I have always been fascinated by food. My earliest food memories are of me at the age of 4 0r 5, standing on a folding wooden stool by the kitchen sink, and using mom’s vegetable trimmings to make a “salad” in an recycled plastic storage container. Sure, it was an odd combination of lettuce cores, carrot trimmings, and the ends … Read More
Fruit: Is it “Ripe”?
Why don’t grocery store tomatoes taste like the flavorful ones we get from farmstands and our backyard? Why don’t nectarines found in the store in February every taste like the ones in July? It all comes down to understanding ripeness. Ripeness in fruit is not based on color alone. Color will change as a fruit becomes ripe (red bell peppers … Read More
Homemade Churros
Growing up in southern California I was accustomed to Churros, a Mexican pastry stick that is coated with cinnamon sugar. They could be found at everything from concession stands and high-school games to theme parks, and most any place where such snack type offerings could be bought. Recently while updating my “Mexican Fiesta” class I decided to incorporate them as … Read More
Food Jeopardy: Difference Between Herbs & Spices?
Flavors of the World for $200 – Herbs and spices bring life and flavor to our food, they make our tastebuds tingle with excitement and elicit physical responses from the body. They have been the sought for centuries and ultimately have been responsible for the discovery of new continents and worldwide colonization. But what are they…what determines if something is … Read More
Guessing Game of Flavor
Have you ever felt that seasoning food was somewhat akin to playing a game of “pin the tail on the donkey”? Add a little of this and it’s too spicy, add a little of that and now it’s too salty…How many times have you anticipated the robust and bold flavor of something you’re cooking and when you taste it are … Read More
Welcome to “Beyond the Recipe”
I’m finally doing it….guests and friends have been asking for a LONG time if I have a website where they can stay in touch with me and ask questions, get recipes, learn tips, and all that other fun stuff that we “foodies” like to do. Well…here it is. Anyone that knows me well knows that I’m quite prone to over-analyzing … Read More