morsels & sauces

Oh, I have been sick.  This is not how I had hoped to begin my summer.  No, I had plans of yoga and running and elaborate lunches with friends and gardening.  Instead, my body had far different and, as it turns out, more demanding plans of books and sleep.  Which has been nice. Apparently my body has decided that I should spend the opening of this summer curled up in bed with throat lozenges, topical throat spray (I seem to have a wicked sore throat), and hot tea.  I have gotten the chance to read five books so far this summer (none of which were actually my book club book, Fools of Fortune , since book club was thankfully cancelled) and I can say I really recommend only one of them, Super Sad True Love Story .  Nothing like a little social dystopia to keep you entertained as you contemplate how the white blood cells in your body are waging its own apocalyptic coup on some seditious summer virus. And then last week, I had a friend...

I have an addiction that many of you share--cookbooks.  Thankfully, I have an enabler.  A dear friend of mine sends me cookbooks out of the blue (see here and here ), and this cookbook was another gift brought to me by my dear friend via the USPS.  What a lovely surprise to find such presents awaiting me on my door step. This cookbook comes from Sara Forte, "a food-loving, wellness-craving veggie enthusiast" (or so she describes herself in the cookbook), and Hugh Forte, her photographer husband, who also run a snappy little blog , The Sprouted Kitchen.   Focused on good, local food in season, the Fortes are part of the movement that has made it, I would say, to the mainstream.  There are so many good cooks, good food bloggers, and good growers out there that support this movement; all you need is one good farmers market or a grocery store committed to these qualities, and you're set. Lucky for me, I live less than a block from mine.  While it...

A colleague of mine recently gave me a dozen eggs from backyard, Berkeley-raised chickens.  I haven't the slightest idea of how to raise backyard chickens (thankfully there's google for those of you who want to know); all I know is that when my friends have a plethora of eggs and the good sense to share them, I can whip up a souffle.  About this time a couple of years ago, I detailed my foray into souffle making, and a scientist friend of mine says that the science checks out.   Since we have already discussed the souffle, let's spend a little more time with the egg itself, shall we? Eggs are graded (AA, A, or B in descending order) according to interior and exterior quality.  The shells are examined for "soundness, cleanliness, shape and texture," according to my handy Food Lover's Companion , and the interior is graded through a process of "candling" (so called from the days when you would hold an egg up to a candle to examine the interior-...

And we're back. Back to Plenty , which is fast becoming my go-to cookbook for all things vegetarian. And this recipe is a fast, healthy, and easy one. I will be heading back to Illinois in a month. Illinois--or at least the rural part of Illinois from which I come--is, quite simply, the land of soybeans and corn. Growing up, we would spend the summer riding bikes, sometimes to retrieve something from the little downtown, other times for no reason at all.  We lived on the outskirts of our town, and we, my brother and I (him on his BMX, me on my red banana-seat bike with tassels on the handles and a white wicker basket) would cut through the cornfields to get out of the little (and only) subdivision we lived in. I still remember that prickly smell of corn in the heat as we cut through the rows at top speed, digging deeper ruts into the mud, especially as we rounded the corner to avoid the barbed-wire fence.  Every couple of years, the farmer would rotate the corn with soyb...

There are few things I love more than wild mushrooms .  I do not, howev er, trust the husband as he hunts for them.   He has more courage than I do, and well, I like my liver as it is, thank you. We ll, Greens Restaurant and the Berkeley Bowl to the rescue again. As is typical though with this cookbook, set aside some time . But truly, it is worth it.  Take a couple of days (make the stock one day, the ragout the next.  You know how to roll).  You could take lots of short cuts, but in the end, I am not sure t hose shortcuts would be wor th it.  Instead, follow along and get the results of u m, wow . In other news, I am gearing up for summer.  There will be three (!) instances of professional development.  There will be trips to Illinois.  There will be two instances of me presenting to teachers (or would-be teachers) as favors to friends.  There will be many excursions to the beach.  There will be a niece who visits Cali...