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Kasha salad
A staple of Russian cuisine, kasha (buckwheat groats) is a hearty and nutritious grain with an earthy, nutty flavor. It can be a breakfast cereal or savory side dish. Kasha sold at local Russian markets is in whole form. Wolff’s Kasha, on most supermarket shelves in the Jewish food section, comes fine, medium, coarse, and …
Read moreIt’s a pit-ty…..
My favorite winter citrus in Japan is yuzu. The deep yellowy-orange sour fruit almost defies description. Shaped like a mandarin orange, it has the piquancy of a lemon and a staggering number of pits. There were over 20 pits in each of my 8 yuzu, each larger than any of 8 pits in the lemon …
Read more“Tadaima!” – “I’m home!”
Happy Year of the Horse from Tokyo, Japan. My husband, Dick and I are on our annual (well almost, we skipped last year) January visit this time only for less than 2 weeks instead of our usual 1 month stay making it is really difficult to see all of our friends this time. January is usually …
Read moreRecipe for cocktail buckwheat blini
By Debra Samuels | GLOBE CORRESPONDENT DECEMBER 24, 2013 Makes about 70 2-inch rounds The raised pancakes blini are traditionally dipped into butter but can also be eaten with a variety of toppings, from a humble spoonful of jam to glistening orbs of black or red caviar with all the trimmings. “Blini are one of the …
Read moreGetting a taste of Japanese comfort food
COOKBOOK REVIEW By Debra Samuels GLOBE CORRESPONDENT DECEMBER 31, 2013 Tadashi Ono and Harris Salat take on home cooking in “Japanese Soul Cooking: Ramen, Tonkatsu, Tempura, and More From the Streets and Kitchens of Tokyo and Beyond” Ten Speed Press Number of pages:256 pp. Book price:$27.50 Harris Salat, owner of Ganso, a Japanese comfort food …
Read moreThink pie pastry is daunting? Try this 3-ingredient wonder
By Debra Samuels | GLOBE CORRESPONDENT -October 8, 2013 Leslie Fishman says the recipe for apple pie she learned from her mother “became a family favorite for decades.” Her daughter is the third generation to make it. NEWTON — At some point everyone wants to try making America’s iconic dessert, apple pie. Just the …
Read moreOutmuscling the applesauce competition
TASTE KITCHEN By Debra Samuels | GLOBE CORRESPONDENT Applesauce is the Swiss Army knife of comfort foods. Often baby’s first food, it pairs well with pork chops and poultry, is a nutritious snack, and a simple taste that’s appealing when you’re under the weather. We tasted seven commercially prepared brands of unsweetened applesauce with 13 …
Read moreA snack cake taste-off
BOSTON GLOBE By Debra Samuels | GLOBE CORRESPONDENT OCTOBER 01, 2013 WATERTOWN — Let’s get this part out of the way: Those familiar single-serving snack cakes like Twinkies and Devil Dogs aren’t going to win any nutrition awards. They typically contain dozens of ingredients, with things like partially hydrogenated vegetable oil, palm oil, artificial flavorings, …
Read moreRaising the bar for frozen fruit treats
By Debra Samuels | GLOBE CORRESPONDENT AUGUST 27, 2013 DEBRA SAMUELS FOR THE BOSTON GLOBE A good quality frozen fruit bar is a refreshing and low-fat snack and the world has discovered this. On a steamy summer afternoon, nine tasters were delighted to sample seven brands of frozen strawberry fruit bars, ranging in hue …
Read moreArrivederci Salem Food Store
By Debra Samuels, Globe Correspondent WALTHAM — Paul Ursino, 65, is retiring after almost four decades running Salem Food Store on Moody Street. With its deli counter, freezers, and well- stocked Italian pantry items, Salem Food Store specialized in imported cheeses, cured meats, specialty pastas, coffee, Italian bread, and handmade ricotta and sausages, produced locally. …
Read moreBento:Build a Better Lunch
Debra Samuels, bestselling author, food writer and cooking instructor, wants to give the American lunchbox a makeover. In the chapter on “bento,” the traditional Japanese lunch box, in her upcoming book, My Japanese Table, Debra encourages the use of color, texture and taste to create healthier and more visually appealing meals.
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