Boston Globe, October 3, 2007 Makes about 9 cups or enough to serve 9 To achieve white rice and brown rice with perfect textures, cook them separately. If you prefer to serve them separately, you’ll have about 6 cups of white (to serve 6) and 3 cups of brown (to serve 3). WHITE RICE 2 cups …
Read moreBoston Globe, June 20, 2007 Tofu, the sensational block packed with protein that is popular in Korean, Japanese, and Chinese cuisines, is no longer exclusively available in Asian markets. Unfortunately, while the widely distributed brands like Nasoya are good, they don’t have the same strikingly fresh taste as tofu from Asian grocers. When you go to …
Read moreBoston Globe, June 13, 2007 Some desserts, like one I was served recently in Italy, are stunning on the plate. In this case, triangles of puff pastry were set into a pool of vanilla custard sauce. Tiny strawberries were strewn around the dish, which was decorated with zig zags of chocolate. In fact, this impressive confection …
Read moreBoston Globe, May 16, 2007 If you’re hosting a crowd for a graduation party or wedding shower, you might want to turn the oven off and keep things light. Stash away the stew and lasagna recipes for fall — it will be here soon enough. A flavorful fresh salmon mousse makes an elegant addition to …
Read moreCHICAGO — On a recent visit to help my son settle into his apartment off Lake Shore Drive, I opened the fridge to look for something for breakfast. Skunked!On his way out the door to register for classes, he said, “Mom, try Valois on 53d Street . They have the best breakfasts, it’s a friendly …
Read moreEAST CAMBRIDGE — You might walk right past Central Bakery without knowing there’s a behemoth workroom just beyond the glass cases in the front. There, year round, bakers churn out Portuguese sweet breads and rolls. At Easter, the round sweet breads are made with more sugar and more butter and baked with a hard-cooked egg …
Read moreBoston Globe, March 7, 2007 When Sandra Silva, a native of Sao Paulo, Brazil, has a crowd for brunch at her home, she serves a dish she calls Café Brasil or Brazilian breakfast. Instead of laboriously making eggs individually, like a home-based short-order cook, she has perfected a dish that can be prepared all at …
Read moreA splash of soy sauce, a drizzle of sesame oil, a little rice wine, a smashed clove of garlic, chopped scallions, and a knob of ginger. You have the aromatic elements of a simple Chinese stir-fry. Exotic bottled sauces or even a stop at an Asian grocer aren’t essential to make an authentic dish. Stir-frying …
Read moreWEST PEABODY — They call themselves the Agawam Babes, and for 16 years, these girlhood friends have been getting together in each other’s homes for brunch and a cookie swap. It started as a way to stay connected despite marriages, kids, and jobs. The group has changed over the years, but the core has stayed …
Read moreWESTFORD — Louise Donahue looks for an empty cake rack on her kitchen table, brimming with baked goods. “We’ve already had one disaster today,” she says as she sets down the hot pan of butterscotch bars her 10-year-old son, Greg, has prepared for the 51st annual Middlesex County 4-H Fair. The bars go next to …
Read moreTOKYO — The passion in Japanese souls is never more evident than at a “matsuri” — a festival that is part Mardi Gras, part history lesson, and part food festival. From local neighborhood fetes to large-scale city events, matsuri celebrate everything from rites of passage to changing seasons to local culture. They even are used …
Read moreMENFI, Italy — We weave our way out of the densely packed city of Palermo at rush hour and drive south through western Sicily. The road slices through a valley surrounded by huge rocky outcroppings. The sky is a deep blue and green fields stretch ahead like a velvet patchwork bordered by a riot of …
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