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Chew On This: Your first 'Duh' of the year... - 2 Jan 2012
A ‘duh’ moment to launch the new year: A diet rich in vitamins and fish may protect the brain from aging while junk food has the opposite effect.
Who is it, I ask myself, who dishes out shedloads of money for research like this? read more...
Chew On This: The acai berry diet can only thin your wallet... - 6 Dec 2011
Forget acai berries. (I just want to remind you of this scam diet if you're planning a hasty diet before the festive season.) The acai berry diet will only thin your wallet. Watercress, on the other hand, is a much more powerful ingredient... read more...
Chinese mushrooms identified - 1 Dec 2011
Several varieties of Chinese mushrooms are sold dried in Chinese script packages. But which should you use for what? And how can you buy the ones you want if you don't speak Chinese? Here's help. read more...
Foie gras and confits - 6 Nov 2011
I've just come across this video of Dan Barber of the Blue Hill Farm complex and restaurant in upstate New York. Please give it a look, whether you're a foie gras fan or violently opposed. read more...
Chew On This: Your kitchen - clean or health hazard? - 6 Nov 2011
How many people could identify the refrigerator handle as one of the most hazardous havens for bacteria in the kitchen?
48 million Americans each year get some kind of food borne sickness. At the worst they lead to some 3000 deaths. 180,000 people get hospitalized. Health officials believe there is a higher number of episodes that just don't get reported. read more...
Chew On This: Can corn syrup can lead to dementia? - 26 Oct 2011
Whenever I wrote in the mainstream media about High Fructose Corn Syrup, I would be sent mutterings by industry representatives of legal proceedings. Now that the extensive use of corn syrup in the food business and rising levels of obesity and Type 2 diabetes have become openly connected by medical science, it doesn't seem necessary to keep on beating the drum. But recently scientists have begun to consider if there isn't a link between fructose and dementia. read more...
Colonics versus calories - you choose! - 7 Oct 2011
These photos may help you decide which diet works best... read more...
Oriental products explained - 7 Oct 2011
Without a working knowledge of Chinese, most of the treasures in a Chinese or Asian supermarket will remain out of reach, on the shelves. Here's a phonetic translation so you can ask what's what. read more...
Can you drink your 5-a day? - 10 Sep 2011
Obviously you're not going to be tossing those onions in your blender. It's more likely to be something you've heard is keeping Gwynneth Paltrow the fragrant female she is. Or Simon Cowell such a picture of bonhomie. Such as chokeberries. Or acerola. (Acer what?)
But can you really get your daily fruit-and-veg nutrition from a glass? read more...
Kitchen tricks: how to peel an egg - 11 Aug 2011
This handy tip comes from eatWashingtonian Christina, learned, she says on a trip to Maine. read more...
Chew On This: Obesity causes cancer - 10 Aug 2011
There's not much that doesn't seem to have the possibility of causing cancer. Now obesity joins the list of triggers. read more...
Kitchen tricks: barbecue grill cleaning - 10 Aug 2011
Have you just lifted the lid on your kettle barbecue, tray of burgers in the other hand, and discovered a scuzzy grill uncleaned from your previous cook-out?
Here's a brilliant clean-up tip from eatWashingtonian Kate Walker. read more...
Barbecuing - do you smoke? - 8 Aug 2011
Barbecue is not just a grilling technique, it's a whole philosophy. (And, some women might say, an excuse for men to get out of cooking at any other time of year.) read more...
Chilies - the hot stuff - 8 Aug 2011
Chilies are addictive. Hillary Clinton apparently had hot sauce added to her food at the White House, while NPR political analyst Cokie Roberts is said to travel with a bottle in her purse. read more...
Chew On This: The mac-and-cheese boredom diet - 19 Jul 2011
In a new study, women both obese and non-obese were given macaroni and cheese to eat every day. They lost around 100 calories daily. When they were served other meals, with macaroni and cheese only once a week, everyone's calorie intake rose, by roughly 30 calories a day.
Let's hear it for the daily mac-and-cheese diet! read more...
World's best lollipop - or worst? - 18 Jul 2011
Vegetarian buddies and friends who keep Kosher have told me the one food they're really tempted by is bacon. So here it is, bacon in V- and K-friendly form. The bacon pop. On a stick. As candy.
And that's not all they've got to offer... read more...
Bread-making with natural yeast - 10 Jul 2011
eatWashingtonian Zora Margolis has winkled out of Bethesda home bread-baker Peter Helffrich his recipe for making his own 'wild' yeast. Read her feature in Flavor magazine then bake his no-knead loaf. read more...
Beyond basic barbecue - 10 Jul 2011
Don't limit yourself to burgers for this summer's grilling. There's a broad range of beef cuts that may be unfamiliar but shouldn't be ignored. read more...
On The Road: Shanghai cuisine - 30 Jun 2011
Just back from a food trip to Shanghai. Here, to save you the 16-hour flight, is an armchair primer.
Strictly speaking, there is these days no specific Shanghai cuisine. Known among the Chinese as Hu Cai, Shanghai cuisine is the youngest of the major Chinese cuisines, going back a mere 400 years. read more...
Read my story on DC dining in new magazine - 22 Jun 2011
You don't think George Bush Snr is the father of modern DC dining? Read my story in the premiere issue of Dining Out DC magazine. read more...
The lunch shift is over and chef Peter Smith, owner of PS 7’s restaurant is surrounded by gin. No, he’s not relaxing over a drink. The gin is in bowls in an pre-formed state. It’s the mash, a mix of herbs and berries and peels and roots that Smith has worked out how to use in his food as flavorings.
Chew On This: Your first 'Duh' of the year...
Eggplant
Baked beans - the musical fruit
Ribollita - wondersoup or wodge?
Yasaman Persian Bakery - one of my favorites
Breads - a good chew
Duck & goose
A festive 'Special': Foie Gras Creme Caramel
Festive presents weird and wacky at World Market
Walnut oil
The perfect Yorkshire pudding
Chew On This: The acai berry diet can only thin your wallet...
The Queen Mum's favorite cake
West Indian Black Cake
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