Hot, Hot, Hot

Every year, STUFF magazine (the Boston one, not the defunct lad mag) generates a Hot 100 list of food, drink, fashion and so forth. Last year I contributed entries on the KFC Double Down, Pretty Things Beer and Ale and Silly Bandz. The year before I covered coconut water, pimenton and puehr. And this year, I have dubbed the following things to be febrile:

Hot Sake Relative: Soju
Hot and Wild: Foraging
Hot Spice: Sichuan Peppercorns
Hot Beer Upgrade: The Michelada
Hot Mojito Successor: Coquito
Hot For Local Carnivores: The Meat CSA
Hot and Sappy: Inspira-Pop

Check out the full list here: http://stuffboston.com/hot100-2011/default.aspx

Massachusetts Terroir

So what does Massachusetts taste like in liquid form? To find out, see my story in the current issue of STUFF Magazine Boston or see here: http://stuffboston.com/stuffboston/archive/2011/07/11/mass-appeal-a-boozy-quest-to-define-our-turf-s-terroir.aspx

Ancient Grains

Biodiversity, flavor and lower gluten content are just some of many reasons why Eli Rogosa's work with the Heritage Wheat Conservancy is so interesting. See here for my article in today's Globe about her farm:

http://www.boston.com/lifestyle/food/articles/2011/07/06/heritage_grain_specialist_works_to_preserves_plant_diversity/

Even Newer 'Ticles

Excuse the lack of posts -- I'm in the process of building a website and am still deciding how best to integrate the blog. In the meantime, here's a story I just did for Splashlife about bitter melon, and here's one from the Globe about Gary Nabhan, hero of chiles and runoff everywhere.

New 'Ticles

Cuban food, burrata, wild edibles and bitter melon have been the subjects of my latest stories in the Globe. See here for links and let me know if you can think up a dish that combines all four subjects:

Cuban classics that feel like home

Burrata requires a master to make it in Vermont

Berkshires’ farm and forage fete

Cultivating a fan club for bitter melon

Whole Grains Galore

See below for my article in today's Globe about the new book Ancient Grains for Modern Meals by Maria Speck. And definitely try the wheatberry fool recipe.

http://www.boston.com/lifestyle/food/articles/2011/05/04/believing_in_the_grandeur_of_grains/

Little Bosnia, St. Louis

While visiting my family in St. Louis I had the opportunity to explore the many bakeries, restaurants and cafes of Little Bosnia. I wrote about that neighborhood's culinary offerings for Smithsonian.com, and you can read the story and see the pics here:

http://www.smithsonianmag.com/travel/Visiting-Bosnia-via-St-Louis.html

Tea and Food Turns 700

As the snow fell earlier this morning, I made this buckwheat pancake using MB's whole grain pancake recipe, though without the sugar and spice and with 1/3 the fat (still delicious). That's right, I minimized The Minimalist.

I was fortunate enough to have locally grown buckwheat flour from the last installment of our winter CSA, and the flecks of hull added a pleasant bit of chew to the otherwise fluffy and spongy pancakes. Gently folded-in, stiffly beaten egg whites truly are the secret weapon for lofty, whole grain pancakes.

As usual, I ended up making one enormous pancake as big as my face in addition to several smaller ones. Topped with steamed apples and savored alongside a mason jar of gunpowder green, this was a celebratory pancake. Because as soon as I click "publish post," Tea and Food will have reached its 700th post. And what better way to celebrate 700 posts on tea and food than with a little food and tea?

It all started as a pet project between myself and my good friend Dave, and by "it all started" I mean Dave started it. We were obsessively discussing everything we were eating and gabbing like a couple of (old, hairy) schoolgirls about the latest Bittman videos. We would even try out the same recipes together in real time over the phone, emailing photos as we went. Dave pointed out that we were basically food blogging without a food blog, so he created us a food blog. 700 posts later, here we are.

At the time I was a traveling sketch comic and Dave was a grad student. He is now a Doctor of Philosophy and teaches at an esteemed university, and I don't live out of a van anymore!

Which brings me to my second cause for celebration: my first article for Smithsonian, on Boston's farm to table renaissance, which you can see here. You can also check out the photo gallery for additional shots.

So congrats to everyone whose enthusiasm has propelled this blog forward over the years. Now go make yourself a pancake.

Urban Syrup

See here for my piece in yesterday's Globe about a maple syrup project in Somerville, my old stompin' grounds:

http://www.boston.com/lifestyle/food/articles/2011/03/02/somerville_maple_syrup_project_teaches_valuable_lessons/

Kosher Game

See here for my recent post on kosher game meats for The Jew and the Carrot: http://blogs.forward.com/the-jew-and-the-carrot/135438/

Salt, pepper, smoke

One day last fall I walked past a neighbor's house whose wood stove was filling the air with its toasty potpourri. The aroma always stops me in my tracks, prompting primal urges.

If I had to put words to the feeling it would be something along the lines of wanting to run down a woolly mammoth and sink my teeth into its flesh. Since I can't do that -- yet -- my brain goes to the next best thing: pimenton. When the smell of smoke hits my nostrils, the only cure for my primal longings is to indulge them by eating or drinking something that tastes like a fire.

That got me thinking about just how universal smoke is as an agent of flavor, appearing in everything from Scotch and tequila to nova and bacon. After speaking to some Boston area chefs, I wrote a story on smoky foods for the Globe, which ran yesterday and which you can see here:

http://www.boston.com/lifestyle/food/articles/2011/02/16/smoking_with_a_smoker_or_spices_of_whatever_food_warms_and_pleases_the_brain/

There's also a recipe for a roasted pepper and eggplant dip from the chef at Sabur, which is here.

If you've got something to say about smoky foods, do share.

Winter CSA Article

Hi there. Check today's Globe for my piece on winter CSA programs around Boston, or see here. If you've experienced a winter CSA and have something to share, do tell.

JJ Bistro and French Pastry

When Elise and I had the privilege of visiting our good friends Jon and Layla in Honolulu, we also paid a visit to JJ Bistro and French Pastry. I was surprised to find that there was more than meets the eye at JJ's, and much that meets the eye too, especially in the rainbow-colored pastry case. I wrote about JJ's for the Globe, which you can see in today's paper and online here.

Mimi and Me

See here for my Q&A on the Forward's food blog with former NYT restaurant critic Mimi Sheraton, who was a pleasure to speak with.

Jews and Pickles

See here for my post on the Forward's food blog about pickles, Jews, and Jewish pickler Sandor Katz (author of the awesome Wild Fermentation).

The Pawtuxet Pawpaw

As you may recall, I'm mad for pawpaws. I have an article about them in the current issue of Edible Rhody, which you can read here and which you can read a little bit of here:

"The pawpaw could very well become mascot for the American local foods movement, a rallying point for both growers and consumers seeking to reconstruct our forgotten national food identity. Nothing better embodies our terroir than this truly American fruit found nowhere else on earth and so deeply embedded in our national history. Certainly not the apple, which, like Borat, is from Kazakhstan.

As we pay closer attention to where our food comes from, why not look a little further back? Even hardcore farm-to-table restaurants like the flagship Chez Panisse are cooking with crops that originated on other continents. In the quest for authenticity, shouldn’t an indigenous plant that our first president grew score higher than, say, a cauliflower?"

Edible Garden, Edible Fair

See here for my piece in yesterday's Globe about the Edible Garden exhibit at the NY Botanical Garden, which is a garden for plants and not robots, though the sign from the highway does read "NY Bot Garden."

And see here for my write-up on the 2nd annual Urban Ag Fair in Cambridge.

Oh, and don't forget to try the braised radishes.

4 Delis, 3 Dishes, 1 Article

See tomorrow's Globe or here for my article on the Boston deli scene.

More on Sumac

I just can't stop writing about sumac! See here for my short piece in the Globe on my new favorite spice/tea/wild edible.

Hot, Hot, Hot

See here for the full list or check these links for my entries in Stuff magazine's 2010 Hot 100 list:

Hot Way To Look Like a Mutant: The Vibram Five Finger
Hot Way to Ignore the Obesity Epidemic: The KFC Double Down
Hot Local Sip: Pretty Things Beer
Hot Expletive: BFD
Hot New Band: Silly Bandz
Hot Social Media Trend: Being Anti-Facebook
Hot and Headed for Mainstream: Skype