Untitled Document He’s back! Since mid-April the guy who’s been selling fruits and vegetables at our corner for several years has been at his post. I almost never buy there, because most of it’s not homegrown, let alone locally grown, though in late summer I might get a melon from him if I’m desperate. (He […]
Food & Drink
Posted inFood & Drink
Can the can for fresh ham
Untitled Document My mother called. She and her man had ham-in-the-can for Easter dinner. Her voice was filled with a mixture of disgust and disappointment. The meal was nearly inedible, she reports, with a foul odor and sci-fi texture that she couldn’t erase from her memory. She would be making ham salad of the leftovers, […]
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A bloody good thing
Untitled Document The name may be a little off-putting. The orange exterior, streaked or mottled with vermilion and/or brownish purple, may bring to mind a nasty bruise rather than something good to eat. However, the first sight and taste of blood oranges’ flesh reveal why they are so sought after. Blood oranges aren’t new, though […]
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A better glass of milk
Untitled Document Whatever you may think of Jim Oberweis’ politics, one thing is for sure: In any taste contest against ordinary store-bought milk, Oberweis Dairy milk wins in a landslide. In 1915 Peter Oberweis began selling extra milk from his farm’s cows in Aurora. By 1927 he was in the dairy business full-time. Back then, […]
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Gluten-free pizza for all!
Untitled Document Imagine waking up one day to learn that your small intestine can’t take it anymore; that wheat, barley, and rye are the enemy; and that you’ve got to go cold turkey on the stuff if you want to stay alive. Specifically, it’s the gluten causing the gastrointestinal uproar, the very same protein network […]
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DIY English muffins
Untitled Document I will go out on a limb and assume that those who bother to read this here column understand and acknowledge the following statement: In the world of doughs and batters, homemade is a route less traveled but infinitely more satisfying. I apologize if I’m preaching to the choir, but I bet some […]
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A sandwich by any other name
Untitled Document What’s a nice guy from Venezuela doing in Springfield? Well, among other things, he’s making arepas. Félix Cabrera moved to Springfield from Venezuela five years ago with his wife, Ana, and two sons, Santiago and Bernardo. Cabrera came here in conjunction with his family’s business, a commodity-brokerage firm. They also have offices in […]
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Welcome to spring
Untitled Document I’m a firm believer in signs from the universe. Nothing is a coincidence. We meet people for a reason, even if they cause us pain and heartache. We fall in love when we least expect it, and we gravitate to certain parts of the world, sometimes without explanation. Thank goodness for Mother Nature, […]
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Ramp it up
Untitled Document I’ve just been to a Rampfest — an evening in one of Chicago’s trendiest venues, the large space filled to overflowing with people sniffing, eating, and talking about ramps. The decorations consisted of vases filled with ramps, their beautiful lily-of-the-valley-like leaves spilling from the tops and the purple stems, white bulbs, and roots […]
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Deviled Easter eggs
Untitled Document Easter was a big deal when I was growing up. There were the church services, which for a number of years included a sunrise play at Lincoln Memorial Garden, directed and produced by my mom (she also made the costumes and set, a.k.a. the tomb). It was pretty impressive to see that figure […]
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Chico and the enchilada
Untitled Document Chico was just some guy I had heard about through my friend Karla. An Aztec dancer living in San Francisco, Chico had blown into Washington for a night, bunking with our mutual friend. I stopped by to say hello to Karla, and Chico and I met as he was waking from […]
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If you knew sushi
Untitled Document It seems as if sushi is everywhere these days — in eclectic restaurants that offer a bewildering (and, unfortunately, sometimes badly executed) mix of cuisines, in Chinese megabuffets, and even in plastic tubs in grocery stores. Even so, many people still have mistaken ideas about sushi, and some think there’s a gross-out factor: […]
