Food Features

When I was a child my happiest moments were spent wandering in the expanse of woods behind our house. In the springtime the woodland floor would be thickly carpeted with native wildflowers like spring beauties, Dutchman’s Britches, trillium, Mayapple and sweet William. Now my own children look forward to springtime romps in “Mommy’s special woods.” […]

The COVID-19 has been a major wake-up call. It’s made us realize how vulnerable we are. The Spanish Flu pandemic was a hundred years ago. In all the years hence, the advances in modern medicine and pharmacology haven’t been able to prevent over 3 million COVID deaths worldwide. This pandemic should be motivating us to […]

The first spears of asparagus began popping up through the soil in my garden last week. Likewise the spinach seeds that I planted way back in February are finally showing their true leaves and it won’t be long until these much anticipated spring delicacies make their appearance on our table. When they do I know […]

There are about as many different ways to hard-cook eggs as there are ways to serve them. Whether deviled, diced into egg salad or grated over plump spears of asparagus, hard-cooked eggs are an essential component of many spring menus. Indeed, eggs have symbolized new life and rebirth for millennia so it makes sense that […]

Copper Pot Cooking Studio celebrated its fifth anniversary in March with the installation of a little cookbook library and micropantry, custom-built for them by Girl Scout Troop #6318. Denise Perry, who owns the cooking studio on the corner of MacArthur and Laurel Avenue in Springfield, said that the project had been on her mind for […]

In 2013, three chefs from Chicago’s acclaimed Alinea Group went on an R&D trip to Spain in pursuit of inspiration for upcoming menus. In San Sebastian, the culinary capital of Spain’s Basque region, their tour guides were the head chefs of restaurants Mugaritz and Arzak. The five members of this entourage were all superstars of […]

There are few pieces of kitchen equipment as versatile and hardworking as the humble half-sheet pan. This 13-inch by 18-inch rimmed metal pan has short, one-inch-deep sides that perfectly contain diced vegetables or savory juices from roasting chicken while still allowing for sufficient airflow to facilitate browning and rapid cooking. Half-size sheet pans are slightly […]

Nothing says St. Patrick’s Day like corned beef and cabbage, unless of course you’re actually Irish. Although the dish has become synonymous with the Ides of March around much of the world, the Irish aren’t traditionally a beef-eating culture. In Gaelic Ireland, cattle were sacred creatures and an important symbol of prosperity, used as work […]