Small Bites: Recycled homes for baby oysters and Top 10 for 2011

Efforts to restore Chesapeake Bay’s once plentiful oysters and my best attempt at a Top 10 List for food are subjects of recent Character Approved Blog posts.

Ever wonder what becomes of those oyster shells after you’ve slurped the briny, delicious mollusks from them? If you’re dining in a Mid-Atlantic restaurant, chances are they’ll be recycled into homes for spats (baby oysters) in Chesapeake Bay. This year alone, non-profit Oyster Recovery Partnership collected 7 million shells from restaurants, cleaned them up and used them to introduce half a billion spats into the bay.

Oyster Recovery Partnership isn’t just replenishing decimated populations of sustainable seafood—they’re working to restore the health of Chesapeake Bay. Oysters once filtered the waters of the entire bay every few days. Now it takes years. Continue reading “Small Bites: Recycled homes for baby oysters and Top 10 for 2011” →

Ten favorite recipes from five years of writing Blue Kitchen

Blue Kitchen turns five this month! To celebrate, I’m posting ten of our personal favorite recipes from the first five years.

Some years ago, singer/songwriter John Prine said at one of his concerts, “I’ve been doing this for 26 years now. But it only feels like… 25.” I understand. It feels like I’ve only been doing Blue Kitchen for four and a half years.

In trying to come up with fresh things to write about week after week, I’ve often said (and shall often say again, I’m sure) that ideas for the recipes and posts here come from many sources. This anniversary post was inspired by a very nice email from a new reader. In it, Le wrote,”Do you have a category of ‘favorite’ recipes? We all have favorite recipes that we would use over and over again and are favorites of the family and friends. I feel most of these recipes are often foolproof.” Continue reading “Ten favorite recipes from five years of writing Blue Kitchen” →

Small Bites: A website for hungry, lonely singles and hone your blogging skills at Food Blog U

A San Francisco website that matches singles based on food cravings is the subject of my latest Character Approved Blog post. And noted food writer Molly O’Neill builds a serious team for an in-depth food blogging course.

Feeling lonely and maybe a little peckish? If you’re in San Francisco, you’re in luck. Type in the food you’re craving and where you’d like to be eating it on the website Spoondate. Your cravings and your picture pop up on the site, where like-minded hungry singles can find you and make a date. Or you can see what others are craving and click with someone new.

And while picking a possible significant other based on food cravings may seem overly specific, even to foodies, meeting someone over the perfect thin crust pizza at Mario’s makes for a more interesting start than the generic “cup of coffee.” Continue reading “Small Bites: A website for hungry, lonely singles and hone your blogging skills at Food Blog U” →

Small Bites: A charming little shop in Chicago and a giant food festival in Cancun

P.O.S.H., one of my go-to spots for cool kitchen stuff, is the subject of my latest USA Character Approved Blog post. And the first annual Cancun – Riviera Maya Wine & Food Festival plans to change the way you think about Mexican cuisine.

Open the kitchen cabinets of any food blogger and chances are you’ll find stacks of mismatched china. We’re always on the hunt for interesting individual plates, bowls, platters and other props for our food photography. Flea markets, thrift stores and even IKEA are all prime hunting grounds. One place where I reliably have good luck is P.O.S.H., an artful jumble of restaurant china, hotel silver and vintage finds from European flea markets in Chicago’s River North neighborhood. Continue reading “Small Bites: A charming little shop in Chicago and a giant food festival in Cancun” →

Small Bites: The other Grant Achatz bakes pies in Michigan and Food Day urges us to eat real

Chicago chef Grant Achatz’s dad, a renowned pie maker also named Grant Achatz, is the subject of my latest USA Character Approved Blog post. And Food Day promotes eating healthy, eating real.

There are countless stories about kids of famous people and the pressure they must feel to live up to their parents’ wonderfulness. But what happens when the kid’s the famous one? Chicago’s own Grant Achatz is rightly revered for his groundbreaking molecular gastronomy at Alinea—and for his courageous battle against tongue cancer. Little is made of the fact, though, that he learned his chops and exhibited his extraordinary talent as a young boy in his dad’s restaurant kitchen. Continue reading “Small Bites: The other Grant Achatz bakes pies in Michigan and Food Day urges us to eat real” →

Small Bites: A sustainable, seaworthy CSA and I’m in good company at Gojee

A seafood CSA in San Francisco is the subject of my latest USA Character Approved Blog post. And I’m rubbing virtual shoulders with Amanda Hesser!

Sustainability is becoming an ever bigger part of the food conversation. What we eat, how it’s grown and how it gets to our plates affects our health, the health of animals and farm workers and, indeed, the health of the planet. Nowhere is the dialogue more complex than with seafood. Whole species are being fished to the verge of extinction. Some fishing techniques destroy habitat and kill unintended bycatch. And while almost everyone agrees that fish farming must be a big part of the future of seafood, it presents its own challenges—to the environment, to wild species and to the healthfulness and quality of the fish we eat.

So I’m delighted to report on a small, local solution that could serve as a model for similar local efforts. Continue reading “Small Bites: A sustainable, seaworthy CSA and I’m in good company at Gojee” →

Small Bites: Phone app tells you what to eat and fighting global poverty is in the bag

A new phone app that doesn’t just review restaurants, but rates individual menu items, is the subject of my latest USA Character Approved Blog post. And recycled shopping bags now on sale at Whole Foods support microlending programs in developing countries.

When it comes to technology, I’m a late adopter. I keep resisting smart phones. But apps like this one keep coming along, making me rethink my Luddite tendencies. When you want to eat out, choosing where to go is usually pretty easy. Friends, the media, websites like Yelp and even street buzz can keep all but the most clueless of us up on the hottest new tables, the classic standbys and the best neighborhood joints. Choosing the best dishes from an unfamiliar menu can be a bigger challenge. Continue reading “Small Bites: Phone app tells you what to eat and fighting global poverty is in the bag” →

Small Bites: Snow cones, cocktails and seven pounds of chocolate

Snow cones going artisanal with small batch syrups is the subject of my latest USA Character Approved Blog post. And Marion and I are asked to judge chocolate. Lots of it.

Snow cones are a primal summer pleasure. I remember staring at the spouted bottles of colorful syrup at the snow cone stand as a kid, agonizing over my flavor choice. If the stand allowed you two flavors (or sometimes even three! three!), the decision became exponentially harder.

Now a former Chicago restaurateur is making the decision a lot more interesting. Melissa Yen used to run one of our favorite weekend breakfast haunts, Vella Café. Frustrated by the limited choices in syrups for flavoring coffee for the café, she started experimenting with her own. Out of those caffeine-fueled adventures, Jo Snow Syrups was born. Continue reading “Small Bites: Snow cones, cocktails and seven pounds of chocolate” →

Small Bites: A farm built by sheep, and craft beers team up with a food truck

The unexpected making of Mint Creek Farm is the subject of my latest USA Character Approved Blog post. And Half Acre Beer Company and Gaztro-Wagon team up for one delicious night.

We’ve been buying lamb (and on occasion, mutton and goat) from Mint Creek Farm for a couple of years now. Mostly, we pick it up at farmers markets here in Chicago and always seem to get into great conversations about the farm with whoever’s working the booth. Still, when I decided to write about their certified organic farm in downstate Illinois for the USA Character Approved Blog, I thought it would be worth checking in with someone at the farm to see what was new. As luck would have it, soon I was on the phone with Harry Carr. He and his wife Gwen started the farm almost 20 years ago, and Harry has a reputation for having a way with a story. Continue reading “Small Bites: A farm built by sheep, and craft beers team up with a food truck” →

Small Bites: Ice cream trucks, Seattle street food moves inside and how to cook like a Momofuku

Three recent posts on USA Network’s Character approved Blog cover a lot of ground—and flavors.

Ice cream trucks loom large in our collective summer memory bank. Who hasn’t urgently pleaded for ice cream money from whichever parent was the softer touch when the siren song of the Mister Softee truck or the Bomb Pop guy caught our ear?

A diminishing number of these old school trucks still prowl the streets of some neighborhoods, but a new breed of ice cream trucks is serving up artisanal ice creams in exotic flavors, made from carefully sourced ingredients. Continue reading “Small Bites: Ice cream trucks, Seattle street food moves inside and how to cook like a Momofuku” →