tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-51868546917776897762012-02-10T17:16:15.251-05:00thoughts on food, cooking, and ingredients as well as random oddball food-related (or not) things that catch my fancyKate Slatehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00386981943849612901noreply@blogger.comBlogger3511100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5186854691777689776.post-60298316213475763082012-02-08T07:01:00.000-05:002012-02-10T16:59:42.727-05:00

The carica is a tropical fruit that grows in northwestern South America, principally in Chile. It is related to the papaya, which is why it is also called Golden Papaya, Mountain Papaya, or Chilean Papaya.As with many tropical fruits grown outside this country, strict import laws keep the fresh fruit from reaching our markets. But you can buy caricas that have been trimmed, seeded, and preserved

Kate Slatehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00386981943849612901noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5186854691777689776.post-79088799684421091662012-02-07T20:32:00.000-05:002012-02-10T17:01:28.423-05:00

In the past couple of years, as research into the phytochemicals in food has really taken off, it has become clear that the foods with the deepest, darkest colors have more healthful compounds than their pale counterparts. Enter the beluga lentil--a small, shiny black lentil named for its resemblance to caviar. Recent research at the Agricultural Research Service (the in-house research facility

Kate Slatehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00386981943849612901noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5186854691777689776.post-45515170164186575162012-01-05T08:30:00.000-05:002012-01-05T08:01:34.614-05:00

You know how you see something that you've been dreaming of doing forever, but somebody else had the vision or the guts or the time or the whatever to actually go ahead and do it? Grrrr. Well, that's the way I feel about a website called Eat Your Books. The website was born of a home cook's need to actually know what was in the 700+ cookbooks she owned. She found that, in spite of her giant

Kate Slatehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00386981943849612901noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5186854691777689776.post-49676717448436571912012-01-05T08:00:00.000-05:002012-01-05T07:54:31.773-05:00

Years ago, when I was at Food & Wine magazine, I worked with a brilliant recipe developer named Anne Disrude. She had the same intellectual curiosity about food and recipes as I did, and we were constantly toying with ideas (like the time she decided to make her own onion powder...an idea that turned out to be better in theory than in practice). One day Anne came up with an idea for a magazine

Kate Slatehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00386981943849612901noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5186854691777689776.post-30662671785832049392011-11-23T09:00:00.000-05:002011-11-23T08:14:37.294-05:00

Chitarra means guitar in Italian, and it is also the name for a piece of pasta-making equipment that resembles that stringed instrument (although zither would be a better match). Maccheroni alla chitarra or spaghetti alla chitarra are made by pressing a thin sheet of egg dough onto the metal strings, thus cutting the dough into strands (duh). The resulting strand pasta is squarish in

Kate Slatehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00386981943849612901noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5186854691777689776.post-3895346302537721202011-07-10T21:52:00.001-04:002011-07-10T21:14:54.793-04:00

Have you ever been plagued by a fruit-fly infestation? If you said "No"....well, I don't believe you. It's happened to all of us. And to me just recently. So I did what we all do these days, I went online. When I typed in "fruit fly trap," I found a bunch of sites that describe how to make one, and I promptly did so. Here's what you do. 1. (This is the most important.) Get rid of whatever it is

Kate Slatehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00386981943849612901noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5186854691777689776.post-42707924972414453732011-05-27T08:41:00.001-04:002011-05-27T08:41:00.329-04:00

In the late 18th, early 19th century, a certain style of teapot came into fashion in England. It was modeled after a pot brought back from India by a Lady Cadogan and was made popular because George IV admired one. Thenceforth everyone absolutely had to have one. I want one too, not because I am a follower of George IV, but because the teapot is just plain cool. This teapot has no lid. There is

Kate Slatehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00386981943849612901noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5186854691777689776.post-87957623396597663312011-05-05T08:34:00.003-04:002011-05-05T08:37:30.248-04:00

For years I've had one of those old-fashioned bottle openers mounted on the wall of my kitchen. You know the kind: cast-aluminum with Coca-Cola in raised letters on it. When I was a kid it was the type that the downtown grocery store always had next to the giant, red Coca-Cola-branded cooler where they kept all the cold sodas. There's nothing like the convenience of a wall-mounted bottle opener,

Kate Slatehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00386981943849612901noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5186854691777689776.post-54419868290448489172011-05-05T08:24:00.000-04:002011-05-05T08:23:07.119-04:00

My father didn't really know how to cook, but he was responsible for two of my fondest childhood food memories. One was for a "recipe" he made for us on Sunday mornings called Tomato Surprise. We weren't allowed in the kitchen while he made it, not that it was all that hard to figure out. It was condensed cream of tomato soup made with heavy cream (may the saints preserve us!) and garnished with

Kate Slatehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00386981943849612901noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5186854691777689776.post-66570942669490197352010-12-09T12:53:00.008-05:002010-12-09T13:14:16.718-05:00

There's really not much to say about this guy except, awwwwww, makes me wish I liked tea.Made of silicone, so he doesn't mind getting into hot water, he's $9.95 from Perennial Tea•Room (whose brick and mortar location is in Pike Place Market in Seattle). At left is a picture of Mr. Duck after a hard day's work, sitting next to his personal drip catcher.

Kate Slatehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00386981943849612901noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5186854691777689776.post-32120015558730093182010-10-26T10:49:00.004-04:002010-10-26T10:49:00.703-04:00

I remember the first time I saw a Microplane zester. It was the late '90s and the Microplane still looked like the woodworking tool that it had started out as (just a straightforward rasp, no fancy handle). Flash forward a decade and Microplane has a whole range of kitchen tools with colored handles and beautiful design.And the word Microplane has become a part of recipe language. When you write

Kate Slatehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00386981943849612901noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5186854691777689776.post-71398575787659379382010-10-22T10:16:00.001-04:002010-10-22T10:16:00.209-04:00

My grown-up side tells me that nesting glasses is a bad idea. You want the middle one and you have to undo the whole stack of glasses to get it.... Or how about those times when bowls or glasses mysteriously refuse to come apart when you've stacked them on top of one another.But the kid side of me wants these nesting Babushkups. They're from my favorite crazy designers at Fred & Friends and sell

Kate Slatehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00386981943849612901noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5186854691777689776.post-72865029045056985242010-10-20T09:23:00.010-04:002010-10-20T09:23:00.362-04:00

My new favorite squash, the uchiki kuri (also called red kuri), is a Japanese cultivar with a teardrop shape and a beautiful reddish-orange skin. Near as I can figure out, the name uchiki kuri translates as bashful chestnut. Awwww. Not sure why bashful, but I definitely get the chestnut part, because the squash has a nice, mild, nutty flavor.Not having cooked with it before, I wasn't sure what to

Kate Slatehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00386981943849612901noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5186854691777689776.post-80034635927509481292010-10-16T15:47:00.009-04:002010-10-16T16:31:18.958-04:00

Sometimes you're just in the mood for that incomparable flavor that lemon zest brings to food. But you're ready to cook and, OMG, that fresh lemon you thought you had has turned into a beautiful greenish-blue science project....and you really don't want to go out to the market just to pick up a fresh lemon.Well, here's a cool idea for keeping that fresh lemon-y flavor in good supply: Air-dry your

Kate Slatehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00386981943849612901noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5186854691777689776.post-31326719835293252702010-05-19T07:00:00.001-04:002010-05-20T07:31:21.905-04:00

I love rabbits.In any form.In person, in art, as stuffed animals, in cartoons, and most definitely in kitchen equipment.I wish someone would give me this silicone Rabbit Whisk Set. C'mon guys, it's only $12.And, yes, I like to eat rabbits too, but don't make me think about that.

Kate Slatehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00386981943849612901noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5186854691777689776.post-48958239758429674332010-05-17T07:00:00.003-04:002010-05-20T07:34:18.529-04:00

Napoleon liked bees. Do you know why? When Napoleon was proclaimed Emperor, he and his inner circle needed to choose appropriate emblems of his sovereignty. There was much discussion. Some wanted a lion, some an elephant, some an eagle, some an oak tree, some the honey bee. There were two winners: the eagle and the bee.The eagle because of its association with military victory (and the days of

Kate Slatehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00386981943849612901noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5186854691777689776.post-6310063803380509752010-05-15T09:30:00.004-04:002010-05-15T17:04:33.430-04:00

From a blog called Stuff You Can't Have, here are some "apothecary jars" made of dried citrus rind festooned with doo-dads. I can't have them, but I admire the idea and the execution. Plus it's food related, so I'm there.Other food-ish posts from Catherine McEver (the owner of the blog) have included a series of things you can do with Wonderbread, including embroidering it. (My sisters and I got

Kate Slatehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00386981943849612901noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5186854691777689776.post-33450110514163890322010-05-14T07:00:00.005-04:002010-05-15T08:33:04.415-04:00

Who doesn't love a penguin? Funny little guys waddling around in their tuxedos. It's so tempting to see them as humanesque, making it a real disconnect when their facial expressions never change. Wouldn't you like to see a penguin smile? (Oooh, wait, that might be creepy.)But I digress.Penguins have a great shape, and the designer of this corkscrew clearly thought so too. It's a classic waiter's

Kate Slatehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00386981943849612901noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5186854691777689776.post-47132867768829583152010-05-12T16:08:00.003-04:002010-05-13T14:29:32.802-04:00

It's true. There really is a website for everything.A website called Jim's Pancakes declares its purpose to be "just trying to make some cool pancakes for my daughter." And that's what it is, pictures of pancakes Jim has made for his daughter.But they are indeed cool.

Kate Slatehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00386981943849612901noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5186854691777689776.post-44203809820997531352010-05-11T11:00:00.009-04:002010-05-11T11:25:27.945-04:00

One thing I find frustrating in the world of blogs are the design blogs that show you the cool one-offs that artists and industrial designers come up with that will never see the light of day...or I mean the light of "you can buy it somewhere" day. I usually avoid mentioning those interesting but unattainable things.But......had to show these anyway. They come from a design duo from Vienna named

Kate Slatehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00386981943849612901noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5186854691777689776.post-70599289649691531732010-04-03T09:32:00.004-04:002010-04-03T09:40:49.751-04:00

I am not a cake fan. I actively dislike cupcakes. And I have resisted--so far--doing anything with the current fad for food-on-a-stick. However, I simply could not pass up these chicks. They are supposed to be for Easter, but just change up the colors and make them some other kind of bird and they're good to go any old time. See how to do it at Instructables.com.

Kate Slatehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00386981943849612901noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5186854691777689776.post-52089929250449157562010-03-31T07:01:00.004-04:002010-03-31T07:01:00.339-04:00

Q&A with MyselfQ: What's one of the fastest desserts you can throw together that is almost universally loved?A: The brownie.Q: Where do most people get their brownies?A: From a packaged mix.Q: Why?A: It's fast and the brownies are actually quite good.Q: But you still have to add the oil and the eggs and mix the batter and bake them, right?A: Yes, but you don't have to measure all the dry

Kate Slatehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00386981943849612901noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5186854691777689776.post-76784721292483587972010-03-29T07:00:00.001-04:002010-03-29T10:14:44.753-04:00

Eye Candy is a food blog written by Jojo Krang, a blogger living in Switzerland. The 3-month-old blog is a compendium of Krang's food projects, which are incredibly artistic and curious and cool. I can't wait to see what she comes up with next. I already love the homemade spiral ravioli made with black and white pasta dough, and the "recipe" for making natural blue food dye from red cabbage.But

Kate Slatehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00386981943849612901noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5186854691777689776.post-75371095562356097122010-03-23T07:00:00.004-04:002010-03-23T07:39:44.152-04:00

It's sugaring-off time.The spiles are in the sugarbushes.The sugar shacks are going full tilt.Translation: In the spring, when their sap rises, sugar maple trees are tapped to gather the stored sugary liquid. Buckets of sap are taken to the sugar shack to be boiled down (in huge open kettles) to a syrup.Three more facts:1. A researcher at the University of Rhode Island has identified 20

Kate Slatehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00386981943849612901noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5186854691777689776.post-81596112661962305982010-03-22T07:00:00.003-04:002010-03-22T08:48:53.642-04:00

Luxirare--the mysterious New York fashionista, gourmand, and blogger--treats food like fashion. Her March 16, 2010, post is a beautiful visual document of her Apple Napoleon. It's not an especially practical tutorial, but it's amazing to look at how she photographs phyllo dough and apples as objects of desire, the way a fashion photographer would.Anyway, so there I was poking around Luxirare's

Kate Slatehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00386981943849612901noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5186854691777689776.post-31674706445110980482010-03-19T07:01:00.001-04:002010-03-19T07:01:00.143-04:00

The mild weather in New York is putting me in an ohmigod-summer-is-not-faraway mood, which is very similar to my time-for-big-salads-again mood. This cute salad set from Fred & Friends (the masters of the whimsical everyday object) is made of brushed stainless steel and is 11 inches long. InSet sells for $15 from Perpetual Kid--another monument to whimsy.

Kate Slatehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00386981943849612901noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5186854691777689776.post-43908850838229732642010-03-17T11:30:00.000-04:002010-03-17T11:30:01.285-04:00

I've got a little bit of a bowl fetish. I like them in all shapes, sizes, and materials. I like itty-bitty silicone prep bowls and giant British stoneware gripstand bowls, and everything in between: cereal bowls, soup bowls, pasta bowls, ice cream bowls....There is something extremely satisfying about eating food out of a bowl. (And key to the satisfaction is matching the bowl size and shape to

Kate Slatehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00386981943849612901noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5186854691777689776.post-85482194010999737682010-03-13T12:00:00.006-05:002010-03-15T13:22:15.218-04:00

[I thought it was time to bring this post back to the surface--it was originally posted May 19, 2009--because it looks as though the project is finally about to launch.]I've written about a Japanese fellow who built a canoe out of recycled wooden chopsticks and the American dude who made a Viking ship out of popsicle sticks, but this boat (artist rendering at left) really takes the cake. (See how

Kate Slatehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00386981943849612901noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5186854691777689776.post-12778633364891260442010-02-06T16:49:00.004-05:002010-02-06T17:06:36.499-05:00

A company called Silikids creates silicone items called Siliskins that slip over glass baby bottles to make them safer--as in easier to hold onto and protective in case the bottle falls. Siliskins are for those parents who have opted for glass because they are are worried about the safety of plastic baby bottles (especially when heated in a microwave).There is also a Siliskin that comes with a 6-

Kate Slatehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00386981943849612901noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5186854691777689776.post-3761513995557473292010-02-01T10:46:00.001-05:002010-02-01T10:46:00.673-05:00

In case you don't know it, they're doing a remake of the Beatles' Yellow Submarine. It's described as a 3-D adaptation of the animated classic, which might mean live-action (as in real human beings) or maybe it's 3-D animation, so you'll have a use for those glasses you got to see Avatar.Anyway, the new Yellow Submarine won't be out until 2012, but in the meantime you can use this cool tea ball

Kate Slatehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00386981943849612901noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5186854691777689776.post-75249117747471945492010-01-30T08:34:00.004-05:002010-01-30T09:38:37.552-05:00

Two weeks to Valentine's Day.But instead of those tiny candy hearts (which are gross anyway), let your feelings be known in a big way.With a set of cookie cutters (three shapes: heart, star, and scalloped rectangle) from Williams-Sonoma, you can deliver your message(s) very taste-fully.Each of the cutters in the set has slots for typesetting your own two-line message. The set comes with three

Kate Slatehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00386981943849612901noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5186854691777689776.post-82909738259331395592010-01-28T07:00:00.003-05:002010-01-28T08:29:47.492-05:00

A bunny bowl. Brilliant.The bowl comes from a ceramic artist in Texas whose day job is middle school art teacher. The stoneware bowl has a speckled sienna glaze, is 5 inches across, costs $30, and is ridiculously cute. A. Speer (the artist) also makes bowls and cups with the heads of brown foxes and elephants. Check them all out in aspeerstudio's Etsy store.(My thanks to The Kitchn for pointing

Kate Slatehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00386981943849612901noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5186854691777689776.post-47892858309428936612010-01-26T10:36:00.003-05:002010-01-26T15:05:41.435-05:00

I find this stoneware vase, called a Seed Safe, completely charming. It was created by Spanish designer Marti Guixe for Alessi, the Italian kitchenware and tabletop company. It is being introduced at the Alessi showroom in NYC this week.The idea behind Seed Safe is that you store up the seeds of the foods you've eaten so you can plant them later. I know you could just throw the seeds into a

Kate Slatehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00386981943849612901noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5186854691777689776.post-19679512976100906682009-12-19T07:00:00.006-05:002009-12-20T09:11:55.753-05:00

I was reading a post on the Al Dente blog (at Amazon) in which the author referred to salt cellars as being a "hip new trend." I find this at once hilarious and extremely nostalgic. My grandmother always had salt cellars on the table. Her family had emigrated to this country from Ireland in the 1890s and I think there was always a need to prove gentility. Cut-crystal salt cellars on the table

Kate Slatehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00386981943849612901noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5186854691777689776.post-58016161033349366662009-12-17T07:00:00.003-05:002009-12-17T07:00:05.678-05:00

So think about it. Why couldn't you use a ravioli mold to make a filled cookie? Just change the pasta dough to a sweet pastry dough and change out the savory filling for something sweet. Bada-boom, miniature turnover cookies.Here are two different ravioli trays from Sur la Table; each is $26 and includes the rolling pin. Both work on the same principle: You roll out 2 sheets of dough a little

Kate Slatehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00386981943849612901noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5186854691777689776.post-83428417599343541022009-12-15T07:00:00.002-05:002009-12-15T07:00:04.685-05:00

Fattigmann are fried-dough cookies whose name in Norwegian means "poor man." Some find it hard to understand the word "poor" in the cookie's title because of the rich-man ingredients (eggs and cream) in the dough. But it should not be forgotten that eggs and cream were readily available to poor farm families who, though they didn't have much else, usually had laying hens and a cow for milking.

Kate Slatehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00386981943849612901noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5186854691777689776.post-1252632909635286152009-12-13T07:00:00.007-05:002009-12-13T09:15:55.692-05:00

If you live in Prague, Oklahoma, or Montgomery, Minnesota, chances are you are very familiar with pastries called kolacky or kolache. These two towns are among numerous in this country that lay claim to fame for their versions of this Central European pastry--a sweet yeast dough that holds or encloses a fruit, poppyseed, or other sweet filling. (There are also savory versions filled with cheese

Kate Slatehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00386981943849612901noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5186854691777689776.post-35829934943754219512009-12-11T07:00:00.002-05:002009-12-11T07:00:08.421-05:00

Here's a cutie-pie cookie stamp. It's a petroglyph-style goat incised in stoneware by a ceramic artist named Kim Frazier. The stamp, which is 2 1/2 inches in diameter, is available for $8.50 from a goat farm in Luray, Virginia, called Khimaira. If you buy the cookie stamp, they'll send you their recipe for shortbread cookies made with goat cheese.

Kate Slatehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00386981943849612901noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5186854691777689776.post-25705288544678013562009-12-09T07:00:00.002-05:002009-12-09T07:00:07.713-05:00

This cute little roller makes Lego bricks out of cookie dough. It's $10 from the Lego shop. Too bad it can't produce cookies with indentations on the back, too, so you could build a Lego gingerbread house.

Kate Slatehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00386981943849612901noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5186854691777689776.post-3101440565917354832009-12-07T10:00:00.009-05:002009-12-07T17:34:36.613-05:00

Every December in the food magazine world, the inevitable happens: the Christmas cookie story. And every year it's a challenge to the editors to come up with new and different cookies. Given that all cookies are at heart the same 3 ingredients (flour, butter, sugar), it all gets a little predictable. (Seriously, a sugar cookie is a sugar cookie.) So I decided to see what I could find that would

Kate Slatehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00386981943849612901noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5186854691777689776.post-332116530472368882009-11-28T17:30:00.001-05:002009-11-29T07:43:07.380-05:00

I must be very easily amused, because I find the website called "Hi, Monkey" absolutely charming. The site is filled with recipes and craft projects all illustrated by photographs of a small stuffed terrycloth monkey preparing the food or making the craft. (Bear with me, here.)For example, Monkey's recipe for potato latkes, which starts out with a photograph of Monkey and two potatoes and a

Kate Slatehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00386981943849612901noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5186854691777689776.post-79491256360041269492009-11-25T11:33:00.000-05:002009-11-25T13:57:52.524-05:00

There are thousands of people out there with a mushroom obsession. Specifically an obsession for a wild mushroom called a morel, and the hunting thereof.Morel hunting--which occurs in the spring--inspires contests to find the most or the biggest (or the smallest) morel. It inspires artists to carve morels out of wood or cast them in resin. For example, check out a store called Morel Mania where

Kate Slatehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00386981943849612901noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5186854691777689776.post-7988282882834439852009-11-15T09:34:00.010-05:002009-11-15T09:58:14.802-05:00

Feeling in a old-timey kitchen mood, I decided to find an old-timey recipe for all of my home-dried apples (see Drying apples).I stumbled across one called March Pudding in an 1877 cookbook called Buckeye Cookery, and Practical Housekeeping. The book was conceived as a fund-raiser, with recipes submitted by local housewives in Marysville, Ohio. The book sold for about $1.75, and it raised $2,000

Kate Slatehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00386981943849612901noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5186854691777689776.post-33959890550105228702009-11-09T07:00:00.014-05:002009-11-09T11:28:43.493-05:00

Meat loaf!It's great hot.It's great cold.It's homey.It reminds me of my grandmother.And it's only a bucketload of cholesterol shy of being pâté.This summer, and well into these foothills of winter, I have been playing around with meat loaf in multiple shapes, ranging from little minis to big 2-pounders. My favorite so far is a rolled meat loaf—with a tip of the toque to Mario Batali whose

Kate Slatehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00386981943849612901noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5186854691777689776.post-66970952150683737372009-11-07T11:12:00.005-05:002009-11-09T13:42:29.011-05:00

I hate it when some of my favorite posts get buried deep in the archive, so I'm resurfacing them (wait, does that mean that I'm paving them with asphalt?). OK, I'm bringing them back to the surface here as ghosts of Novembers past. (And, yes, this is inspired by Scrooge, in all his CGI splendor. Could Alistair Sim ever have imagined such a sentence?)From the ghosts of:2006Romanesco: a fractal

Kate Slatehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00386981943849612901noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5186854691777689776.post-30211671153776462442009-11-02T07:00:00.002-05:002009-11-02T07:00:10.523-05:00

My favorite part of Thanksgiving is pie. So naturally, now that we're in the run-up to that great American tryptophan festival, I'm in a pie frame of mind.This brings me to this fine collection of rolling pins, many of which belong in the Who Knew? category:The first one in the collection isn't a Who Knew?, it's more of a I Wish I Owned One. This is an antique folk art pin. There are nine images

Kate Slatehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00386981943849612901noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5186854691777689776.post-15207601608168839082009-11-01T15:51:00.004-05:002009-11-09T10:44:40.140-05:00

Choose your ingredients from the drop-downs, give your recipe a name in the space provided, and print this page*. The number of unique combinations possible for Glazed Pound Cake is 3,840.Enter your recipe name hereAs with any pound cake, this should be served in thin slices. If you'd like, you could double or triple the glaze and serve it at the table for guests to drizzle over their cake.1.

Kate Slatehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00386981943849612901noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5186854691777689776.post-50514425394924333802009-10-28T07:00:00.006-04:002009-11-05T16:52:19.082-05:00

Back in the early '90s, Molly O'Neill published a cookbook called New York Cookbook. I was honored to have my cheesecake recipe in the book (page 433, since you asked, and P.S. you can still buy the book). I love any and all styles of cheesecake, but this is my favorite: super creamy, with only eggs to give it body (i.e., no flour, gelatin or any other type of thickener).At the end of this post

Kate Slatehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00386981943849612901noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5186854691777689776.post-1437245269538049902009-10-19T07:00:00.003-04:002009-10-19T07:05:28.990-04:00

For background information on cracker pies, you should read my post on drying apples and also on Mock Apple Pie (the quintessential cracker pie). A mock apple pie is made with Ritz crackers, sugar, lemon juice and cinnamon, but no apples. The combination of flavors fools your tastebuds into believing that it's a real apple pie.This got me to wondering how else I could fool the tastebuds. It

Kate Slatehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00386981943849612901noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5186854691777689776.post-56081820900119092792009-10-16T07:00:00.001-04:002009-10-16T07:00:00.432-04:00

If you're not interested in giving up the storage space to the wonderful apple peeler/corer mentioned in yesterday's post, then maybe you could go for one of these more elementary apple cutting devices.1 Possibly more objet d'art than kitchen utensil, this stainless steel Giro Apple Slicer twists to cut perfectly even slices. $38 at Uncommon Goods.2 From the OXO Good Grips line, the Apple

Kate Slatehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00386981943849612901noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5186854691777689776.post-45045094632616587692009-10-15T07:00:00.002-04:002009-10-15T07:37:22.124-04:00

This contraption is manufactured by many folks and has been around forever. If you're serious about cooking mass quantities of apples (now that it's apple-picking season), you absolutely need to have one. These pictures are from the day I made Apple Butter. You start by jamming an apple onto the prongs at the end of a long crank.As you turn the crank, the apple is rotated and pushed forward at

Kate Slatehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00386981943849612901noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5186854691777689776.post-69800691053749502272009-10-14T10:51:00.011-04:002009-10-15T07:43:32.780-04:00

I love apple butter.That's it.That's the blog post.Though if you scroll to the bottom you'll see a cool cooking tool.Apple ButterI used Rome apples because they are usually cheaper than other apples (except for Red Delicious, which are disgusting). They aren't quite as tart, so that's what the lemon juice is for. Also, the reason for the tall sides on the pot is because as the apples cook (

Kate Slatehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00386981943849612901noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5186854691777689776.post-87617136724011473862009-10-11T08:16:00.012-04:002009-10-15T07:40:43.498-04:00

My son is 23 now, but when I see a dinosaur book/toy/object, I still get this parental urge to buy it for him. Or maybe it was always about me. I didn't have a dinosaur obsession when I was a kid, so I sort of lived that vicariously through my son. I was just as happy to know about the knobbed killing thingie (scientific term) on the end of an ankylosaurus tail as he was.So here are the things

Kate Slatehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00386981943849612901noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5186854691777689776.post-10177830342809544192009-10-04T08:50:00.006-04:002009-10-05T07:58:51.347-04:00

Hello to my loyal fan base. I am on blog hiatus (blogiatus?) because I'm developing recipes for a new cookbook. This is a good thing. Will rejoin you in awhile.Meanwhile, here's a photograph of a spaghetti squash plant in my garden. My Pumpkin Tree Project failed miserably (not enough sun or water or both), but now there's the Inadvertent Spaghetti Squash Project.One night this summer I made

Kate Slatehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00386981943849612901noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5186854691777689776.post-23081505982402630062009-09-21T08:43:00.008-04:002009-09-21T09:05:43.889-04:00

At Hallmark magazine, we ran a little feature called 4-Ingredient Challenge in which readers were invited to send in recipes that used only 4 ingredients—not counting oil, salt and pepper (or a sweetener if it was a dessert). It's an interesting exercise in cooking, and I had readers who came up with some pretty cool solutions, like using an orange to count as one ingredient but provide two kinds

Kate Slatehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00386981943849612901noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5186854691777689776.post-57716267799512948372009-09-18T08:02:00.010-04:002011-07-10T21:09:20.926-04:00

About a year ago I wrote about a company that sells exotic food kits, the idea being that you could try out an exotic cuisine without having to invest in all the wacko ingredients that would then languish in your cabinet. Here's another little company that has taken the same idea and scaled it down to friendlier proportions. World Cuisine Institute (a lofty title for two women friends who started

Kate Slatehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00386981943849612901noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5186854691777689776.post-12528107844400255762009-09-13T07:00:00.004-04:002009-09-13T07:00:02.245-04:00

In the 1867 book The Market Assistant (see yesterday's post), the author went on a tad about fruit as medicine:[Fruits] are not only nutritious, but they are also medicinal in their properties. They produce certain beneficial changes in the blood (which medical men term "alterative"), which alters the blood from an unhealthy to its healthy condition; consequently, by the use of ripe fruits, many

Kate Slatehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00386981943849612901noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5186854691777689776.post-82606569687182566772009-09-12T08:20:00.008-04:002009-09-12T08:20:00.483-04:00

I love reading old cookbooks. I don't mean 1900s old, more like 1800s old. It's interesting to see what things remain the same and what things have changed. On the one side are the forgotten kitchen skills of our foremothers (making buttermilk, waxing the pinfeathers on poultry, hanging meat); on the other are the things we have today that were unknown then (pluots, chipotle peppers, broccolini--

Kate Slatehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00386981943849612901noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5186854691777689776.post-29019000714916636082009-09-11T07:00:00.002-04:002009-09-11T07:54:36.719-04:00

In July I wrote about these sushi wrappers made of soy (Soy Wrappers for Sushi). I just knew they could be wonderful in the hands of an inspired cook.My favorite artist/blogger, Luxirare, made my imaginings come true. Who else could have made such an incredible looking piece of sushi? Check out her (as always) wonderful photo essay about making this, and other, spectacular looking wrapped edibles

Kate Slatehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00386981943849612901noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5186854691777689776.post-40825935141900031202009-09-10T07:00:00.006-04:002009-09-10T08:14:51.868-04:00

When I lived in France in my late teens, I was introduced to my first salad spinner. Jeanine (who was the live-in housekeeper in the pension where I lived) took a bunch of washed greens, put them in a dishtowel, formed the towel into a bag and then just did a Pete Townshend-style windmill with her arm. The centrifugal force made the water come flying out through the weave of the dishtowel. When

Kate Slatehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00386981943849612901noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5186854691777689776.post-72505620366386228262009-09-09T12:06:00.009-04:002009-09-09T13:01:21.966-04:00

Pesto is the past participle of the Italian verb pestare, which means to crush or bruise. (On a side note, an occhio pesto is a black eye.) So technically speaking, in the kitchen, a pesto can be any combination of things that are crushed or bruised.However....There is a very specific crushed concoction that has simply co-opted the generic meaning of pesto: a sauce from Genoa made with basil,

Kate Slatehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00386981943849612901noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5186854691777689776.post-58453190710855424462009-09-04T08:34:00.012-04:002009-09-04T11:23:46.397-04:00

Several years ago I had my first taste of farinata, an Italian appetizer that falls somewhere between a pancake and pizza. I didn't encounter it in Italy (alas), but in a New York City trattoria with a wood-fired brick oven. I was introduced to it by a lovely Italian gentleman named Mario who worked in the restaurant and decided I should learn how to make farinata.Farinata starts with a batter

Kate Slatehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00386981943849612901noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5186854691777689776.post-79050690722343485512009-09-03T09:27:00.005-04:002009-09-03T09:40:01.556-04:00

If you have a kid either in college or recently graduated (which probably also means unemployed), then it's very probable that ramen figures heavily into his/her food budget. So check out this very fine ramen-eating implement.This stainless steel spork was designed by Masami Takahashi for a chain of ramen restaurants in Japan. It costs $14 from Uncommon Goods.

Kate Slatehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00386981943849612901noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5186854691777689776.post-57350649605326461902009-09-02T09:14:00.004-04:002009-09-02T09:21:52.435-04:00

When you go to a fancy food show, you start out all bright-eyed and hungry, but as you're charging down the 149th aisle filled with cheese and chips and barbecue sauces, you start to get pretty persnickety about what you're willing to stop and taste.It's hard to say what actually catches your attention when you're feeling that jaded about food. Some of it is eye-catching packaging, some is the

Kate Slatehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00386981943849612901noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5186854691777689776.post-2443803189135933412009-09-01T08:39:00.013-04:002009-10-14T14:31:14.341-04:00

When I was thinking what could go into my new corn collection, I realized that it needed to expand past the corn cob. So here's the branch of my collection that deals with things made from corn.Cast-iron cornbread mold Why do cornsticks always have to be in the shape of an ear of corn? This mold makes 5 cornbread fish, is about 16 x 9 inches and is $20 from Cast Iron Home.Tortilla basket Any

Kate Slatehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00386981943849612901noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5186854691777689776.post-26715750577167656042009-08-31T13:33:00.005-04:002009-08-31T13:51:56.669-04:00

I just saw a French movie called Russian Dolls (Poupées Russes), so I must have had nesting dolls on my mind. These nesting measuring cups—from my favorite crazy store, Perpetual Kid—are designed like Russian matryoshkas. There are 6 of them, starting with a 1-cup measure, and working down to a 1/4 cup. It has both 2/3- and 3/4-cup measures, which is nice.The set of M-Cups costs $12, but they

Kate Slatehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00386981943849612901noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5186854691777689776.post-79721858197762907892009-08-29T09:09:00.007-04:002009-08-29T09:32:34.501-04:00

I'm not much for make-up, but I am addicted to lip balm. I have a million brands and I am always on the look-out for something new.Odd to have this in a food blog? Well, lip balm is intended for your mouth, with which you EAT, and these organic balms from eos come in flavors that sound good enough to EAT: Summer Fruit, Honeysuckle Honeydew, Sweet Mint.I want them for their looks alone. The bonus

Kate Slatehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00386981943849612901noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5186854691777689776.post-76893444197884043302009-08-28T07:00:00.004-04:002009-12-17T10:30:51.617-05:00

Not that it was my intention, but this salad just happens to be overflowing with beta-carotene, the pigment that makes fruits and vegetables orange. Beta-carotene has been identified as a powerful antioxidant compound, but it is also a precursor* to vitamin A, which is good for your eyes, skin and immune system.There is no recommended intake for beta-carotene itself, but to get the vitamin A your

Kate Slatehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00386981943849612901noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5186854691777689776.post-32931907597517456602009-08-27T07:00:00.001-04:002009-08-27T07:00:02.243-04:00

A little while ago my son and I were assembling a "Dorm-Room Survival Kit" for a friend who is heading off to college this fall. The kit included a white board for hanging on your door (intended to receive hilarious messages from friends), a bin for holding all the random things that don't have any other place to be, a corkscrew, sticky stuff for hanging posters, a paring knife and this dandy set

Kate Slatehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00386981943849612901noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5186854691777689776.post-45583872413227405492009-08-26T11:37:00.006-04:002009-08-26T11:55:16.120-04:00

I wouldn't have predicted that the words tart + freezer would equal yummy, but I was more than pleasantly surprised to find out that in the case of the Daphne Baking Company the equation works.The tarts come in six flavors: lemon, chocolate, macadamia nut, pumpkin, chocolate-raspberry and passion fruit (my personal addiction). They're two to a box for $7 to $8. This seems like a pretty small

Kate Slatehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00386981943849612901noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5186854691777689776.post-10358596597604415532009-08-25T09:09:00.004-04:002009-08-25T09:14:10.532-04:00

Here's something I discovered the other day. For a completely uninteresting reason I was wondering how much water weighed. Well guess what? An ounce of water by volume (the so-called fluid ounce) actually weighs an ounce. Duh. I had not made that connection before. My grandmother's mantra in the kitchen (I mean she didn't make it up, but I learned it from her) was "a pint's a pound the world

Kate Slatehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00386981943849612901noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5186854691777689776.post-35508836141930829252009-08-24T07:00:00.000-04:002009-08-24T07:00:00.162-04:00

I don't know how many of you have encountered the yuzu, which is an East Asian citrus fruit with a very complex tart flavor (it makes our regulation lemons taste like an amateur citrus). The fruit itself looks like a very small grapefruit and it has a bumpy skin, sort of like an Ugli fruit. It can probably be found fresh in Chinatowns, but most of us have probably only had it in juice form, and

Kate Slatehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00386981943849612901noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5186854691777689776.post-65367412841377490172009-08-21T07:00:00.006-04:002009-08-21T09:16:14.794-04:00

My blackberry bushes got hammered this year by all the early-summer torrential rains. The rain simply blew off all the blossoms, and my normally prolific blackberry patch now has nada. Grrrrr.So, much as it pained me to do it, I made this blackberry mousse with store-bought blackberries. By the way, the first time I made it I decided to opt for the extra fiber that comes with the blackberry seeds

Kate Slatehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00386981943849612901noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5186854691777689776.post-66554772805803530812009-08-20T10:05:00.001-04:002009-08-21T09:17:28.079-04:00

These are ingenious. No more whittling of the twig to make your campfire marshmallow or hot dog roaster. The FireFork attaches to the end of any stick and you're ready to cook. Each "fork" is made of a single length of stainless steel wire and comes with a safety cap so it can be safely stowed when you're not using it. A pack of four FireForks is $10 from ThinkGeek.

Kate Slatehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00386981943849612901noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5186854691777689776.post-13446874558664335422009-08-18T07:00:00.001-04:002009-08-18T07:00:01.535-04:00

Last February I wrote about the work that the ARS—Agricultural Research Service, part of the USDA—was doing on edible films made of pureed fruits and vegetables (see Making food safer, in a cool way). Now it turns out that a small company in Stockton, California, called Origami Foods has taken the ARS technology and turned it into a commercial product.The company makes two products based on the

Kate Slatehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00386981943849612901noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5186854691777689776.post-60107967450730164402009-08-17T21:00:00.001-04:002009-08-17T21:00:02.340-04:00

The images on these melamine dinner plates from designer Thomaspaul were inspired by traditional Chinese paper-cut designs. The set of 4 Aviary Dinner Plates is $36 from 2modern.

Kate Slatehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00386981943849612901noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5186854691777689776.post-69254810816109521252009-08-17T07:00:00.001-04:002009-08-17T07:00:05.682-04:00

Black garlic is amazing looking, but even more amazing tasting. The shiny ebony cloves are sweet and sticky and garlicky, but in an only mildly spicy way. It tastes like what roasted garlic wishes it could be when it grows up.The garlic turns dense and black during a month-long fermentation. There are no colorants or additives of any kind. It's just garlic. Scott Kim, the founder of a company

Kate Slatehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00386981943849612901noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5186854691777689776.post-10639614630224584712009-08-15T07:00:00.004-04:002009-08-15T09:42:30.731-04:00

This summer I have been downing quarts and quarts of mint sun tea. Katie Daniels (my son's girlfriend) is the one who turned me on to this.Because of all the rain this spring and early summer my mint has gone haywire. It has not only spread all over the place but it's about 4 feet tall (no kidding). So one day Katie took some of the clippings from my effort to thin the mint jungle, put them in a

Kate Slatehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00386981943849612901noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5186854691777689776.post-80463780703069839072009-08-14T21:00:00.007-04:002011-01-11T14:53:17.766-05:00

I wish I had seen this when I was writing about salt pigs. This little piggy, which is called a Pop Savor, is from a family-owned company called prepara (check out some of their other cool kitchen devices on their website).The Pop Savor has a porcelain base and a silicone top that is designed to stay closed to keep the contents from getting wet/dirty, but that pops open easily when you're ready

Kate Slatehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00386981943849612901noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5186854691777689776.post-85379730258329655972009-08-14T07:00:00.005-04:002010-02-05T11:48:56.748-05:00

When I was researching Trader Vic (see Scorpion recipe), I came across Vic's claim that he invented a drink called the Mai Tai. It turns out that his rival and fellow restaurateur, Don the Beachcomber, also claimed credit. I looked at as many old recipes for Mai Tai as I could find, including several different renditions from Trader Vic, and ended up preferring a version from Ernest Raymond

Kate Slatehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00386981943849612901noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5186854691777689776.post-73248834711029472482009-08-13T07:00:00.003-04:002009-08-13T07:00:00.910-04:00

I'm not sure if silicone whips cream or egg whites better than metal, but you almost don't care because these rainbow whisks from Kuhn Rikon are so fine looking. You can get them individually from a number of different sites (do a Google search on Kuhn Rikon whisk) or from the MoMA store as a set of two—the 10-inch balloon whisk and 11.5-inch butterfly whisk—for $36.

Kate Slatehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00386981943849612901noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5186854691777689776.post-57809191297465245352009-08-12T21:27:00.001-04:002009-08-12T21:27:00.540-04:00

There is an anonymous blogger who might or might not be named Ji, who writes a blog called Luxirare. She (and it's clearly a she) lives in New York and blogs about fashion—mostly of her own design—and food. She is amazing. In addition to coming up with unbelievable designs for food (oh, yeah, clothes too), she presents each project in a spectacular picture essay.It's really something you have to

Kate Slatehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00386981943849612901noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5186854691777689776.post-66593552682154624102009-08-12T07:00:00.003-04:002009-08-12T08:57:45.195-04:00

OK, boring headline, but really cool picture. For the past 6 years there has been a concerted effort to record and preserve the astonishing variety of crops grown in the northern Andean highlands of Ecuador. In a survey of farms in the region, it was found that local farmers are growing a stupefyingly large variety of chili peppers, beans, squash, corn and potatoes.This includes 30, I say, son,

Kate Slatehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00386981943849612901noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5186854691777689776.post-28182060877621400652009-08-11T07:00:00.002-04:002009-08-11T09:06:13.219-04:00

I was talking with a friend the other day who mentioned that his bachelor great-uncle had had a large porn collection. Maybe because the acoustics were weird, or because I'm in the food business, I thought he said corn collection.After some hilarious confusion (Me: "What did he have in his collection?" Friend: "The usual stuff." Me: "But what is the usual stuff??" Friend: "You're joking, right?"

Kate Slatehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00386981943849612901noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5186854691777689776.post-45685154649169988352009-08-10T11:23:00.009-04:002009-08-10T12:03:58.298-04:00

Finally, weather worthy of a cold salad.[Someone told me that it's been 140 years since the month of July went without a single day over 90 degrees—in the Northeast, that is. I know that you guys on the West Coast would have welcomed a day under 90, but us Right Coasters have been wearing long pants and sweaters. Weird.]On the subject of bulgur:Bulgur is cracked wheat that has been parboiled to

Kate Slatehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00386981943849612901noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5186854691777689776.post-89035943785428352032009-08-03T08:15:00.002-04:002009-08-03T08:22:13.385-04:00

Scenario: hot summer night, time for dessert. Someone hands out plates of blueberry cobbler and then puts out a couple of tubs of ice cream and a scoop. Everyone serves him/herself to a little ice cream and everyone digs into the dessert and everyone forgets about the tubs of ice cream. Ice cream soup.Enter the Ice Cream Tubbie, an insulated container with a freezable gel lid that is a perfect

Kate Slatehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00386981943849612901noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5186854691777689776.post-52667492732029682052009-07-31T09:11:00.016-04:002010-02-05T11:49:25.615-05:00

If you happen to come from the Binghamton area of upstate New York, then you grew up eating spiedies (spee dees) and probably have a bottle of spiedie sauce in your refrigerator as we speak.For those of you not in the know, a spiedie is a "sandwich" made with cubes of meat that have been marinated overnight in a special sauce, skewered and spit-grilled. The reason that the word sandwich is in

Kate Slatehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00386981943849612901noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5186854691777689776.post-67249603911949817372009-07-30T10:08:00.007-04:002009-07-30T10:59:10.385-04:00

Who makes sushi at home, raise your hand? I saw these colorful soy wraps and thought how cool it would be if I actually made sushi at home, especially since I am a borderline seaweed hater. But then I thought (because I'm in the clutches of a low-carb diet at the moment) that it might also be cool to use these as low-carb sandwich wraps.The SushiParty soy wrappers are about 7 inches square. Each

Kate Slatehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00386981943849612901noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5186854691777689776.post-46712998878690070392009-07-29T09:20:00.008-04:002009-07-29T09:46:32.643-04:00

I am definitely still pandering to my inner child (actually, it might be my outer child, too...). I like Hello Kitty, silly gadgets and these zoo-shaped popsicle molds.But here's where my inner grown-up takes over: I do not want to have my pop made with the mysterious colored sugar slush that kids love to eat.This is what I want instead:Lion: Super-strong brewed espresso, maple syrup, milkMonkey:

Kate Slatehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00386981943849612901noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5186854691777689776.post-50415602896034942452009-07-28T09:04:00.003-04:002009-07-28T18:45:46.232-04:00

I'm not a big fan of frozen pizza. It's always too bready or too cheesy or too soggy. So when I was at the Fancy Food Show earlier this month, someone offered me a piece of pizza that I couldn't squirm out of accepting....thank goodness, because it knocked my socks off.It's called American Flatbread and it's been around for a bunch of years (since 1987, in fact), so maybe I'm the last person on

Kate Slatehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00386981943849612901noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5186854691777689776.post-10557744001311994322009-07-27T08:52:00.004-04:002009-07-27T09:03:15.099-04:00

This is kind of a cool idea. It's like the Good Seasons dressing mix jar but without the seasoning packet. The jar has 4 different dressing recipes (basic vinaigrette, Caesar dressing, Greek dressing and fat-free raspberry vinaigrette) with the levels of the liquid ingredients marked on the jar. The nonliquid ingredients are also listed by their amounts. Of course you have to like the dressing

Kate Slatehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00386981943849612901noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5186854691777689776.post-62179100586189338532009-07-25T16:27:00.006-04:002009-07-25T20:12:06.192-04:00

Blossoms on both types of pumpkin, though Wee-Be-Little (right) is still edging out Sweet Lightning. I'm told that there need to be male and female flowers in order for any fruit to grow, but boy oh boy, do I not know how to tell which flowers are the males. Wait, maybe it's the ones playing video games in the basement...

Kate Slatehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00386981943849612901noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5186854691777689776.post-65885708017460192762009-07-24T09:22:00.013-04:002009-07-24T18:57:18.603-04:00

When I first made this recipe I broiled the chicken because it wasn't quite grilling season for me (I know, there are plenty of you who grill year round, just not me), but of course now the season is in full swing. So go ahead and grill instead of broil, but consider using skinless, boneless chicken thighs instead of breasts. Thigh works a lot better on the grill because the flesh is inherently

Kate Slatehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00386981943849612901noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5186854691777689776.post-39211374324624254002009-07-23T08:39:00.017-04:002009-07-23T15:19:05.768-04:00

A potato ricer works like a giant garlic press. In go the cooked potatoes, out come long strands of "riced" potatoes. This particular model comes from OXO and costs $20 from Amazon.Mashed potatoes: There is nothing like the light, fluffy texture you get from mashed potatoes made with a ricer. Riced potatoes are also the foundation for gnocchi and a Norwegian bread called lefse.Spätzle: These are

Kate Slatehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00386981943849612901noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5186854691777689776.post-82576360093839230562009-07-21T07:00:00.001-04:002009-07-21T07:00:07.284-04:00

Pity the mundane measuring spoon: practical, homely, living to serve. No reason why it shouldn't get dressed up on the job.1 Peppy flower spoons are $5.50 from bibelot.2 Not dressy, just kooky: a set of stainless steel spoons in oddball sizes including a pinch, 1/8 teaspoon, 2/3 teaspoon, 1-1/2 teaspoons and 2 teaspoons. $16 from Spoon Sisters.3 Colorful stoneware spoons from Anthropologie with

Kate Slatehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00386981943849612901noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5186854691777689776.post-90077118750877986442009-07-20T21:00:00.004-04:002009-07-20T21:00:01.453-04:00

Japanese eggplant wearing samurai helmet. From Union Square Farmer's Market in NYC.

Kate Slatehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00386981943849612901noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5186854691777689776.post-21072093677636359052009-07-20T07:00:00.002-04:002009-07-20T07:00:00.307-04:00

There's got to be a term that describes words that evolve through the linguistic game of telephone. Here's an example of what I mean. In France, back in the day, if you wanted to let a girl know you liked her you would give her a flower, or donner une fleur à. This evolved into the verb fleurter (to flower). The English language picked this up and changed it to flirt. In modernday French, the

Kate Slatehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00386981943849612901noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5186854691777689776.post-22170188612452798822009-07-19T09:57:00.005-04:002009-07-19T11:16:58.817-04:00

A box of 12 goldfish trash bags is $16 from perpetual kid.

Kate Slatehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00386981943849612901noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5186854691777689776.post-66011537668613027302009-07-18T12:57:00.004-04:002009-07-18T13:03:15.100-04:00

I have neither explanation nor apology for posting this except that it provided a nice Saturday morning chuckle. Over to you.The King Tut tissue box cover is $25 from Toscano.

Kate Slatehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00386981943849612901noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5186854691777689776.post-81882728566949844542009-07-17T07:00:00.007-04:002009-12-17T10:29:59.292-05:00

There are hundreds and hundreds of mango cultivars in the world, with intriguing names like Rajapuri, Boubo, Parrot Mango, Momi K. and Bez al-Anza. Even in this country, we grow dozens of different mangoes. The problem is that very few of them make it into the marketplace, and when they do they are not often labeled in any helpful way. Store signs usually just say "mangoes," and the PLU (Price

Kate Slatehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00386981943849612901noreply@blogger.com0