Tag: Food & Dining

Smoky Quinoa Taco Bowls Are the Ultimate High-Protein, Veggie-Packed Lunch

With the rare exception of pizza (I prefer plain cheese), I’m all about the toppings. Give me all the candy at the frozen yogurt shop, load up my bagel with every veggie in the store, and top my pancakes with every berry in sight, please. Of course, my favorite way to eat all the toppings…


Taming the Nettle: A Romanian Springtime Tradition

Grandma’s vegetable garden, in a village called Crangeni in the Muntenia region of Romania, runs downhill toward a wetland formed by the thinning stream of the Calmatui River. It’s flanked by two diamond hole wire fences, while the marsh is a natural boundary. Some minute rills that flow into the river form a small pond…


Stewed Nettles (Mâncare de Urzici)

This is the dish Grandma called “spring’s blessing.” It is common all over Romania, with different variations. Romanians often debate over methods of preparing it, but they all agree upon serving it with polenta. Sometimes fried eggs find their way onto the plate, too, draped over the bed of green nettles. The dish tastes a…


Nettle Soup (Ciorbă de Urzici)

Springs are often rainy in Romania, and this warm soup makes quite a delightful companion when the skies are gray. Although not as common as nettle purée, the soup is still a Lent favorite in many households. Again, recipe variations aren’t uncommon across Romania. Non-vegans or people who aren’t fasting serve it with a dollop…


Mediterranean Inspiration for Picnic Season

As the days become warmer and longer, I can’t wait to dust off my picnic basket. Picnicking is the perfect way to relax and socialize with your loved ones, while enjoying good food in the great outdoors. Picnics have soared in popularity since the pandemic hit. With restaurant closings and dining inside being deemed “unsafe,”…


The Humble Glory of Oatmeal

“You have to eat oatmeal or you’ll dry up. Anybody knows that.” The above claim has never been disproved. It was authored by Kay Thompson and uttered by a 6-year-old girl named Eloise, who lived in The Plaza Hotel in New York with Weenie the dog and Skipperdee the turtle. Ever since I first saw…


Tips for Serving Wine With Food

Wine purists will tell you that the wine you choose for a dinner should match the food that’s on the table. Others say, “Poppycock! Drink anything you like with any food.” Riesling with steak? Hey, if you like it, go for it. It certainly would challenge the wine, though. I can’t imagine riesling with steak,…


Ask a Chef: Harbingers of Spring

As the days get longer and the trees begin to blossom, we welcome spring with open arms. To celebrate this season of new beginnings, and all the fresh produce and bright, refreshing flavors it brings, we asked a few chefs for inspiration. Here, they share the recipes that, for them, mark the arrival of the season. Among them…


Put a Little Primavera in Your Step

Spring is here, and it’s time to celebrate by adding a little freshness and lightness to your favorite year-round dishes, such as risottos and pasta. Primavera means springtime in Italian, but pasta primavera, while Italian in name, has American roots. It was created in the 1970s in the famous New York restaurant Le Cirque, and…


The Family Table: Feeding a Crowd, However Big or Small

Submitted by Phyllis Pellerito Jacobek (retired librarian and mother of six children, Nana to 17 grandchildren), Mokena, Illinois My grandmother was born in Calabria and came to the United States as a young girl. She never spoke English well, and so it was difficult to understand her stories as I was growing up. She loved to…