Blogs

As I pulled out of the parking lot, I caught a glimpse of red and noticed that the homeless gentleman had his right hand held at ear's level, holding a large ripe red tomato. The tomato had a big bite out of it, and juices ran down and off the man's elbow. Read more »

Ever get a hankering for some great Hokkien mee? Want to throw together the perfect shabu-shabu? Looking for beautiful photos of mouth-watering caldereta? If you answered yes to any of these questions — and even if you didn't — you won't want to overlook these great websites dedicated to the cuisines of East Asia. Read more »

A couple of weeks ago I received a phone call from Cousin Joni. She said, “What are you doing Saturday morning?” Since it was early in the morning, and I had not finished my first cup of coffee, I absentmindedly said, “Nothing.” Joni said, “Good, we need some help butchering our rabbits!” Read more »

East Asian cooking, especially the cuisine of southeast Asia, uses a lot of rice noodles. They are served hot, cold, in soups, in salads and rolled up into spring rolls. Their lightness and chewy texture make rice noodles a pleasant change from heavier wheat noodles. Only thing is, many of us don't have a clue how to soak them properly. Perhaps I can help. Read more »

Out on the prairie, in the southeasternmost corner of Iowa's Pottawattamie County, on the eastern slope of the Nishnabotna River Valley, located on the third terrace at the south end of my upper garden is my perennial vegetable garden. Read more »

The Huffington Post has a piece today on the Top 10 Farmers Markets in the US. They have a pretty good list: Portland, Seattle, San Francisco, New York, Savannah, Madison. But as with any Top 10 list, they miss quite a bit. Read more »

These days Melon Cauliflower is turning into a Bitter Melon. My perpetual "sigh" is turning into an "ACCCCKKK!!!" It's this cooking thing. I do it, every day, every night (well almost every night) and I'm starting to really DESPISE it. Read more »

There are a lot of yogurts out there on the market. Quality plain yogurt should be just milk, live cultures and perhaps a pinch of salt. But so many brands out there have additives, stabilizers like gelatin and carageenan, or preservatives. Others are so spiked with sugar or high-fructose corn syrup that they have more carbs than a can of soda. I found a yogurt with none of that, but one that has all the thick, creamy texture of a great Greek yogurt. Read more »

I love mole poblano. The subtle heat of the ancho, pasilla and mulato peppers. The sauce, its flavor deepened with chocolate and thickened just enough to coat slices of turkey or chicken with a cocoa-velvet sheen. But all that wonderfulness can take a long, long time to make. I came up with this speedy version that—while not quite as ethereal as the hours-long stuff—can still make your heart sing and your tummy beg for más! Read more »

Today I planted one of my easiest/hardest gardens, the Heirloom Dry Bean Garden. It's one of the easiest because once you get them planted and — with a little weed cultivation later on — you don't have to do a darn thing to them until you harvest them. Which is the hardest. Read more »