A blog about food, history, data visualization, and more
These days, kale’s most iconic role is in kale salad — one of this era’s hottest salad trends (though they were also making kale salads 100 years ago). Massaged with salt, dressed with a sharp dressing, tossed with all manner of vegetables, nuts, and other tasty items, it is often delicious and nearly always healthy […]
A basic squash soup can be delicious on its own, or with a simple garnish of brown butter, chopped sage, or crumbled cheese, to name a few garnishes. But sometimes you might want a more complicated soup, or more than one flavor combinations for a party. One way to do this is to make a […]
Over the last few weekends, I’ve been trying something new to help me experience the flavors of the season or to use up extra produce: consulting a bible. This particular bible is The Flavor Bible, by Karen Page and Andrew Dornenburg. After a short introduction into how we taste and how chefs create successful flavor […]
Wheat harvest at Eatwell Farm, June 2008 When nights are long and cold, I often crave mushroom-barley soup. Thick, richly flavored, nutritious and texturally interesting, yet relatively easy to make. Although barley is what I have used in the past, lately wheat berries have been my grain of choice. Wheat berries are the whole grain […]
Galangal (Alpinia officinarum or A. galanga) is an ingredient that I associate exclusively with Southeast Asia — Thailand, Indonesia, and Malaysia, in particular. I have pounded it into a Thai curry paste, used it in a Malaysian Nonya Laksa, and stir-fried it with garlic, chilies, lemon grass and mixed vegetables. So it was quite a […]