Fast food fast tracks Indian cuisine to mainstream

In my latest USA Character Approved Blog post, a bevy of new Indian fast food restaurants reflects the mainstreaming of food from the Subcontinent here.

Fast food gets a bad rap, often for good reason. But something it does well, I think, is spot culinary cultural trends and help make them mainstream. In many cases, it even speeds them along.

One of the latest cuisines getting the fast food fast track treatment is Indian food. Living in Chicago, we’re blessed with lots of good options for Indian food, especially along Devon Avenue. The many restaurants along the crowded street are stuffed with Indian and Pakistani immigrants as well as growing numbers of adventurous Westerners. But dinners there are often protracted affairs, and for the uninitiated, the menus can be daunting. Continue reading “Fast food fast tracks Indian cuisine to mainstream” →

One-pan impromptu in the key of winter: Pork Chops with Chickpeas, Spinach and Cumin

Chickpeas and spinach bring big health benefits to this hearty one-pan meal. Cumin, chili powder, garlic and onion bring big flavor. Recipe below.

This meal wasn’t going to be a post. It was just meant to be dinner. But suddenly, the kitchen was smelling heavenly (assuming there’s cumin in heaven, and I certainly hope so). And when I served the chops and spooned the chickpea spinach mixture next to them, the plates looked really inviting. So before cutting into my chop, I had Marion taste hers. She smiled and nodded, and here we are.

This particular dish came together because we’ve been eating too much chicken. We love chicken, but even for us, there’s been a lot of it. So when I saw a nice looking pair of pork chops in the grocery store, I grabbed them. My first thought for sides were mashed potatoes and a salad, quick and easy. But we’ve been doing those a lot lately too. Continue reading “One-pan impromptu in the key of winter: Pork Chops with Chickpeas, Spinach and Cumin” →

Bake in it, serve in it, then bury it in the yard: Biodegradable, compostable bakeware

Biosphere Industries and its biodegradable, compostable bakeware and serveware made from tapioca are the subject of my latest post on the USA Character Approved Blog.

For having such a tiny garden plot, we compost a lot. (And by we, I mean Marion, of course, the same we who does our gardening.) So when we started seeing compostable “plastic” drinking cups made from corn in some of our favorite takeout places, we got excited. Until we read the fine print. Turns out they take up to 180 days to compost in commercial composting facilities; try composting them in a home system, and they can take a year or more.

Not so with the bakeware, plates and other serving pieces from Biosphere Industries. Introduced last summer, their tapioca-based pie pans, muffin trays and other containers compost in just 10 days in commercial facilities. Continue reading “Bake in it, serve in it, then bury it in the yard: Biodegradable, compostable bakeware” →

Sweet, savory, quick, delicious: Sweet Potato Sage Pasta with Chicken

A handful of fresh ingredients—sweet potato, sage, onion, garlic and chicken—make a sweet/savory pasta dish that’s weeknight quick. Recipe below.

With holiday excesses behind us, it’s good to get back to quick, simple, everyday cooking. This dish is one of my favorite examples of that kind of cooking, in that involves fresh ingredients, using up leftovers and unexpected synapses firing.

One thing I’ve noticed in writing about food for the past five years or so is that it makes me think about food, a lot. Sometimes it seems that everything I see or read or hear or smell or taste has the potential to inspire some cooking idea. Continue reading “Sweet, savory, quick, delicious: Sweet Potato Sage Pasta with Chicken” →

Fighting food deserts and taking the week off

Holidays, birthdays, houseguests and other pleasant distractions have kept us preoccupied in the kitchen this week. We’ve mainly been whipping up reliable favorites or ordering in pizza to keep everyone fed and happy. So no recipe this week. But don’t worry, we’ll cook up something fresh next week.

Instead, I’d like to tell you about my latest USA Character Approved Blog post. One of the great things about writing pieces for this blog is discovering cool new things in food—everything from chefs to trends, restaurants, cookbooks and people working to help us all eat healthier. Stockbox Grocers is one of the coolest stories I’ve come across in a while. Continue reading “Fighting food deserts and taking the week off” →

The joys of wasting not, wanting not for the holidays: A simple Italian Celery Soup

Leftover celery teams up with chicken, carrots, tomato paste and rice to become Minestra del Sedano, a satisfying meal in a bowl (recipe below). And a pair of utilitarian holiday gifts lead to hidden urban treasure.

This time of year, food magazines, websites and blogs are awash in holiday recipes. How to make the perfect Hanukkah latke or Christmas roast, countless cookie recipes, vegan holiday menus… Sometimes, I’ve jumped into the fray, with Hazelnut Rosemary Jam Cookies, a Cherry Orange Loaf Cake inspired by a gift my grandmother received as a child and even a dinner for two for friends spending their first married Christmas together.

Other years, I’ve skipped recipes in favor of my grandmother’s story, a poem remembered from grade school and even our non-traditional traditional Christmas Eve dinner (and yes, we’re going again this year). Continue reading “The joys of wasting not, wanting not for the holidays: A simple Italian Celery Soup” →

Lamb, onions and potatoes become comfort food with an English accent: Lancashire Hotpot

This take on Lancashire hotpot—traditional English food at its most comforting—is made with lamb, onions and carrots topped with sliced potatoes and baked until fork tender. Recipe below.

Lancashire Hotpot

DON’T YOU HATE IT WHEN A GOOD MYTH GETS DEBUNKED? Turns out one of Mark Twain’s cooler quotes may never have been uttered by him. I say ‘may’ because while no one can find it in his writings anywhere, they also can’t find anyone else who said it. Continue reading “Lamb, onions and potatoes become comfort food with an English accent: Lancashire Hotpot” →

Kids teaching kids to cook and a Last-Minute Holiday Gift Guide

A new web series starring cooking kids is the subject of my latest Character Approved Blog post. And some last-minute holiday gift ideas from the king of the procrastinators.

Our girls were introduced to the kitchen early. I remember Marion sitting on the kitchen floor with them when they were toddlers, mixing bowls and measuring cups spread out around them. The girls would spoon, stir, mix and measure ingredients that would become a gingerbread or cake or some other delicious baked treat.

Lately, getting kids cooking is being seen as a powerful tool for teaching good eating habits. And as the epidemic of childhood obesity and its attendant health risks continue unabated, those good eating habits are more important than ever. Continue reading “Kids teaching kids to cook and a Last-Minute Holiday Gift Guide” →

Savoring National Pear Month with Pear Blue Cheese Bacon Pizza

Blue cheese, onion and bacon give pears a savory twist on this pizza. Recipe below.

December seems an odd month to honor any produce that isn’t a root vegetable. At least that’s what I thought until we recently attended a pear-focused luncheon at Chicago’s Blackbird. The event was hosted by Pear Bureau Northwest as part of an eight-city tour aimed primarily at helping people understand how to tell when pears are ripe and ready to eat. More about that later.

We were treated to a four-course meal by Chef de Cuisine David Posey that showcased pears’ versatility, from pear and butternut squash soup with blis char roe enrobed in stout foam to leg of lamb with roasted pears, maitake mushrooms and hearts of palm and, for dessert, warm beignets with butterscotch, spiced brittle, pears and maple ice cream. We were also treated to lively conversation between delicious bites, much of it about food, but only a little of it about pears. Still, we came away knowing a great deal about this popular fruit. Continue reading “Savoring National Pear Month with Pear Blue Cheese Bacon Pizza” →

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” →