The Boston Globe : Feature Articles
Pasta is full of carbs, but that doesn’t matter Tomatoes or cream?Here’s your guide
ROME — A nattily dressed gentleman, unlit cigar poised between his lips, studies the pastas in a soccer-field-length supermarket aisle. Signore Pino Magno is an Italian diplomat who loves to cook. He is choosing pasta to go with one of his sauces. After much consideration, Magno decides on a bag of casarecce, a delicately once-twisted, …
Read moreA little barley goes a long way to beef up a soup or vegetablesUse it instead of high-carb pasta, potatoes or rice
Tired of potatoes, rice, and pasta? Looking for another carb with some nutritional clout? Try barley. When cooked, barley has a soft but slightly crunchy texture. When added to soups, it makes them creamy. It is a great base for a pilaf. Barley has a long history. Part of the human diet for several thousand …
Read moreEasy peanut sauce will perk up a salad, appetizer, or entreeIt’s great as a base for meat, vegetables, tofu
Burlington’s Elsa Tian is a lively lady of 70 and a superb, instinctive cook. Elsa and her husband, Jan, immigrated to the United States 38 years ago from Jakarta, Indonesia. Elsa loves to share her cooking with friends. One day last month, she dropped off some of her wonderful peanut sauce, and over the next …
Read moreA little bit of everything goes a long way
Don’t pity the poor antipasto according to Lynne Rosetto Kaspar, author of “The Italian Country Table” (Scribner), even though its origins are in peasant cuisine, many of the dishes, developed from leftovers, have now become antipasti, often translated as appetizers. The word “appetizer,” however, barely does justice to the long list of antipasti at restaurants …
Read moreFor dinner, too, eggs are a reliable comfort food
They’re baaaack! Eggs that is. Denigrated for being high in cholesterol, eggs seem to be regaining their Grade A status. Sunnyside up or down, there is no more throwing away the yolk and making that pale substitute: an egg-white omelet. Diets like Atkins and South Beach tout protein, protein, and more protein. We all know …
Read moreAlong with your cod, a side of controversy
The North Atlantic cod is the fish for which Boston is famous, the one after which the Cape is named, the main ingredient in our fish chowder. According to Mark Kurlansky, author of “Cod, a Biography of the Fish that Changed the World” (Penguin), the control of cod also has led to war and prosperity. …
Read moreKorean scallion pancakes a savory comfort food
Kyong Ok Lim pokes her head out the door of her shop, New York Oriental in Cambridge, and looks up at the darkening sky. She says it’s on days like these that Korean families wish for scallion pancakes. Rain or shine, however, on Saturdays Lim is in the kitchen in the back of the shop …
Read moreZappin’ the Apple
Traditional methods for baking apples take almost an hour, but how about zapping an a apple for a simple dessert or a sweet start to your day with breakfast? A micro-waved apple takes only minutes — a great impromptu treat during apple season. You can even make an individual serving of fresh warm applesauce – …
Read moreFeeding on the many flavors of Stockholm
STOCKHOLM – Situated in an archipelago of thousands of islands, Stockholm is one of the most beautifully situated capitals in the world. After long winters, its frozen waterways are finally cleared of ice floes, and its tour boats ferry visitors in and out of its many harbors. By late March, it is warm enough to …
Read moreBeauty secrets? Check the fridge — Make skin cream and a snack, too
Sometimes it’s OK to have egg on your face – or banana or yogurt or apricot or avocado. Just call it a food facial. Facials at salons can be expensive, great for a birthday present for a friend, maybe, or a splurge for yourself. Instead, consider shopping for your salad and your beauty at the …
Read moreLoad up your plate with regional Italian delicacies at a ‘sagra’
MAGLIANO, Italy – There you are, dining al fresco on a warm summer’s eve in the Italian countryside. Plates of the ”gastronomia tipica” (local dish) are splayed out before you, and a pitcher of hearty wine is being passed your way. You are engulfed in a lively, informal atmosphere. The flow of food and conversation …
Read moreThe open-faced sandwich: a savory slice of Danish culture
Somewhere between the canape and the sandwich lies smorrebrod, an icon of Danish cuisine. Literally ”bread and butter,” the smorrebrod is crowned with all manner of fish, meats, cheese, vegetables, spreads, and edible garnishes. Open-faced sandwiches are popular all over Scandinavia, but the Danes have taken them to high art.Where the canape is eaten in …
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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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