loves it. He craves it. …
Thursday, October 8, 2009
Merrimack’s mile-high pies are no tall tale
Just because pie-maker Joe Lannan’s process is mechanized doesn’t mean his pies have lost that homemade feeling. In fact, each of the 5,000 to 6,000 New England Country Pie Mile High Apple Pies that go out a day are still hand-filled by 20 to 35 workers on the factory floor, …
Wednesday, February 17, 2010
Food adventures await the New England traveler
The ringing in of a new year means the glorious renewal of vacation time and ringing in the not-so-glorious task of picking the perfect vacation that meets your time and budget restraints. And that’s if you’re lucky enough to either have enough cash stored away to afford a trip or …
Wednesday, January 20, 2010
My favorite things … and my guilty pleasures
Double-churned ice cream and lime-flavored Tostitos; Celebrity gossip and “Jersey Shore” guidos; Pretty new shoeboxes wrapped up in strings; These are a few of my favorite things. Hey, don’t judge. We all have them – guilty pleasures we know offer us no benefit, and yet we can’t shy away. …
Wednesday, November 18, 2009
Holiday gift suggestions for the foodie in your life
Ahhhh, the leaves have fallen. I never see the light of day during the work week now, and baking pies has become a weekend ritual. Yes, it’s about that time. …
Wednesday, March 10, 2010
It takes a sharp eye to pair wines, cheeses
When we’re young, our palates are obviously less developed and become accustomed to simpler foods. The most dramatically misrepresented food category in my life was cheese. In fact, my idea of cheese was limited to Kraft singles and Kraft powder (thank you, mac and cheese). …
Wednesday, February 24, 2010
French burgundy of 2008 a miracle vintage
Back in 2007, my wife and I were honeymooning in Paris, and the weather could not have been any more beautiful. As a wine lover, I thought to myself, “What a terrific way to head into harvest.” Little did I know that for the previous month and a half, Northern …
Wednesday, February 10, 2010
What’s up with this swirling, sniffing of wine?
During the last few weeks, I’ve put on a number of wine tastings and served countless bottles of wine while working at the Stonehedge Inn. It was just recently that I started to think, why are people so self-conscious sniffing their wine in front of me? After one of the …
