PHOTO BY PETER GLATZ Pizza muffins “There’s never anything to eat in this house!” The above comment was made by all three of my kids at various points, and it never failed to irritate and befuddle me. Nothing to eat? Seriously? We had a pantry full of food, as well as multiple refrigerators and freezers. […]
Food & Drink
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Summer lunches for kids
PHOTO BY Beentree/WIKI Recently I was asked if I had any suggestions for kids’ lunches during the summer. It’s not the first time I’ve been asked that question and probably won’t be the last. But without information on things such as childrens’ specific ages and eating habits it’s a tough question to answer; even tougher […]
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Strawberry party
“For the last two weeks, we have had a continual round of strawberry parties….. This last week we gave a strawberry company of about seventy.” – From a letter written on June 26, 1859, by Mary Todd Lincoln to a friend. In the mid-1800s, late spring and early summer was strawberry party time in Springfield. […]
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In love with lettuce
PHOTO BY KERRY MICHAELS/TNS The lovely young lettuces of late spring/early summer are gorgeous enough to be ornamentals; some so beautiful they’re worthy of floral arrangements. Green lettuces range from palest celadon, chartreuse, Kelly green to forest. Some are speckled with red – one is named freckles; some varieties, such as Lollo Rosso, are darkly […]
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Grilling vegetables, a guide
The grilling season is – finally! – upon us. While grilling proteins such as meats, poultry and fish utilize varying levels of skill, grilling vegetables to perfection requires more finesse. I developed this guide for grilling vegetables over many years of trial and error, and believe me, there were lots of errors! One or more […]
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The spears of spring
Asparagus polonaise PHOTO BY PETER GLATZ Yes, I know that asparagus is available in groceries these days pretty much year round, but it’s still something best enjoyed in spring, just plucked as it shoots from the earth in nearby fields. Grocery asparagus that’s been stored for long periods and shipped thousands of miles may be […]
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Judith and Julia
Judith Jones, an editor at Knopf PHOTO © CHRISTOPHER HIRSHEIMER She’s as legendary in publishing circles as her most celebrated culinary author. It’s not an exaggeration to say that without Judith Jones, an editor at Knopf, Julia Child may not have become the iconic person and personality who became a driving force in changing how […]
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If music be the food of love…
Illinos mud chicken. PHOTO BY PETER GLATZ Choral music and churches are, if not inseparable, at least closely related. Student glee clubs and show choirs have widened the gap somewhat. Even the big orchestral choral works more often than not have religious subjects. The Springfield Choral Society rehearses at St. Paul’s Episcopal Cathedral and sometimes […]
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Slow Food morel dinner
PHOTO BY BEENTREE/WIKI Spring and morels. For mushroom aficionados the two are inseparable. For the last five years, morel mushrooms have also been linked locally to Springfield’s Slow Food chapter, thanks to their annual fundraising morel dinners at Maldaner’s Restaurant. What is slow food? Well, basically, it’s the opposite of fast food. The movement began […]
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Ravioli
PHOTO BY METRO CREATIVE CONNECTION “What’s your favorite cuisine?” It’s a question I’m frequently asked – and one I’m never comfortable answering. Do I really have to choose? My answer at any given moment may depend on the season, a cookbook I’ve been reading, a restaurant at which I’ve recently eaten, recipes I’ve been developing, […]
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Ham or lamb?
I couldn’t find statistics, but apparently ham is the centerpiece of most American Easter dinners; lamb is also traditional, though less so. My family has always been firmly in lamb’s camp. My grandmother’s roast leg of lamb was legendary, not least because of its gravy. The correlation between lamb and Easter is obvious: lamb and […]
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Eggs for dinner
Oeufs en meurette PHOTO BY Arnaud 25 VIA WIKIPEDIA.ORG Americans primarily think of eggs as something appropriate for breakfast and, on weekends, brunch. That’s changed a bit recently: fried or sunny-side-up eggs have been showing up as burger, steak, pizza toppings and more. Even though egg-topped dishes are sometimes overdone by chefs seizing on the […]
