Peter Glatz

I’ve been spending my summer as a chef at Prairie Fruits Farm and Creamery in Champaign. I consider myself to be in pretty good shape, but by the end of my workweek, my 71-year-old butt is dragging! When I drive back home to Springfield after my last shift, I count on my two days off […]

The origin story of the potato goes back 7,000-10,000 years to the Andes mountain region of southern Peru and northwestern Bolivia. Spanish conquistadors encountered potatoes in Peru in 1536 and brought them back to Europe. Leave it to the gastronomic creativity of the French to transform this humble tuber into a decadent and delicious dish […]

I’m back on my bus this summer, living on a farm in rural Champaign and working at Prairie Fruits Farm and Creamery. Prairie Fruits Farm and Creamery is about 5 miles northeast of the campus of the University of Illinois, my alma mater. My bus is parked next to a goat barn surrounded by a […]

Of all the plants in my vegetable garden, I have a special fondness for Swiss chard. Unlike asparagus, which makes an early spring appearance and then quietly goes to seed, or Brussels sprouts, whose tasty orbs do not come to maturity until the fall, Swiss chard graces my garden from late spring through the long, […]

We all have nostalgic taste memories from our childhoods. It might be for things like our Mom’s brownies or our grandmother’s lemon meringue pie. Any discussion we might have about the best way to make a particular dish will ultimately be evaluated and compared against what you grew up with. If I were to tell […]

I am very passionate about both food and music and few things bring me more pleasure than dining al fresco at a musical performance. Al fresco in Italian translates to “in the cool,” and has come to refer to dining in the fresh air. The combination of delicious food, live music and a beautiful outdoor […]

I’ve been hearing that Panama is one of the best places in the world for Americans to retire. It’s a tropical destination with incredibly beautiful scenery and is less than a three-hour flight from Miami. Panama is warm and humid at sea level and cool in the mountains. It lies southwest of the hurricane belt, […]

NPR’s Morning Edition recently reported on a study published in The British Medical Journal that concluded that eating ultra-processed foods harms our health. The study, which was based on data compiled from more than 9 million people, found “consistent evidence” that people who consume high amounts of ultra-processed foods have an increased risk of anxiety, […]

Good cornbread is humble and simple. Great cornbread is aromatic, toothsome and flavorful. Cornbread is best when baked in a ripping hot cast-iron skillet and served warm while the aromas are at their fullest. Really good cornbread comes from really good cornmeal. Really good cornmeal is made from corn that has been grown organically, still […]

Food memories have the power to transport you back in time and trigger strong emotions. When an old favorite restaurant closes, it can make you sad. It can feel like a part of your history has been erased. These establishments often hold a special place in our hearts, reminding us of happy moments, people and […]

Though I don’t have any Slavic or Orthodox Christian roots, my family has been making a rich cheese-based dessert called paskha every Easter for decades. Paskha is a traditional Eastern Orthodox dish resembling a crustless cheesecake. It is served after the “breaking of the fast” at the end of Lent. We first read about paskha […]

Every morning when I wake up, the first thing I do is check the weather app on my phone, and then I scan my emails. I had to do a double-take recently when I opened an email newsletter from Anupy Singla, one of my favorite cookbook authors. Her post began: “This week, I launched my […]