For an authentic, gourmet dessert served in French bistros and homes, try making a clafouti. Somewhere between a custard and cake, it’s a simple, eggy batter poured over fruit and baked. The crisp outside and edges contrast with the more pudding-like interior. Clafoutis were originally made with unpitted sweet cherries, the pits imparting a subtle […]
Food & Drink
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The little shop that could
It’s quirky — the good kind of quirky. Its eclectic assortment of edibles reflects, I suspect, the owners’ tastes as much as their customers’. And it’s been in the same Springfield location for a long time. A very long time — since the 1890s. Not only that, but it’s been owned and operated by the […]
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Egg, Garlic & Herb Pasta Sauce
This delicious and unusual pasta sauce is a favorite at my house, and takes only minutes to make. In fact, it has to be made quickly in order for the sauce and pasta to be combined at just the right moment. It’s not at all difficult, but the sequence and timing are crucial. Try it […]
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Argentina offers more than amor
It’s comforting to know that Illinois has some serious competition in the wacky governor sweepstakes. I feel like the folks my husband, Peter, and I met in last January in Louisiana. Whenever anyone realized we were from Illinois, they’d say something like “We really have to thank you. For years we’ve been embarrassed by Louisiana’s […]
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GRILLED PROVOLONE
Both these recipes demonstrate Argentina’s connection with Italian cuisine. Italian-style cheeses such as provolone are made throughout the country. Chimichurri is a riff on the classic Italian salsa verde. It’s wonderful, not only on grilled beef, but on other grilled meats and poultry as well. It also makes a tasty salad dressingAged Provolone, either in […]
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Everything’s just peachy
It’s one of my earliest sensory memories: climbing our old white peach tree, picking one of the rosy fruits, and taking a big bite. The taste was sweet, floral, delicate — almost ethereal. The peach had been basking in the sun, and the hot sticky juice ran down my chin as I ate. Decades later […]
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GARLICKY GREENS AND BEANS
If some of Veenstra and Heck’s gorgeous vegetables have drawn your eye, but you’re hesitant about buying them because you’re not sure how to prepare them, never fear. They have an entire file box filled with recipes and tips. Here’s a sampling: The combination of beans and greens is a classic that appears in cuisines […]
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Growing food, healing land
It’s as inevitable as death and taxes: when growing vegetables without chemicals, weeds will be involved. Even though sophisticated mulching and planting techniques can minimize and, with diligence, even eliminate them over time, weeds are still there, lurking in the background, plotting their next invasion. It’s a pearly morning. Approaching rain clouds make rows of […]
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RED VELVET CAKE AU NATUREL! (BEET CAKE)
3/4c. cocoa 1 3/4 c. flour 2 tsp. baking powder 1 1/4 c. sugar 1/4 lb. cooked, puréed beets 3 large eggs, beaten 2/3 c. vegetable oil Vanilla extract Mix dry ingredients together in a large bowl. In a separate bowl, combine remaining ingredients. Fold the beet mixture into the dry ingredients and pour into […]
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For some fine Austrian wine, say “groo-vy”
When you think of Austria, what comes to mind? Beautiful mountains and picturesque valleys? Strauss waltzes? Wienerschnitzel? Mozart? Pastries? (what we call “Danish” are known in Denmark as weinerbrød – “Vienna bread”) Maria and the Von Trapp kids singing “Do-Re-Mi”? The pristine white stallions of Vienna’s Spanish Riding School performing their “airs above the ground” […]
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The coffeehouse in a Goodwill Store
I didn’t know it existed until I saw the sign on the Goodwill store at Chatham Road and Wabash Avenue. Driving away from the garden center behind Hobby Lobby after buying more flowers than I’d intended (I have no willpower in those places), I did a double take: Edgar’s Coffee House. What was a coffeehouse […]
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White meat vs. dark
“I’ll bet a dollar we get something this time besides [fried chicken] ribs and neck,” said Leon. “How do you suppose breast would taste?” [Later ….] “He gave me a big bite of breast. It was sort of dry and tasteless; I didn’t like it. “Why, I think neck or back beats that all to […]
