A Literary Culinary Journal
Sabor de Almeria, the brand behind a number of recent food initiatives aimed at attracting tourism to Almería Province, is to attempt its most ambitious project yet. They have today announced their intentions to launch a new and exciting International Food & Drinks Festival, to be held in Mojacar during May and June 2012. The festival is to be named Sabor de Almeria – Festival Internacional de la Alimentación y Bebidas.
|
|
Cauliflower is nothing but a cabbage with a college education.–Mark Twain
Mark Twain was an American author and humorist most noted for his two novels The Adventures of Tom Sawyer (1876) and its sequel, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (1885). He published more than 30 books during his career.
|
|
by Gayle Black
In China, there are at least seven styles of cuisine. They vary according to region. While living in Jiangsu Province in the central eastern part of the country, I was mainly exposed to one, broadly defined as “spicy.” Many of the dishes were spicy, but not extremely so for my American tongue. In northern China, the preference tends to be for noodles and dumplings, rather than rice. The bread available is very good, even when produced on a mass scale. The Chinese are excellent bakers.
In Xuzhou, where I lived for half a year, the mutton is fresh and readily available. They slice it in an artful way and bring it to the table to be enjoyed for visual beauty as well as taste. A popular form of dining is called “hot pot.” Restaurants provide two pots of boiling water, and diners are able to cook various meats and vegetables at the table. Wonderful sauces for dipping complete the experience.
I especially enjoyed the fresh fruit available in China. The mandarin oranges were sold with stems and leaves, which kept them particularly flavorful. There were also small mangoes, which had a better texture and more delicate flavor than the larger ones most of us are familiar with. Fruit markets were common on many streets. There were also many flavorful dishes sold by street vendors. Of course the buyer had to be careful. I bought a good pancake with vegetable filling. I would have been hesitant to buy a meat-filled one.
In order to discover the many varieties of Chinese cooking, a traveler short on time would do best to visit Shanghai. It is a beautiful, cosmopolitan city where all manner of Chinese food and every other type of Chinese creation can be enjoyed.
|
|
I would rather play Chiquita Banana and have my swimming pool than play Bach and starve.–Xavier Cugat, bandleader (1900-1990)
Xavier Cugat was the first band leader to front a successful Latin orchestra in the United States. He was married five times, the last time to Spanish guitarist and comic actress, Charo. Their wedding was the first at Caesars Palace on the Las Vegas strip.
Click here to listen to a song by his band.
|
|
An apple is an excellent thing — until you have tried a peach.–George du Maurier (1834-1896)
George du Maurier was a French-born British cartoonist and author known chiefly for his cartoons in the satirical magazine Punch and for his novel Trilby, which romanticized the life of the artist.
More can be read about him at Victorian Web.
|
|
The most important point to consider, when making a vegetable salad, is that the ingredients should be of the very finest and freshest you can find. This may be an obvious stipulation, yet it is surprising how often it is not adhered to.–Simon Hopkinson, Week In Week Out
Simon Hopkinson is an English chef and author who started cooking at the age of 16. He is author of Roast Chicken and Other Stories, which in 2005 was voted the “most useful cookbook of all time” by a panel of British food-world peers. Taken from his much-loved columns in The Independent, Week In Week Out brings together 52 stories about ingredients with their associated recipes.
|
|
by Esmaa Self
We have a 35-year-old Jonathan apple tree that produces marvelous, sweet apples. This tree is supposed to be dead by now, for Jonathans have a life expectancy of about 25 years. While tending the special needs of this fire blight affected tree, I got to thinking about the saw that apples don’t fall far from the tree. It has long been my intention to do just that.
My appetite for a simple, healthy, self sufficient life was teased by failure: the sins of my father, the sometimes health food nut. He introduced me to organic gardening, raw milk and farm eggs; insisted that I eat a hot breakfast; refused to buy white bread, candy or soda pop and preached that from-a-box cooking was no way to live a healthy life.
photo: Wellerco
|
|
…To bring a home-grown apple or a palm full of raspberries in from the garden is a different experience altogether from that of taking them off a supermarket shelf. And isn’t that what we all want – food that brings us the most possible pleasure and delight?–Nigel Slater, Tender, Volume 2
Nigel Slater is an English cook and food writer. He is a regular contributor to The Guardian and the author of eleven books about the pleasures of cooking and eating. He can be seen on the BBC or on his own website.
|
|
A well-stocked freezer full of things you made earlier – soups, stews, chilli con carne, anything that suits reheating – is also a godsend on those nights when you just can’t be bothered to cook.–Henry Dimbleby & John Vincent, Leon Book 2: Naturally Fast Food
Henry Dimbleby and John Vincent were founders and owners of Leon restaurants in London, and have revolutionized the concept of fast food.
Click here for interview with owners explaining why they opened Leon.
|
|
Deep inside me she remembers hunger.
She rejoices when I make stock—
the chicken already baked and eaten
returned to the pot—ribs ridged
like the roof of a cathedral.
I toss in potato peels, limp carrots,
old celery, herbs so dry they crumble.
Steam rises, more fragrant
than incense, and the long simmer
comforts her as no chant could.
Later I scoop out the bones
and vegetables, all their goodness
gone to broth. Golden,
fat shimmers on the surface,
the only gold she’ll ever know.
For now, it is enough.
|
|
Meet Jonell Galloway, a freelance writer and editor specialized in French cuisine. 
