While attending one of Urbana’s Prairie Fruits Farm and Creamery’s Farm To Table Dinners, I asked owner Leslie Cooperband if I could “stage” (work as an unpaid apprentice) for one of their events. Guest chefs, often from Chicago, would come down to the farm to create amazing meals, eaten communally outdoors. I was hoping my […]
Peter Glatz
After the passing of his wife, Julianne (former Illinois Times food columnist), Peter Glatz decided to retire from a 40-year career as a dentist to reinvent himself as a chef at the age of 66. In his short culinary career, he has worked at Chicago’s Michelin-starred Elizabeth Restaurant, Oklahoma City’s Nonesuch (Bon Appetit’s “America’s Best New Restaurant- 2018), Savannah’s The Grey, and Spoon and Stable in Minneapolis.
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Weeknight curry in a hurry
The premature death of my wife due to complications of obesity was a loud wake-up call for me. At the time of her death I, too, was obese, weighing 236 pounds and having to buy my clothes at a “Big and Tall” store. We didn’t eat “junk food” or drink soda. My wife was an […]
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Getting back into the kitchen
Our society is experiencing an epidemic of obesity and diabetes with the root cause of insulin resistance. Insulin resistance develops when we bombard our body all day long with sugar-containing substances. It’s hard to find processed foods that don’t have sugar or high-fructose corn syrup in the ingredient list. If we wish to address the […]
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It’s zucchini time!
There is a point every summer when my vegetable garden transitions from a state of scarcity to one of overabundance. My approach to meal planning shifts from “What do I have enough of to make something with?” to “What am I going to do with all these veggies?” This is especially true of zucchini. A […]
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Vegetables a la Beef
I’ve long been a big fan of chef, writer and TV celebrity Anthony Bourdain. His bestselling book, Kitchen Confidential: Adventures in the Culinary Underbelly, led to his career in television hosting the Food Network’s “A Cook’s Tour,” Travel Channel’s “No Reservations” and “The Layover,” and CNN’s “Parts Unknown.” I vividly remember a 2013 episode of […]
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When life gives you too much basil…
I spent the summer between high school and college working as a maintenance man at a girls’ summer camp in Wisconsin. I was known as “Mr. Pete” and I shared the duties with a college student known as “Mr. Tim.” The camp operated under very strict rules and Mr. Tim and I resided in an […]
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Miso is more than soup
I first encountered miso nearly four decades ago at a hole-in-the wall sushi restaurant in Chicago. It came in the form of a complimentary bowl of miso soup that preceded my sushi selections. I became instantly fond of miso but I never really understood what it was or what it could be used for besides […]
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Skirt steak
About 10 years ago, I was camping at Summer Camp Music Festival at Three Sisters Park in Chillicothe near Peoria. Summer Camp is a four-day event over Memorial Day weekend featuring over 100 bands and attended by over 20,000 people. Back then my camping set-up consisted of my van, tent and E-Z Up canopy. That […]
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Summertime and the grillin’ is easy
My obsession with cooking outdoors over fire must have been carried forth in the DNA from my primal ancestors. Grilling adds depth and complexity to vegetables in a way that can’t be achieved by steaming or boiling. I challenge my vegetable-hating friends who were brought up eating bland and insipid canned or frozen veggies to […]
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What makes the Magic Kitchen magic
Thirty-four years ago I heard about a little coffee shop in the parking lot of a shabby motel on Springfield’s north side that had unlikely pairing of corndogs and Thai food on the menu. Even though I had spent the last four years in Chicago and had dined in dozens of Asian restaurants, I had […]
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Kitsune
I recognized the look. I see it every time I walk in the back door of a new restaurant. “I’m Peter, and I’m here to stage.” (A stage is an unpaid, short-term internship when a cook works in another chef’s kitchen to learn and be exposed to new techniques and cuisines.) From someone expecting a […]
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Farming on the earth
In 1970, when I was 17 years old, I bought a book entitled Living on the Earth by Alicia Bay Laurel. It was illustrated with beautiful line drawings and the text was handwritten in cursive. Alicia Bay Laurel was a 21-year-old hippie living at Wheeler Ranch, a commune in Sonoma County. Intended to be a […]
