Boston
Matcha goes global as trendy ingredient
By Debra Samuels GLOBE CORRESPONDENT JUNE 23, 2015 Much is being made about matcha. From lattes and shakes to ice cream and baked confections, the bitter, mossy green powder, a specially processed tea, is turning up everywhere. Matcha is being treated as the perk-me-up of the moment in themed matcha bars from Brooklyn to Berlin. Today’s …
Read moreFood-savvy dads at the stove
By Debra Samuels GLOBE CORRESPONDENT JUNE 16, 2015 LEXINGTON — In mid-20th-century America, TV dads Ozzie Nelson, Ward Cleaver, and Desi Arnaz donned their wives’ aprons and mishaps and mayhem ensued. Now some dads have taken over kitchen responsibilities, either out of necessity or because they love the inventive aspect of cooking. The bumbling dad has been …
Read moreThis Chinese grandma forages and cooks
By Debra Samuels GLOBE CORRESPONDENT MAY 12, 2015 SOMERVILLE — Ginger Chen scans the terrain, a sharp knife at the ready. A wide smile spreads across her face as she spots something. She bends down, pokes the knife into the dirt, and wiggles loose a straggly plant. This is no ordinary, unwelcome weed. At the edge of …
Read moreBoston Ballet’s Nissinen cooks a Japanese dinner
By Debra Samuels GLOBE CORRESPONDENT DECEMBER 02, 2014 Dressed in black, with a black apron, Mikko Nissinen is stylish and cheflike standing over an outdoor grill on the deck of his South End home on a chilly November evening. He is roasting a meaty tuna collar for a Japanese-inspired menu. The Finnish-born Nissinen, artistic director of …
Read moreLife’s a bowl of cherry…blossoms
The 3 amigas have been at it again! My friend and assistant, Chie Ehara, invited me and Elsa Tian over to her home in Arlington, Massachusetts to pick cherry blossoms from the huge tree in her yard. The plan was to preserve them in salt to use throughout the year in tea, mochi (sweet rice cakes) and to …
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From the Boston Globe At popular restaurants in town, weekend brunch can attract a full house all morning and well into the afternoon. It’s the antidote to a late night out, it’s the ideal celebration for the new grad and a multi-generational family, and it’s a menu that can be lavish, leisurely, savory, sweet, or …
Read moreCommercial gefilte fish replaces Jewish grandmothers’
By Debra Samuels | GLOBE CORRESPONDENT APRIL 08, 2014 Mention gefilte fish to anyone who is Jewish, and some will smile, others cringe. This Eastern European specialty is an acquired taste. But it is also a memory trigger from Friday night Sabbath dinners and Passover holidays. Gefilte fish are dense oval balls made with varying amounts of …
Read moreVeggie chips, from garden-variety to great
TASTE KITCHEN Veggie chips, from garden-variety to great By Debra Samuels | GLOBE CORRESPONDENT FEBRUARY 25, 2014 Crunch, crunch, crunch was the only sound you could hear from a group of seven tasters as they munched their way through six brands of vegetable chips. There were chips that look like slices of carrot or sweet …
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 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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