April 26, 2011
How Not To Cry
Of all the kitchen inconveniences the cook has to live with, the one that generates the highest number of defensive strategies is no doubt the chopping of onions, and the associated teargas effect.
The reason why it makes you cry is explained in detail here, and if you like to read about enzymes and syn-propanethial-S-oxide, as do I, it is worth a read.
But to put it more simply, chopping onions causes the release of an irritant gas in the ai...
April 19, 2011
50 Things To Do With Fresh Sorrel
Garden sorrel (Rumex acetosa) is commonly cultivated in French vegetable patches, and the season is just beginning. It is a sturdy, easy-to-grow leafy plant that comes back year after year, and belongs to the same botanical family as rhubarb and buckwheat, which is always fun to know.
I think of it as being halfway between a green and an herb: its flavor is notably tangy and sour, and it can be eaten raw or gently cooked, but in both cases it ...
"50 Things To Do With Fresh Sorrel" continues »
April 12, 2011
Water Kefir
Those of you who subscribe to my newsletter already know that I worked for a little while last month at Bob's Kitchen, a (very good) vegetarian lunch restaurant and juice bar in the 3rd arrondissement.
The team had been hired to provide the food during a film festival that was held at Beaubourg, so they needed a few more hands on deck, and I seized this opportunity to gain a little pro cooking experience, to catch a behind-the-scenes glimpse a...
April 5, 2011
Chinese Marinated Pork Ribs
In the very early days of 2011, I was invited to lunch by a blogger-friend*. In preparation for the meal, she said two promising things: "I hope you like Chinese food" and "Come hungry."
In her pretty apartment filled with lovely things to look at -- postcards and drawings and old vinyls and slim books with soft covers -- she treated me to a cornucopian spread of Chinese dishes, all of them family recipes from her mother's kitchen.
Among thes...
"Chinese Marinated Pork Ribs" continues »
April 1, 2011
April 2011 Desktop Calendar
At the beginning of every month, I am offering C&Z readers a new wallpaper to apply on the desktop of your computer, with a food-related picture and a calendar of the current month.
Our calendar for April is a picture of peas in their pod. I've written before about the pleasures of fresh peas, and I am excitedly awaiting the first specimens of the season this month.
I like my peas simply steamed, especially as a side to a roasted duck fillet,...
"April 2011 Desktop Calendar" continues »