Photo: Jesse Costa, WBUR

OK. So it’s supposed to be another crappy weather weekend. But one of the holidays that most easily and effortlessly encapsulates Spring is upon us. Easter!

Here is a PERFECT way to spend a couple of hours tomorrow, sheltered in your kitchen from the wind and rain: therapeutically rolling, cutting, icing and decorating sugar cookies.

You needn’t celebrate Easter to make these beauties. Any cookie cutter shape will do. And the results will spread ‘the love’ as fast as any food can.

Earlier this week Lynne Viera, how2heroes founder and CEO, came in to WBUR to make and decorate the cookies you see here. They’re colorful, festive and individually unique. Assorted colleagues passed by, eyes as big as saucers, and asked, “These are to EAT??” Continue reading →

Photo: Courtesy of Melissa Yunker

Did you see the mention of Easter brunch options in yesterday’s Tidbits? Easter brunch usually translates to a brunch buffet because most (not all) are structured that way.

But buffets may not be your thing. Consider, then, staying in on Sunday and having brunch at home. If you do, today’s Food Therapy, from Melissa Yunker at The Foodies at Work, will come in handy.

Melissa brings us great brunch ideas suited for Easter or any other (Sun)day. Here are two stellar examples: Belgian Waffles with Peach Yogurt (left) and Mini Frittatas.

Go back further in The Foodies’ recipe archive and you’ll find even more ideas. Try Melissa’s version of a chopped salad or French Onion Soup because, really, you can eat anything at brunch.

Melissa works out of Cambridge. She writes the blog with Angela, who works out of New York City. They describe themselves with the catch phrase “2 foodies, 2 cities, 2 cubicles, one giant appetite.”

Do you have any go-to Sunday brunch ideas to add?

Photo: Erix!/Flickr

LOCAL BITES

Easter Brunch
The best thing about Easter is not the marshmallow chicks or egg hunts –- it has to be the sprawling brunch buffets many restaurants save for just this day. Be sure to do your research, though, because each Easter meal has its unique perks. Check out your options for this Sunday at Boston Chefs.

More-Than-Meat Meet
Do some shopping for Easter this Saturday, 12-2pm, at 11 Olive Square in Union Square, Somerville (this is the parking lot of Metro Pedal Power). In addition to Stillman Farm and their humanely-raised, organic meats, you’ll find spring green house salads from North Star Farm of Westport, MA; Narragansett Creamery yogurt; native frozen strawberries and a selection of Yacht Club Sodas from Centredale, RI; and, Vianne Chocolat, with selections of  eggs, bunnies and baskets made locally from high quality ingredients and local dairy. To top it all off, City Feed and Supply of JP will be giving out free coffee and a chat.

Don’t Forget!
Harvard will be hosting a free lecture with Fred Kirchenmann, a national and international leader in Sustainable Agriculture, on Monday, April 25th at 4 p.m. at Harvard’s Server Hall.

The Art of Home Cooking
JJ Gonson has been teaching this class for years, but it only comes ’round once a semester. This Monday, April 25th, is your singular chance: 6-9 pm at the Cambridge Center For Adult Education. In JJ’s words, “[i]t’s wikked fun.” You’ll cook “like crazy,” talk about local food and ingredients, then repeat. With beer, if you like. ‘Something like six spots left as of this morning. Continue reading →

Photo: Courtesy of Pixelated Crumb

There is so much that I love about this recipe from local blogger Pixelated Crumb. I think you’ll love it, too.

First, any quick pasta dish that is flavorful, nutritious and an all-in-one kind of meal using things you’ve likely got in your frig already is a quadruple WIN. Italians call such a dish una pastaciutta – a light, fast, easy and satisfying pasta meal. I aim for these when I have no idea what to make my own family for dinner, and that time is fast approaching (as in the day before yesterday, when I wove together orzo with asparagus, onion and pancetta).

Another bonus of this recipe I’m about to introduce: if you celebrate Easter, tomorrow is Good Friday, which means no meat. Here, then, is a perfect vegetable and legume meal to try out: Pixelated Crumb’s Penne with roasted tomatoes, garlic and white beans. I love the addition of fresh lemon juice to the recipe; it’s not a flavor I would think to add when tomatoes are involved, so I am intrigued. Kristen seems to be spot-on when she says, “[t]he lemon adds a nice tang to the sweet, rich flavor from the roasted tomatoes and garlic.” 

Add bread and salad to the table, and you’ve got a feast.

Want dessert? Just TRY to get past Pixelated Crumb’s home page and her (mostly) slimming chocolate angel food cake.

Photo: Dan Mauzy

Radio Boston is making a habit of this.

Every month or so, co-hosts Meghna Chakrabarti and Anthony Brooks head out to a local farm or farmer’s market with Tremont 647’s Andy Husbands. The series is called “Farm to Fork.”  Together with Andy, the co-hosts pick a vegetable or protein and head back to the kitchen to cook up a quick, healthy delicious dish.

Last month, it was Meghna and a winter root vegetable salad and this month Anthony takes on steak and parsnip puree. Take a listen, pick up a new recipe, and get your appetite just a little more engaged before mealtime.

Photo: Jaime Lutz

Ok, I’ll admit it: the Boston Marathon is about running. Not drinking. Or eating.

But food – and especially a good boozy beverage, or two, or 26.2 – is a huge part of the race’s appeal. Along the marathon route, college hotspots like Kenmore Square fill up with undergrads carrying bottles of suspiciously brown-colored Gatorade; restaurants open up al fresco porches to their most energetic crowd all year; racers compare notes on area bagel shops; and all around, it starts to really, truly feel like spring. Continue reading →

Photo: Emily O'Donnell/A Cambridge Story

Is there anything worse than a skinless chicken breast? Nutrition-wise, it’s full of healthy, lean protein and lots of good vitamins and minerals. Taste-wise: blech. It’s boring. It’s dry. In sandwich form, it’s usually the most soulless thing on a restaurant menu. And most damningly, it’s what best-selling diet books tell you to eat for lunch with iceberg lettuce and an egg white omelet. I will go as far as to say that my country’s treatment of the modest chicken breast is endemic of everything wrong with the Standard American Diet – namely, that our mainstream health food is so mindless and gross and unappetizing compared with the thought-out, utter mathematical perfection of a Cheez-It.

Occasionally, however, I see a recipe that elevates the chicken breast into something better. Something that I actually want to eat. This is such a rare occurrence that, when it happened this morning, I immediately wanted to share it with you all. From Emily at A Cambridge Story comes this chicken with red grape agrodolce – possibly the sexiest healthy dinner you’ll see today. The agrodolce, sweetened with caramelized onions and plump grapes, was originally intended for salmon. It also would make a perfect compliment to an Easter lamb. But even on chicken, I caught myself craving it – this could really be an excellent meal, something sweet and meaty and delectable that, as a bonus, just happens to be nutritious and wholesome.

I’m still not touching an egg white omelet, though.

Photo: Laura Bulgrin

I’ve been tracking this for days.  And, on a recent afternoon, hunched under my umbrella, I got a mobile alert from the USPS that I had a delivery.

The tangerines!

Photo: Laura Bulgrin

This box didn’t come from a friend, exactly. Rather, it came from Friend’s Ranch, a family-owned citrus farm in Ojai, California.

I ordered what they called the ‘Plain Jane’ at $38. This time of year, that meant a mixed box of tangerines, oranges, lemons and an avocado.

Friend’s offers fruit each season. Right now, the highlight is the Ojai Pixie, a spherical gem that is dainty and sweet, with a little tang. There are three other tangerine varieties in my box besides the pixies. Though I’ve yet to identify each one by name, they are all really tasty.

Photo: Laura Bulgrin

The avocado isn’t quite ripe, so that will probably be eaten last. As for the lemons, they’re nearly gone!

The price comes out to about $4.75 per pound, including shipping. Still savoring the flavors, I know I’ll treat myself again: the citrus I get here at home does’t taste this REAL, nor is it so juicy.

So, if a box of fresh, juicy tangerines arrived at your door, what to do but indulge and take pictures!

Cupcakes by Roboppy/Flickr

Since my husband found out that he’s gluten intolerant, it’s been tough-going in my house as far as cakes, cookies and other baked items are concerned.

We do make a killer flourless chocolate cake, so that’s always an option. But no matter how pleasurable your demise, you can only die so often. And so I’m always looking for tasty gluten-free baking options, but often with mixed results. While there are a dizzying number of recipes for gluten-free treats out there, they tend to be discouragingly long on ingredients and short on flavor and/or texture.

My interest was piqued, then, by a recent post from Gluten Free Diva about a new cookbook. The book is Gluten Free Cupcakes: 50 Irresistible Recipes Made with Almond and Coconut Flour by Elana Amsterdam. The diva includes a couple of recipes from the book and their simplicity appeals tremendously. Plus, I love the idea of coconut flour, which I’ve never used before. I’m planning on trying the Marble Cupcake recipe next weekend. They look delicious.