Photo: Aunt Owwee/Flickr

PRK would like to send out HUGE CONGRATULATIONS to Edible Communities for its extraordinary accomplishment in receiving a first-ever James Beard Award for a publication.

What publications such as Edible Boston, Edible Cape Cod and Edible Vineyard contribute each season to our overall knowledge and enjoyment of regional foods and foodways is of inestimable value, no matter what level you judge it on — social, cultural, environmental, etc. Thank you! And congratulations!

Read the full press release from Edible Boston after the jump. Continue reading →

Photo: Michael Piazza, courtesy of Edible Boston

Did you catch the feature story from this Spring’s Edible Boston about one man’s foray into healthy take-out burgers?

Steve Holt, author of the article and taste-tester, shows that America’s cultural icon — the fast food hamburg with fries– can be made conscientiously, slowly and from local ingredients. Holt calls it “guilt-free” fast food.

Photo: Courtesy of butrcreamblondi

Once I got past the luscious photo from butrcreamblondi (above) of her edible Mother’s Day gift to her mom, one comment she made totally resonated.

“I cannot even begin to tell you how many times I have made this. It’s always a hit…” she said.

I’ve got a recipe for an apple raisin cake that I LOVE to make and everyone I know LOVES to eat. But I certainly don’t mind adding to my repertoire, especially when the new recipe looks and sounds like this Raspberry Swirl Cheesecake. “…[E]legant, classy and full of life.”

Photo courtesy Dena Ehrlich

Dena Ehrlich from “dish with DENA” gives us an idea for a nosh in today’s Food Therapy: Spiced Peanuts. Dena combines tasty ingredients like za’atar, cumin and harissa to turn the usual peanut into an unusual, delicious snack. She said this makes for great party food, and she’ll even sprinkle a handful over salads.

Haven’t used za’atar before? It’s a condiment — a mix of spices — and Dena said she grew up eating it.

“My Mom makes the best hummus ever, usually always a dish in the fridge for regular consumption” Dena said. “When we’d have parties and hummus was one of the apps, she’d spread the hummus out on a plate, drizzle with olive oil, and sprinkle with za’atar.”

Dena and I worked as interns together at America’s Test Kitchen. Ever since, she has kicked off a budding culinary career writing, cooking, and consulting. In fact, she is heading to Shanghai in mere weeks to work and consult for an organic, vegan ice cream and bakeshop. Luckily, blogs are a way to follow traveling friends. Hers is funny, informative and full of recipes I’m dying to make.

Photo: dbking/Flickr

LOCAL BITES

How to Cinco
Today is Cinco de Mayo, a day of celebration commemorating the Mexican militia’s victory over the French in 1862. Translation: a day of revelry, festive food and drink. Looking for ‘food ways’ to celebrate? How2Heroes offers loads of ideas. Learn how to make Chiles en Nogada (poblanos in walnut sauce), Mexican Black Beans, Beef Empanadas, Chicken Enchiladas Verde or Chicken Chicharrones. Don’t forget the margaritas.

Antique Cookbooks
Here’s your chance to buy an early printing of the Joy of Cooking or maybe a rare cookbook of wartime cuisine: The Boston Book and Paper Expo, this Saturday, May 7, at Shriner’s auditorium in Wilmington. The event has promised variety of over 90 exhibitors, including vendors it says are like little book stores. Admission is $7, but students with a college ID and those under 17 get in free.

Beyond Chicken
Yesterday, while sitting in a coffee shop, I overheard someone saying she only eats chicken. She said she loves fish but never eats it because she doesn’t know how to cook it. If you can relate, Culinary Underground in Southborough offers courses in Sustainable Seafood Cookery, vegetarian raw cuisine, and more. The school teaches weeknight and weekend courses for kids, teen and adults. Summer registration is underway. Check out the class calendar here.

History Lesson
Take a historic culinary tour at the National Heritage Museum in Lexington on May 28th at 2 p.m. Kathy Fitzgerald and Keith Stavely, authors of books on New England food and culinary history, will present “Pottages and Pippin Tarts: The Surprising Story Behind a Typical Diner Meal.” The event is meant to celebrate the museum’s exhibition, Night Road: Photos of Diners by John D. Woolf. The lecture is free, for more information call the museum at (781) 861-6559.

NATIONAL TREATS

Churchill Downs-the-Hatch
Just when you had thought you’d had your fill of women’s hats from the royal wedding, the Kentucky Derby is this Saturday. Take refuge in the food traditions, instead. Vera Westbrook at Culinate has explained the Mint Julep tradition and includes a recipe for the trying.

Breakfast in Bed
Does every Mom dream of getting served breakfast in bed on Mother’s Day? That fantasy probably consists of a well-dressed, well-groomed, Master Cook spouse serving up a feast, with well-behaved children in tow who deliver freshly picked flowers and orange juice. Saveur magazine plays into this vision with a breakfast in bed menu and list of its 16 favorite breakfast recipes. In reality, you might want to post a few print outs on the fridge so you don’t end up with burnt toast and cereal.

Caffeine and Pacifiers
This is such a timely and well-written article from Stefanie Gans of the Washington Post: a mix of new, working mothers in the restaurant and food business and how they juggle baby and plate.

James Beard Awards
Who’s going to win this year? Daniel Maurer of Grub Street presented two publications that think their predictions will ring true.

Photo: Courtesy of What's Cooking in Your World?

Remember when we posted about What’s Cooking in Your World? It’s a great, engrossing blog, with a killer hook – Sarah Scoble Commerford plans on cooking one meal from every country in the world, in alphabetical order. A smart marketing ploy? Well, maybe. But truly, it’s a delightful one. Who doesn’t get a little thrill of discovery learning about a new place? Who doesn’t feel like an adventurer eating an exotic food? Plus, as far as blog projects go, I happen to think Commerford’s a far better, more self-effacing writer than a certain Julia Child devotee. (So where’s her book deal?!)

After just over a year of posting, she’s made it through the Ns – which, lucky for us, includes Norway and its lush, romantic, yet light cuisine. I’ve mentioned before that I have a weakness for good fish, and this Fiskesuppe – a salmon chowder – would be a good way to show a fresh catch off.

Less heavy than New England’s clam chowder, the soup is thick enough to be satisfying, but refined enough to let some seasonal colors through. I’m going crazy for the woodsy green of that dill against the pink, perfect skin of the salmon. Check it out yourself, here.

Rosemary Honey (Photo: Dave Nakayama/Flickr)

Even a diehard pessimist like myself is convinced. Now that the flowers are in bloom and the buds are on the trees, there’s no denying it — spring is here!

To celebrate, the good women at LUPEC (Ladies United for the Preservation of Endangered Cocktails) have posted the recipe for a enticing seasonal beverage called the Black Rose. The drink pairs gin with fresh rosemary and a black pepper tincture (!), which is tempered with a little honey syrup and lemon juice. Lovely. The drink was created by a bartender at the much-celebrated Bourbon & Branch bar in San Francisco. Happy Spring!

Tina Haupert. Photo: Courtesy of Sterling Publishing Co., Inc.

You’d think, as an avid reader of food news, that I would know basic stuff about nutrition – stuff like whether sugar is toxic, or whether we all should be following the Paleo diet or the Mediterranean diet or veganism.

You’d be wrong – the more I read, the more confused I get. One day, the news says whole grains are good for me; the next, all carbohydrates will destroy my insulin production (or whatever).

It’s enough to make you want to give up on health altogether and just eat a cupcake. Frequently, in fact, I do.

Maybe that’s one of the reasons I like Carrots ‘n’ Cake – Tina Haupert’s personal health and fitness blog, headquartered right here in Boston. Haupert, a contributor to Health.com, is not a health extremist. She lost weight simply by making small changes to her life – smaller portion sizes, more fresh produce, that sort of thing – while continuing to eat cookies, go to parties and occasionally mess up. In other words, she seems like a normal person (albeit one who could probably kick my butt from all her Body Pump classes).

Her new book, also called Carrots ‘n’ Cake, is out on shelves now – she’ll be promoting it at the Brookline Booksmith on May 19th. In anticipation of this, I talked to Haupert last week about why she continues to write about health and weight-loss – and how she manages to stay healthy without going off the deep end. Included: a healthy burger recipe!

PRK: What sort of person were you writing this for, you think? Why are you talking about your experience and what do you hope people will get out of it?

TH: A mix of readers – I guess I had my blog readers in mind as I was writing it and thinking about the things that they want to know, and also maybe stuff I had talked about on the blog but they wanted to have all in the same place for them. So they were definitely in my mind as I was writing it. But also, anyone who just isn’t into the whole diet thing… [who wanted] just to have a lifestyle diet, of sorts. Continue reading →