Food Features

Look what they done to my song ma Look what they done to my song Well it’s the only thing That I could do half right And it’s turning out all wrong ma Look what they done to my song The words to this song by the singer-songwriter Melanie popped into my head as I […]

Francophiles rejoice! Excuses to throw on a beret and eat delicious Provencal cuisine abound this weekend. Beauty and the Beast opens at the Muni July 13 (running through July 22). The Tour de France cycling race is just past the halfway point and Bastille Day (the French holiday commemorating the storming of the notorious Bastille […]

Although Japan adopted the Gregorian calendar in 1873, the old Japanese 24-season lunisolar calendar is still used to celebrate birthdays and cultural events. July 7 is Shsho or “small heat day” when the “warm winds blow, and young hawks learn to fly.” In modern times, July 7 is also known as Hiyashi Chuka Day. Hiyashi […]

Chilled soups and garlicky flame-licked toasts are a perfect summer combination, whether you’re looking for an elegant make-ahead menu for entertaining or for those evenings when you just can’t be bothered to cook. While these refreshing chilled soups sadly don’t prepare themselves, they are ideal make-ahead dishes. Both soups will keep well in the fridge […]

Imagine what life was like around here in the 50s. I’m not talking about the 1950s when I was born. I’m talking about a hundred years before that, in the 1850s. Back then, all of Springfield’s public water came from a single pump on the southwest corner of the town square. That’s where you got […]

Springfield’s official Juneteenth festivities will feature an expanded six-day schedule of events this year, including a talent showcase and display of Juneteenth artifacts, Juneteenth Levitt AMP concert and Noir Art show at the Illinois State Museum – culminating with a parade and festival in Comer Cox Park June 17 and 18, and closing out with […]

When big box stores started putting local mom-and-pop shops out of business, our communities lost many experts and artisans. As local hardware stores, grocers and bakeries closed, we no longer had access to their knowledge and information. In the last decade, there has been a resurgence of locally owned artisanal businesses, including, thankfully, butcher shops. […]

Born in Taiwan in the 1980s, boba tea has experienced a surge in popularity. The “bubbles” are known as “boba” – chewy little tapioca balls about a centimeter in diameter. Boba tea is essentially a fusion of a tea drink popular in 1980s Taiwan in which green or black tea was shaken with ice and […]

When I hang out with other chefs, as a conversation starter, I’ll often ask them what’s their favorite thing to eat, or what they’d choose for their last meal. One would expect the responses to be something complex, and, well… cheffy. Surprisingly, often the answers trend toward simple dishes. My current boss, Chef Sean Brock, […]

Bunches of candy-colored radishes and vivid carrots are often as pretty as a posy of flowers, especially in spring when the foliage is lush and bright green. I always plant an excessive quantity of radishes in my veggie garden each year, partly because I enjoy them but mainly because they’re one of the first crops […]

My wife is not a picky eater. She starts out her mornings with a forkful of my homemade kimchi, straight out of the jar, followed by a glass of my home-brewed lemon-ginger kombucha. She’ll eat roasted bone marrow, raw oysters, grilled octopus, and beef tongue tacos. At Enoteca Maria in Staten Island, she even shared […]

Made with just four simple ingredients and a few careful techniques, meringue is an elegant dessert shape shifter. Naturally gluten-free and dairy-free and relatively low in calories, meringues are a good choice when entertaining a group with dietary restrictions. They can be made several days in advance. Meringue is made by vigorously whipping egg whites […]