Farming
Eat Your Carrot Greens
Last weekend, I picked up some beautiful carrots—the kind that Bugs Bunny would drool over; classic orange cones topped with plumes of greenery—at an organic farmstand. From childhood experience, I already knew that the sweet crunch of garden-grown carrots tastes far better than those mass-produced...
November 03, 2009 |
By Amanda Bensen
Five Ways to Eat Winter Squash
There are hundreds of ways to eat winter squash, but these are five of my favorites. Tell me yours...1) Baked maple squash. This is best with smaller varieties like acorn or delicata. Cut in half, scoop out the seeds and pulp from both halves, and place cut-side up in a baking dish with just enough...
October 22, 2009 |
By Amanda Bensen
Food Safety, and the Ten Most Dangerous Foods in the U.S.
Everyone's talking about food safety—or rather, the lack of it—in the American food system these days.The New York Times published a deeply disturbing account this week of the trauma inflicted on one young woman by E. coli-tainted beef. At age 22, Stephanie Smith was left paralyzed by the simple ac...
October 08, 2009 |
By Amanda Bensen
Hail Caesar—The Birthplace of the Famous Salad Closes
This time, Brutus had nothing to do with the death of Caesar. Instead, it was a drop-off in tourism—partly due to fears about swine flu and escalating drug violence, on top of a bad economy—that hastened the demise of the Tijuana restaurant credited with inventing the Caesar salad.As seems to happe...
September 30, 2009 |
By Lisa Bramen
Death by Durian Fruit?
Anyone who has ever smelled a durian fruit can tell you that it smells mighty strong. Although Wikipedia claims that this southeast Asian fruit's aroma can evoke "deep appreciation," an online search turns up a host of less favorable descriptions for durian's smell: "almost overwhelmingly foul," "r...
September 29, 2009 |
By Amanda Bensen
Discovering Sunchokes
I have a new vegetable obsession: sunchokes. I discovered them at the American Indian museum's wonderful cafe, Mitsitam, where the seasonal menu currently includes something called "roasted sunchoke soup." On Friday, as I wandered through the cafeteria trying to decide on a side dish, a fellow patr...
September 28, 2009 |
By Amanda Bensen
When Humans First Got Milk
Have you ever stopped to think about how strange it is that we drink the breast milk of another species?And no, I'm not going all PETA on you. I grew up down the street from a dairy farm in Vermont, and drank a glass of fresh cow's milk every morning at my mother's insistence. My morning ritual has...
September 25, 2009 |
By Amanda Bensen
Five Ways to Eat Apples
Honeycrisp, Gala, Macoun, Gingergold, Cortland, Macintosh... our fridge was full of apples after a recent trip to visit friends on the north shore of Massachusetts. We went to one of my favorite old haunts there, Russell Orchards in Ipswich, where the smell of fresh cider donuts is even stronger th...
September 22, 2009 |
By Amanda Bensen
Why Honey Is Eaten for Rosh Hashanah, and Other Burning Questions
Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year, begins tonight at sundown. It's traditional to dip apples in honey to symbolize the hope for a sweet year ahead, a practice of which I was aware but never knew the origins. To find out, I consulted Jeffrey M. Cohen's 1,001 Questions and Answers on Rosh Hashanah a...
September 18, 2009 |
By Lisa Bramen
Organic Farming Takes Root in Eastern Germany
Today's post comes from guest writer Clay Risen, who is currently in Germany for two months on a journalism fellowship. Christian Lindner, a farmer in Lietzow, about 25 miles east of Berlin, has been bringing his organic produce to Berlin’s farmers’ markets for years—23 years, to be exact. But it’...
September 11, 2009 |
By admin
A Brief History of American Farm Labor
The observance of Labor Day, which was declared a national holiday in 1894, is usually associated more with the organized labor movement in industry than in agriculture. But some of America's most significant labor milestones have taken place in the fields, not the factories.In the colonial era, mo...
September 04, 2009 |
By Lisa Bramen
Food Tattoos
Ever peel one of those pesky stickers off a piece of supermarket produce, and end up with a gooey or skinless spot marring an otherwise lovely nectarine or tomato? Ever been stuck waiting in the checkout line while the cashier ponders whether to ring up organic or regular bananas, since the sticker...
August 31, 2009 |
By Amanda Bensen
Is a Sugar Shortage Looming?
It's often said that Americans are addicted to oil—witness the tizzy that ensued last summer when pump prices topped $4 per gallon in many places. But if there's one substance we're nearly as dependent on, it's sugar—in our treats, in our packaged foods, in our coffee (America may "run on Dunkin',"...
August 28, 2009 |
By Lisa Bramen
Five Ways to Eat Fresh Figs
I hope I didn't freak you out too much last week by pointing out that most figs have bugs in them—tiny wasps that basically dissolve within the fruit as it ripens—because fresh figs are wonderful! They're in season in many places right now, so enjoy them while you can.Due to a vacationing neighbor'...
August 27, 2009 |
By Amanda Bensen
Breadfruit, the Holy Grail of Grocery Shopping
About a month ago, one of our editors asked me if I could write a brief web piece on cooking with breadfruit, to accompany an upcoming piece about Jamaica in the magazine's travel issue (now online)."Sure," I said, after a little Googling to determine what the heck a breadfruit is. They grow on a t...
August 25, 2009 |
By Amanda Bensen
Cooking with the Season
As I explained a few months ago, my husband and I have been participating in a community-supported agriculture (CSA) program for the first time this year.I can't recommend the experience strongly enough; if you have the chance to sign up for one in your area next year, do it! Our half-share worked ...
August 24, 2009 |
By Amanda Bensen
Fresh Figs, and Bugs?
Our neighbor went on vacation this month with a heavy heart, knowing she'd miss eating most of the figs just starting to weigh down the branches of her backyard tree. So she asked us to do her a "favor" and eat as many as we could before the birds got to them. Being the kind-hearted souls that we a...
August 20, 2009 |
By Amanda Bensen
Five Ways to Eat Tomatoes
If you have a garden, a seasonal CSA share, or a generous friend with either of those things—and if your region escaped the blight—then I bet you've got a lot of tomatoes on your hands right now. (Maybe they're even heirloom tomatoes, which some swear are superior, though others disagree.) Here are...
August 17, 2009 |
By Amanda Bensen
Why Does Corn Have Silk?
Why does corn have silk? I mean, I think it's fun to tear through the husk to reveal the ear, like unwrapping a present, but picking those sticky little strings off the kernels quickly turns tedious.So why doesn't someone invent silk-less corn, like seedless watermelon, to make life easier for lazy...
August 06, 2009 |
By Amanda Bensen
Ugly Watermelons Get a Second Life
Today is one of those odd unofficial holidays that I never noticed until I became a food blogger: National Watermelon Day. (Picked up this fact from Foodimentary via Twitter.)Which makes a convenient excuse to keep pigging out on the luscious melon I bought this weekend at a local farm stand. It's ...
August 03, 2009 |
By Amanda Bensen
