Scenes from Asia
September 17, 2014
Details forthcoming soon …
Category: Asia
The Wonder Spice: A Review of Turmeric, a Cookbook by Colleen Taylor Sen and Helen Saberi
March 11, 2014
Several years ago, I set up an informal experiment with an observation of two: in my tiny two-person household, I cooked and ate only Indian food for one month, relying heavily on cookbooks by Julie Sahni and Madhur Jaffrey. I felt terrific, with more energy and alertness than I knew what to do with. Of … More The Wonder Spice: A Review of Turmeric, a Cookbook by Colleen Taylor Sen and Helen Saberi
Pears – an Exploration of Ancient Food Preservation
November 15, 2013
The soft, beguiling fragrance permeates the air, rising above the aroma of the Jonagolds and the Galas, even over the sweet perfume of the Golden Delicious apples piled in baskets, resembling yellow baseballs. The knobby Bartlett pears (Pyrus communis), also known as the Williams pear, still slightly green but with a small and promising pink … More Pears – an Exploration of Ancient Food Preservation
Exploring the Delicacies of Indonesia, in the Shadows of the Volcanoes
September 29, 2013
CYNTHIA D. BERTELSEN | Special to The Roanoke Times Sunday, September 29, 2013 At the fish market, the man in black hoisted a bucket of fish to his well-muscled shoulders and strained to keep from slipping on the algae-covered steps. Picking his way out of the churning water, he plunked the bucket down and grabbed … More Exploring the Delicacies of Indonesia, in the Shadows of the Volcanoes
Why Do We Cook?
September 8, 2013
What does it mean to cook? Some – Harold McGee for example – would say that cooking means to prepare food by heating, while others, such as historian Rachel Laudan, extend the definition to include modes of preparation beyond heating. I tend to agree with the latter and not the former. So, with that sticking point … More Why Do We Cook?
Julie Sahni -Talk About Great Indian Food!
August 6, 2013
Like most of you (I hope), I have been cooking from Julie Sahni’s cookbooks for years. I learned to feel utterly confident that Ms. Sahni’s recipes really work and come close to what people from India know about good food. One weekend my husband’s office held a pot-luck at a colleague’s house. Feeling assured that … More Julie Sahni -Talk About Great Indian Food!
Mushrooms on My Mind, Naturally
August 1, 2013
It’s hard to imagine another form of earthly life that has affected human beings as much as the kingdom Fungi. Seeking the taste and perceived medicinal benefits of mushrooms,human beings followed a path from superstition to science: from foraging to farming, from medieval old wives’ tales to modern clinical trials, and from food eaten to … More Mushrooms on My Mind, Naturally
Journeys versus Destinations: Adventures in Indonesia
July 20, 2013
Adventures in Indonesia: Copy and paste this link for a direct line to the Power Point presentation: http://gherkinstomatoes.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/mike-and-cindy_s-most-excellent-adventures1.pptx This is a Power Point file that I have been working on. If you do not have Power Point, you will not be able to see the post. If you do have Power Point, be sure to … More Journeys versus Destinations: Adventures in Indonesia