Oh, Eating Very Well


When a magazine and its collaborative website are called Eating Well, healthy food is a given. Of course it is, but this isn’t nearly the whole story, right? Certainly not, and when recipes promise readers will be “Eating Well,” they’d better deliver on the phrase’s entire meaning. Fortunately, the webpage’s writers understand this, and they… Continue reading Oh, Eating Very Well

East Carolina Style. Way East.


When you’re in the mood for a pulled pork sandwich, nothing matches that beguiling combination of smoky, slightly tangy and majorly savory the east offers with such pride. East Carolina? Well, maybe there too, but even more evocative flavors are to be found in East Asia. In Thailand, specifically. Thus, when Food & Wine suggested… Continue reading East Carolina Style. Way East.

Think North, Mate!


That’s where you’ll find culinary inspiration for today’s entry, Chicken Salad with Cashews and Coconut, in Southeast Asia. That is, well to the north of the Sydney restaurant that created the dish. Indeed, though Milk Street visited Australia to show readers the masterpiece in the July-August 2019 issue, the creation was dreamt elsewhere, amidst the… Continue reading Think North, Mate!

Rocky’s Road


In his surprising come-from-behind candidacy for New York’s governorship in 1958, many attribute Nelson Rockefeller’s victory to the “blintz tour” he made one October day of Lower East Side eateries. In visiting Jewish delicatessens, Irish groceries, Italian bakeries and Puerto Rican bodegas (among many other places), Rocky, as he was nicknamed decades before the movie,… Continue reading Rocky’s Road

Will It All Fit?


Maybe not. So much jostles in this week’s soup, it’s unlikely one stockpot will hold everything. What…in one bowl? Come on, you’ve got to be joking. Yet somehow, Tom Kha manages it. Here’s a Thai prawn and scallop soup which contains not only the titular seafood – two kinds at that – but power hitters… Continue reading Will It All Fit?

It’s Everywhere


You can’t have enchiladas without sauce, right?  Sure, though in today’s offering, Enchiladas Verdes (Green Enchiladas with Chicken and Cheese), it’s more than just an accompaniment.  Here the sauce lines the pan in which the enchiladas bake, and then it smothers them both before and after they emerge from the oven. Oh, there’s more, actually,… Continue reading It’s Everywhere

Kizin Kreyòl


That’s where today’s meal originated, in la kizin kreyòl, or in the Creole (in this particular usage, Haitian) kitchen. Though the Caribbean nation is poor, Haiti is rich in history and in a happy, generous spirit. These factors unite in a cuisine that combines African and French ancestries, along with Amerindian, Spanish and other influences.… Continue reading Kizin Kreyòl

OK, to the Farmers’ Market!


While we’re there, let’s pick up some coconuts. If you live in Florida, as at least one of you does, the suggestion is entirely reasonable, as the state counts coconut groves among its producers. In fact, such is this reader’s enthusiasm, finding a recipe that matches the exuberance became an obsession. At last, the journey… Continue reading OK, to the Farmers’ Market!

First Up


On and on winter seemed to go, month following month, unrelieved. Just when the greys and the browns threatened permanence, and greenery faded to a memory which maybe never really was after all, the earth stirred. Weary at first, a subtle softening here, a brief thaw there. Maybe a sporadic glint of brightness. Then, one… Continue reading First Up

Fine, Who’s Mani?


No, not who, but what. “Mani” is the Spanish word for “peanut.” At least it is through the majority of Latin America, though in Spain and in Mexico “cacahuate” is preferred, it seems. Bolivia, though, definitely favors “mani.” Hence, one of the most beloved dishes on the country’s tables is Sopa de Mani, or Peanut… Continue reading Fine, Who’s Mani?