Strawberry Pie with chocolate crust and a slice of Beach Pie with pretzel crust. PHOTO BY JOSEPH COPLEY Back when I gave cooking classes, one of the most popular was “Demystifying Pie.” While it explored different fillings from savory to sweet, the main emphasis was the crust: pie pastry, aka pâte brisée. I’ve been making […]
Julianne Glatz
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Cheap food I: illegal immigrants
“It kills me that the folks who freak out over ‘illegal immigrants streaming over the border to steal American jobs’ are often the same folks who love $0.99 boxes of strawberries …. Don’t want illegals coming over here to work? Get ready to pay fair, American wages to the workers who produce your food. Just […]
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A squid by any other name
Fried calamari are fantastic: crunchy, with just the right amount of chew, amenable to all sorts of dipping sauces. PHOTO BY METRO CREATIVE CONNECTION They’re cheap. They’re ecologically sustainable. They’re über-nutritious: low in calories, but high in protein, antioxidant minerals and several B vitamins. They take only minutes – sometimes just seconds – to cook. […]
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A fresh Mexican summer feast
Fiesta salad makes a great summer Mexican meal. PHOTO BY DAVID HINE This menu bursts with bright flavors showcasing seasonal summer vegetables. The tangy orange-based chicken marinade hails from the Mexican state of Sinaloa. The chicken can be eaten in pieces or shredded to use in soft tacos along with the grilled vegetables. The salad […]
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Schutte headed for Aspen – again!
Central Illinois Organic Farmer Stan Schutte with Chicago Chef Tim Graham. PHOTO COURTESY TIM GRAHAM Two years ago, I wrote about Stan Schutte, the central Illinois farmer whose heritage breed Tamworth pig won the national Cochon 555 competition against other regional winners in cities all around America with pork dishes created by Chicago chef Jason […]
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Horseradish Festival
The International Horseradish Festival is June 6-8 in Collinsville. Some folks say Small Town America is dying. And in some cases, that’s true. But other small towns, such Homer, Illinois, have found ways to celebrate their uniqueness. For Homer, it’s their SodaFest featuring Homer Soda Company’s incredible variety of vintage and artisanal sodas. Chatham has […]
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Homer Soda Company
Homer Soda Company storefront in downtown Homer. PHOTO COURTESY HOMER SODA COMPANY Regular readers of this space know that I’ve railed against the American habit of constant soda consumption more than once. But truthfully I like soda. I like it a lot. If it weren’t for the problems – medical and dental – excessive soda […]
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Pie plant pie
PHOTO BY JOSEPH COPLEY It’s a family favorite, especially for my mom and me. In fact, it’s such a favorite that if my husband, Peter, is making Mother’s Day brunch or dinner for us at home, mom or I will make a rhubarb pie ourselves rather than Peter making another dessert. (Peter is an outstanding […]
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Foraging spring flowers
PHOTO BY METRO CREATIVE CONNECTION Every year of my life, violets have appeared on our dinner table. Occasionally they show up in a vase, but far more often we use them as a garnish for salads and spring vegetables, especially asparagus. “You can eat violets?” incredulous guests always ask. Yes, you can, and dandelions too, […]
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Crazy for cornbread
It’s more American than apple pie. The English brought apple pie to American shores. Native Americans taught the earliest European immigrants to parch, grind and mix corn with boiling water, and then bake it into thin cakes. They weren’t nearly as tasty as the cornbread into which they evolved, but made good staples for hunters […]
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Easters past
PHOTO BY METRO CREATIVE CONNECTION What a difference a couple of years make! In 2012 Easter fell on the seventh of April. It was a glorious weekend, undoubtedly our best Easter ever. The most wonderful thing about it was the marriage of our daughter, Ashley. It was a joyous celebration, a gathering of friends and […]
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Curry party
“Hey, let’s have a curry party!” Greg Hurt said. Peter and I looked at each other and smiled. We didn’t know what a curry party was, but it was sure to be fun and have delicious food. In the 1990s we had a group of friends I thought of as our British Commonwealth buddies. Most […]
