The Boston Globe : Feature Articles
Thinking inside the box
More people than ever are packing a lunch for work or school. The number of ways to carry the meal have grown, too.Are you still brown-bagging it? If so, it may be time for a change. Lunch has evolved beyond the sandwich, and lunch containers have kept pace. They keep your salad crisp, your dressing …
Read moreSwooshing through a spa in high-tech Tokyo
TOKYO — Spa LaQua is a contemporary take on one of Japan’s national treasures: the “onsen,” natural hot springs that bubble up from deep inside the earth. Such resorts are a popular destination for Japanese and are found from north to south on the archipelago. Spa LaQua’s saltwater springs come from about 5,500 feet below …
Read moreIn the heart of Chicago, hardy food full of comfort
CHICAGO — 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 moreCOOKBOOK REVIEW’Japanese Cooking’ is still the master
Japanese Cooking: A Simple Art,By Shizuo Tsuji, Kodansha International, 507 pp., $45 When “Japanese Cooking: A Simple Art” first came out 25 years ago, sushi was exotic, teriyaki was the sauce, and miso soup was for the macrobiotic crowd. No one who frequented the few Japanese restaurants in American cities could have predicted what would …
Read moreA sweet Portuguese tradition
EAST 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 moreBetter than takeout
A 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 moreA cookie contest keeps friends together through the years
WEST 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 moreGetting schooled in Korean cuisine
CONCORD — Spatula in hand, prep cook Domingos Netos is frying dozens of sunny-side up eggs on the griddle in the open kitchen of Concord Academy’s cafeteria. Hundreds more eggs are ready on commercial-size baking sheets. But this isn’t breakfast. The eggs will top the Korean seasoned rice dish bibimbap. Dozens of bowls of this …
Read moreSharing the pleasures of real sushi
Hiroko Shimbo has been teaching Japanese cooking in her native Tokyo, New York, Spain, and England for 15 years, which has given her new opportunities in the restaurant industry as Americans become ever more captivated with the food of her culture. She was the culinary consultant for Taneko Japanese Tavern , which opened earlier this …
Read moreCompetition cooks up at a 4-H county fairFood and Fun Club members put their kitchen skills to the test
WESTFORD — 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 moreDress-up season in TokyoSummer spawns celebrations of season and spirits
TOKYO — 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 moreWorld of CookingArrive a tourist, eat your mistakes, go home with recipes for a feast
MENFI, 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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Bento: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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