Alanna Kellogg's blog

Red, White & Blue and FAST

2009-07-04T01:00:00-05:00

Quick. It's not too late to pull together a fast red-white-and-blue treat for the 4th of July! Of course not, it's a 'long' weekend, there's today and there's still tomorrow, too. So here are a few quick ideas from favorite food blogs.

17 and Baking ~ A Little Taste of Independence
This one would take a little time, but if you've got a white cake mix, food coloring and cream cheese, you're nearly there. It's a fabulous cake with dramatic stripes of red, white and blue. VERY cool.

Phe.mom.enon ~ Red, White & Blue Tie Dye Cookies
Again, fabulous. Holly shares a sugar cookie recipe but if you're short on time, buy a roll of sugar cookies or even a package of sugar cookies, then concentrate on the tie-dying. T-shirts, anyone?

5 Dollar Dinners ~ July 4th Smoothie
This one's a snap, just strawberries and blueberries in a smoothie. Very pretty!

Yum Sugar ~ Patriotic Cupcakes
Looking for a short cut? Use a white cake mix, throw in some blueberries, make some icing and top with a raspberry. Don't forget the flags!

And you?
And you, what's your favorite red, white and blue treat? Leave a recipe or a link to a recipe in the comments!

For the Fourth of July, BlogHer food editor Alanna Kellogg recommends Two-Bite Brownies on skewers in a watermelon, very festive!

How to Save Money on Groceries? Stay OUT of the Middle Aisles

2009-06-27T07:30:00-05:00

Wednesday's Wall Street Journal got me to fuming. "Frugal Shoppers Drive Grocers Back to Basics" hyped the headline. Good news, yes? We wish. Reporter Ben Worthen wrote that supermarkets make as much as 70% of their profits from the middle aisles and thus are focusing attention there: "... the recession has refocused [supermarkets] on the staples sold in center aisles." Those "staples" he cites? Private label brands of canned vegetables, breakfast cereal and whole wheat bread. OMG I thought I'd have a heart attack.

Commenter Janice Benedict expressed my frustration perfectly. "Swell image, yum. Mommy buying basics. Canned food, white bread, salty snacks. The basic sodium/preservatives diet. For best results simply top with Zazz! soda pop." (I'd link to the WSJ story but a paid subscription is required. Instead, check other reactions to the story in its comments.)

Please, I do not begrudge supermarkets their profits, and to be fair, there IS some good news in this statistics, in that 70% of profits is down from 85% just ten years ago. (Are you doing the math? This is an 18% drop in middle-aisle profits. Over a decade, that's not exactly a sea change but still, progress.)

But please, please, PLEASE, supermarkets, I beg you, be part of the health and budget solution, not the source of the problem.

In the mean time, while I live in hope, here is the information that shoppers need to know.

WHAT ARE THE REAL STAPLES AND WHERE ARE THEY FOUND?

How can a family save money on food? Get OUT of the middle aisles where the shelves are lined with processed food that may be convenient (maybe) but is rarely healthful and certainly not satisfying. I call these the 'empty calorie' aisles, temptations to wasting money on non-essential commercial foods, budget killers that are unhealthful and full of expensive but empty calories. Think potato chips. Crackers. Candy. Cheap pizzas. Ice cream. Soda. The deli counter -- especially the deli counter. Frozen meals.

Instead, shop the perimeter of the store where the real basics are to be found. Vegetables and fruits. Milk and butter and eggs and meat. Then start to cook.

WHAT MIDDLE-AISLE FOODS ARE HEALTHY AND GOOD VALUES?

There are a FEW center-aisle foods that are worth dashing into those center aisle for. Here's my list -- and if you have others, please add them to the comments.

Coffee and tea -- just the basics, nothing fancy
Dried beans -- in one-pound bags, just beans, avoid the beans packaged in boxes that tend to be way more expensive
Canned beans -- black beans, cannellini beans, chickpeas, etc.
Spices -- not spice mixes, just plain spices, watch for spice sales every couple of months and refresh your spice jars
Canned vegetables -- fresh would be better but canned vegetables can be lifesavers, think canned tomatoes
Frozen vegetables -- but just vegetables, no sauces, no herbs
Frozen juice -- orange, apple, etc.
Oatmeal -- in the big tubs, not the tiny packages with sugar and spices
Spaghetti sauce -- yes you can make your own but unless you can buy tomatoes in bulk at very low prices, commercial spaghetti sauce is a good value
Dried pasta --
Rice -- in bags, not boxes of parboiled rice like Uncle Ben's
Baking staples -- flour, sugar, salt
Olive oil -- the plain stuff, just for cooking

HOW TO RECOGNIZE GOOD VALUES IN THE CENTER AISLES?

There are exceptions, of course, but here are the questions I ask myself whenever I'm tempted by a product in the center aisles (and also food products along the perimeter too).

> Is it a food or a food product? If it's a 'product', chances are, it's NOT healthy and NOT a value.
> How much processing has the food undergone? The further it is from the original form, chances are, it's NOT healthy and NOT a value.
> Does the food have a brand name? If the food has a brand name, chances are, it's NOT healthy and NOT a value.
> How many ingredients are in the food? If the food has more than one ingredient, chances are, it's NOT healthy and NOT a value. (Think broccoli and oatmeal.)
> How many ingredients are recognizable? If we don't recognize the ingredients on the ingredient list, chances are, it's NOT healthy and NOT a value.
> Do you have a coupon? If there's a coupon for a food, chances are, it's NOT healthy and NOT a value.
> If an item is on sale, chances are, it's NOT healthy and NOT a value. (Think of the last time you saw brown rice on sale.) Exceptions include seasonal foods like strawberries in the spring and apples in the fall, fresh sweet corn in the summer and winter squash during the winter.

MORE GROCERY-SHOPPING INSPIRATION

Food Dilemma: Where to Splurge, Where to Save from San Diego Food Stuff
Smart Shopping for Healthy Foods from Kids Cuisine
Review: In Defense of Food from Macheesmo

Can you tell? BlogHer food editor Alanna Kellogg gets pretty worked up on the subject of saving money on groceries.

Ten Summer Recipes for Fresh Mozzeralla

2009-06-23T15:30:37-05:00

Meet fresh mozzarella, no, not the bricks or grated stuff from the supermarket, but young balls of fresh cheese, some times in mini balls (ball-ettes?), packed in a watery brine to retain freshness and moisture. Mostly, it's found made from cows' milk but some times you'll find the much-revered buffalo mozzarella, made from the milk of a water buffalo. This stuff is supremely yummy, and it's especially good in summer fare, especially in salads and appetizers. Let's take a look at the many ways to serve fresh mozzarella.

First -- for something truly delectable -- it's possible to make fresh mozzarella at home with just a few ingredients and a little time. Now that's fresh! From the food blog Local Lemons, check the recipe and technique for How to Make Mozzarella Like Giuseppe. There's also a video at Curd Nerd called How to Make Mozzarella which although darky and grainy, demonstrates how the cheese looks as it forms, very useful. The chef works without gloves -- from my experience, gloves are not just recommended, they are required!

But if homemade mozzarella is beyond the pale, no problem, watch for fresh mozzarella at cheese shops, Whole Foods, Trader Joe's, Costco, Sam's Club and the deli departments of some higher-end groceries. If it's handmade and truly fresh, it can be expensive -- think $10 a pound. But fresh mozzarella is used differently than brick mozzarella, it isn't a cheese to tuck into a casserole, for example. Instead, use it in small quantities where it can stand out and truly be savored. My favorite way to eat fresh mozzarella? Just slice it thin onto a plate, sprinkle the round with good salt, then eat one small bite at a time.

From Home with Mandy, I learned this tip:

"Great tip: when cooking with fresh mozzarella, you can tell how fresh it is by the texture when you cut into it. If it is smooth, then it is fresh. If it starts falling apart, it is probably past its prime...still good to eat, just not FRESH mozzarella." (See more about Mandy's .)

These recipes are all great ways to enjoy fresh mozzarella.

Kalyn's Kitchen ~ Marinated Fresh Mozzarella with Herbs
"This tasty mixture of mini mozzarella balls and fresh herbs might be the easiest appetizer you've ever whipped up, and I'm guessing it will impress your friends."

Dutch Girl Cooking ~ Insalata Surprise
"I can only eat so many classic Caprese salads before they start coming out of my nose. I desperately needed one with a little twist. I’ve added a few ingredients and topped it with a gorgeous garlic and basil dressing and named it Insalata Surprise."

The Naptime Chef ~ Tomato, Mozzarella & Pesto on Eggplant "Bread" with Baked Lavash Chips
"One of the main reasons I love this sandwich is because the combination of eggplant, tomato and mozzarella is, in my opinion, one of the best flavor medleys ever created. ... this sandwich is a total snap to make. "

Supermarket Serenade ~ Heirloom Tomato and Mozzarella Salad with Avocado Oil and a Honeyed Malbec Reduction
"It was settled: I would use my avocado oil for a salad using the yellow tomato, herb salad mix, and fresh mozzarella cheese."

Nami-Nami ~ Zucchini Rolls with Herb-Marinated Mozzarella Balls
"I wanted to share a recipe for another kind of Zucchini Rolls that I served on my Birthday table. This time the courgette slices are blanched first, and the goat cheese has been replaced by herb-marinated mini mozzarella balls."

My Husband Hates Veggies ~ Fresh Mozzarella Bocconicini with Oven Dried Tomatoes and Basil Pesto Oil
"There’s no big story here, these juicy little numbers speak for themselves. I make them frequently, and they are always a huge hit at parties, garnering many requests for the recipe. Wanna know why? I will tell you: They are low-carb, vegetarian, bite-sized, served at room temperature, nice to look at, and uber-yummy."

Sweetnicks ~ Marinated Mozzarella Balls
"You know those marinated balls of mozzarella you can buy at the store? Well this recipe is to basically make those, saving you a little bit of extra money, because if you buy them already done at the store, they tend to get a little bit pricey. And these days, quite frankly, every penny counts. Really."

The Italian Dish ~ Roasted Pepper and Mozzarella Bites
"oy, talk about an easy appetizer. How about using just two ingredients (three if you want to add the chopped basil) for a pretty, delicious dish of bite sized morsels?"

Life's Ambrosia ~ Baked Mozzarella
"What I love about this dish, and most of the dishes that we had in Italy, is the simplicity. Not too much seasoning, you just cook it to showcase the flavors of your ingredients."

More Than Burnt Toast ~ Golden Bruschetta with Tomato, Fresh Mozzarella & Pesto
"This is a simple recipe that lets the flavours of the juicy heirloom tomatoes shine. It also enables me to spend more time with each of you and not in Susan's kitchen....it is just that easy!!"

And you?
And you, what's your favorite way to eat fresh mozzeralla? Leave a recipe or a link to a recipe in the comments!

In Switzerland in 2001, BlogHer food editor Alanna Kellogg fell in love with the tomato and fresh mozzarella classic cInsalata Caprese.

Beautiful Fruit Tarts for Summer

2009-06-20T11:00:00-05:00

Come summer, the berries, the stone fruits, the melons, they call to us. Eaten out of hand, they pop with sun-kissed fruitiness. Drizzled with cream, they soften and darken, just a bit. But add fruit to a beautiful tart and suddenly all the senses engage: the eyes fill with color, the nose fills with fruit scent, the ears (you can hear the ooo's and ahhh's, yes?), the hands (reaching for a fork, fast!) and finally, the taste, eyes closed, savoring each tiny morsel. Fruit tart recipes? You bet -- here's a collection to get us started, how about one a week between now and fall?

BLUEBERRY TART
Taste Food ~ Blueberry Tart
"It is impossible to resist the abundant blueberries at this time of year. Today I came home from the market with 2 pounds of fresh blueberries. Well, actually I came home with 1 1/2 pounds, because I couldn't stop nibbling them along the way. Upon arrival, my children consumed at least another half pound before I rescued the remainder, which is exactly what I needed to go in my blueberry tart."

APRICOT TART
Orangette ~ Apricot Tart
"The Zuni apricot tart was a very simple affair. It was essentially a tart shell lined with sugared apricot halves and baked. There was no custard, no frangipane - nothing but apricot. If you look up the word 'understatement,' I am pretty sure that, next to its definition, you will find an illustration of this tart. But it wasn’t the least bit boring. On the contrary, it was sweet and a little tangy, sticky at the corners and jammy in pockets, the fruit soft and the crust crumbly with butter."

PLUM TART
The Italian Dish ~ Plum Tart
"... when Chez Panisse opened in 1971 and served their first dinner, plum tart was the dessert. I've loved all the tarts from Chez Panisse and this one is outstanding."

RASPBERRY TART
Hungry Bruno ~ Brown Butter Raspberry Tart
"Do you have a dessert good enough for strangers in your repertoire? Um, now you do. Holy crap, dudes. That was my reaction after bite one: when is the next time I'm going to be cooking for people, because I want to make THIS for dessert."

PEACH TART
Cafe Johnsonia ~ Creamy Peach Tart
"My husband asked me to place a gold star next to this recipe because he loves it so much. (I'll practically do anything for a gold star from anyone!) It is a good tart. I will make it again. And again. And even a few more times after that."

STRAWBERRY TART
Mele Cotte ~ Strawberry Bavarian Cream Mini Tarts
"It's perfect for that something sweet we crave, but don't want anything heavy. It would really work with any fruit or a combination of fruits, with or without patterns, or with or without whipped cream."

NECTARINE TART
Smitten Kitchen ~ Nectarine Mascarpone & Gingersnap Tart
"The farmers’ markets are teeming with the kind of produce that require no or minimal heat to make them tasty like ... perfect stone fruit that can be easily sliced on top of a tart with an eight minute spicy gingersnap crust and a mascarpone and sweet cheesy custard filling."

Worried about making a traditional tart crust?
Try this especially easy recipe that starts with melted butter and then is pressed into the tart shell. It's passed muster with pastry chef David Lebovitz who calls it French Tart Dough.

And you?
And you, is there a beautiful tart recipe in your repertoire? Leave a recipe or a link to a recipe in the comments!

BlogHer food editor Alanna Kellogg's go-to fruit tart recipe for more than 30 years is a breeze to make, thanks to a press-in crust. She's made Finnish Fruit Tart with blueberries, sour cherries, even rhubarb.

Cookbook Ideas for Fathers Day Gifts

2009-06-17T09:08:45-05:00

Is there a cook in the house? With Father's Day on Sunday, perhaps a "guy" cookbook is the perfect gift idea. I polled some of my favorite guy food bloggers for their recommendations for Father's Day cookbook gift ideas.

StephenCooks Stephen Smith is a 'recovering architect' who lives in Portland, Maine with his wife and two cats. After a long blogging hiatus to restore an historic home, Stephen is relaunching StephenCooks to reflect "Living Well with Glucose Control" after being diagnosed in 2008 with Type 2 diabetes. He says that his three Father's Day cookbook recommendations are "truly special books, both very beautiful and so both great gifts on more than one level".

Pork & Sons by Stephane Reynaud
Stephen says: "A fabulous book I'm just getting started with. Beautiful photographs and simple recipes make you want to try them all. I got Pork & Sons from my daughter for Christmas this year -- her friend who shares my passion for home cured and smoked pork suggested it -- and it was the best gift I've received in years; that includes a lot of cookbooks!"

Bones: Recipes, History and Lore by Jennifer McLagan
Stephen says: "Another fabulous and beautiful book, about cooking with bones. May be of particular interest to gourmands who hunt."

Lobster At Home by Jasper White
Stephen says: "For those with a good supply of lobsters, all the other delicious things you can do besides boil them and put them on a plate."

Seriously Good Kevin Weeks is a personal chef, cooking instructor and food writer from Knoxville, Tennessee.

Silver Palate Cookbook by Julee Rosso and Shelia Lukins
Kevin says: "No books had more impact on my cooking than Russo and Lukin's Silver Palate cookbook series, originally publish around 20 years ago. My mother taught me to cook, but these two ladies taught me to really cook! With their varied use of flavors and techniques and all the little sidebars filling in the cracks. These books are in no way gender-centric - any cook should have them." (Read more about Kevin's reliance on the Silver Palate at Going for the Silver.)

On Food and Science by Harold McGee
Kevin says: "The most important book in my cooking library is Harold McGee's On Food and Cooking. I know many women who also consider this an essential reference, but with its focus on science it is a 'male' book in a traditional sense."

Charcuterie: The Craft of Salting, Smoking, and Curing by Michael Ruhlman
Kevin says: "My favorite cookbook of the past five years is Michael Rhulman's Charcuterie. The art of preserving meat is traditionaly a male art - in the past it required a good bit of upper-body strength to handle the sides of pork and beef and hunting was also a traditionally male pursuit. Charcuterie is eminently understandable and the recipes are excellent." (Read more about why Kevin calls Charcuterie a "revelation" at Charcuterie: A Book and a Year in Review.)

Matt Bites Photographer and Matt Armendariaz lives in Los Angeles with his partner Adam and is 'obsessed with food, drink, and everything in between'.

The Art of Plank Grilling: Licked by Fire, Kissed by Smoke by Ted Reader
Matt says: "This Father's Day I'm wholeheartedly recommending my pal Ted Reader's latest called 'Everyday Gourmet Plank Grilling'. I don't know about your father, but mine is as savvy and adventurous as they come; no plain grilling book will do. I love Ted's book not only because of his creative ways of plank cooking but for the recipes as well. Polenta or a Breakfast Strata on the grill? Yes sir! It's not just meat and if there's a way to cook it outdoors this man has tried it. Truly a creative book and really a great treat."

And you?
And you, is there a special cookbook you'd recommend for fathers? Leave a cookbook recommendation or a link to a post that recommends a cookbook in the comments!

BlogHer food editor Alanna Kellogg knows a man who says "Real men cook with real fire" and is entirely entralled with the new cookbook by Argentian chef Francis Mallman and author Peter Kaminsky, Seven Fires.

Words for Our Fathers

2009-06-13T07:00:00-05:00

Between now and June 21, Americans and Canadians will endure the bombardment of commercialism that reigns at Father's Day. Buy this for Dad! Perfect gift for Dad! Say "Dad, I love you!" with this doodad or geegaw. Harrumph. Good thing my own father isn't a spendy sort. One gift that spends easy? Our words. Our tributes to our fathers. Our devotion, our acceptance, and unquestionably, our love. Here are a few favorite posts about fathers from food bloggers, some with recipes, mostly without. I invite you to sit down with a cup of coffee, allow the words of others to move and inspire, then to reach within yourself to write to or about your father, whoever and wherever he is. It will be a gift, only yours, to you, to your family, to your heritage. What you write, make it funny, make it poignant, make it personal, it matters not, for words, they're free, they're priceless. They can't be bought and they can't be sold. They belong to us -- and to our fathers.

"My late-Dad taught me that good things -- and good tasting things -- come in small packages.

As a kid, whenever I was too sick to go to school, I always felt a secret twinge of giddiness. Well, not only because I got to stay home that day, but because when my Dad came home from work, there would be a surprise. OK, maybe if I knew about it ahead of time, it wasn’t really a surprise. But to a child, it still qualified as one.

You see, my Dad kept a stash of new toys hidden away at the top of a hallway closet. Whenever I got a bad cough, or a fever that would give me creepy nightmares, he’d sneak off to that closet, and pull out a toy to surprise me with. A little doll. A wooden puzzle. A coloring book. A Snoopy figurine. He hoped that whatever he chose would make my pained eyes brighten. He always succeeded, too."

READ MORE ~ A Tiny Gift that Keeps on Giving
from food writer Carolyn Jung who blogs at Food Gal

"Smoking salmon is, for me, a function of genetics: my father did it. He came to the hobby later in life. I think he took it up primarily as a means of social interaction — he liked going to the market and talking to the fish-sellers, and he enjoyed giving the finished product to friends. As a socially reserved man, those deliveries created opportunities for him to visit and interact with people.

When my father moved out of the house he and my mother had built in the early 1950s, he went to live at a senior citizen apartment house, and his old smoker didn’t move with him. It found its way to my garage, almost by default. When he died a couple of years later, I decided I should give it a try. After all, I already had the smoker, and in keeping with his character, my father had left detailed instructions. I’d watched him go through the process and heard him describe it many times."

READ MORE ~ Smoking Salmon at Home
from Hal Hail who blogs at Humble Gourmand

"It’s been a while since I’ve written anything here. My grandfather passed away last month and that took a lot of my blogging energy away from me. I knew I wanted to dedicate a post to him as he was as much a foodie as I am, but my words escaped me. In my failed attempts to write, I would stare blankly at my computer screen as memories of him streamed through my thoughts.

When I slept over my grandparent’s house as a kid, I would often hear my grandfather poke around in the kitchen, usually around dawn, well aware that my grandmother could sleep through anything. I, of course, would get up from bed to find alone in the kitchen, happily stirring a hefty pot of homemade jam (his specialty) or preparing some sort of sweet treat without my grandmother there to convince him against it. When he noticed me watching he would let out big a smile, and allow me to stay and help so long as I didn’t wake up anyone else."

READ MORE ~ Ma'moul Cookies
from Tony Tahhan who blogs at, well, Tony Tahhan

"The phone call finally came. The one I had tried to prepare for and was never prepared for. The one that I dreaded and yet, somehow, did not; he had suffered so much already. “It’s time” my sister said. My father’s second bout with T cell Lymphoma had turned the corner, he was failing rapidly. ...
You see, my father wanted to die at home. Among his trees, his birds, and his garden and plants. He wanted to see his Japanese Maple change colors in the Fall. He wanted to smell his peonies. He wanted to be able to sit on his rocking chair on the screen porch and enjoy the paradise that he had made."

READ MORE ~ A Taste of Yellow, A Memory of Dad
from Toontz who blogs at Okara Mountain

"Yesterday was the 100th birth anniversary of my maternal grandfather Ernst Johannes, known to his family and friends as Orika Ärni. A proud father of five, grandfather of 11. He died in 1981, when I was still just 6 years old, so I don't have many memories of him. I remember he was a big, quiet and stoic man, and know that he had worked hard in his farm all his life, mainly breeding pigs and milk cattle, as well as growing various grain crops (he had been lucky and wasn't deported to Siberia by the Soviets, but he did lose his large farm to the collectivisation, of course, leaving our family with just a fraction of the original farm)."

READ MORE ~ The Story of Fermented Oat Flummery
from Pille who blogs from Estonia at Nami-Nami

"Today is my father's birthday. If he was still with us, he would be 67 years old. Like last year, instead of a sappy memoir, I would like to share a story with you. When I was about five, my mother decided to throw a surprise birthday party for my father. She invited all their friends, cooked loads of food, had plenty of booze and music. I have scattered memories of it, but I do remember the house being full of people - family and friends. He had went with a hunting buddy to sell some fur in a town about a hour away. The buddy knew of the party and knew what time to have Dad back to the house."

READ MORE ~ Continuing Tradition
from Melody who blogs at Trap Door

And you?
And you, have you written a post that's especially about your father? Leave a link in the comments!

BlogHer food editor Alanna Kellogg is grateful for every day spent with her 83-year old father and know his very favorite on Father's Day is Lemon Meringue Pie.

Make This a Sangria Summer: Inspiration & Recipes

2009-06-09T15:17:13-05:00

Nothing shouts 'summer' -- and summer parties and summer easy -- than a big pitcher of sangria shared with friends. There's no one way to make sangria and once you've the basics down -- don't worry, they're easy -- you'll make pitcher after pitcher, no two alike.

First, what IS sangria, anyway? It's a wine cocktail, served cold with ice, that starts with wine, fruit and something bubbly. Traditionally, sangria is made with red wine but there's also a white wine 'sangria blanco'. Often, sugar is added too, making sangria sweet as well as potent.

So check out these recipes, then bubble up a pitcher of your very own. In no time? It'll be party time!

SANGRIA (RED WINE)
bitchincamero ~ Pomegranate Sangria
"Sangria is usually made from red wine, brandy, fruit juice, simple syrup, seltzer and fruit. There are tons of great variations, including a white wine, pear one that my mom makes. I used cognac, POM juice and white grapes in my version. I loved the way the pomegranate and wine complimented each other, and the cognac adds just the right amount of booziness."

The Perfect Pantry ~ Sangria
"... make the recipe first. Get it into the fridge. You'll have plenty of time to read all about the lemon and its many attributes while the sangria is chilling."

Pinoy Food Cravings ~ Classic Spanish Sangria
"Sangria is a popular drink among tourists at bars, pubs and restaurants in Southern Spain. In this setting, sangria is often served in 1-litre pitchers or other containers large enough to hold a bottle of wine plus the added ingredients. This is the quintessential recipe: tried and true, and therefore delicious."

Champaign Taste ~ Luna's Sangria
"... doesn't follow a strict recipe, which is certainly in keeping with the spirit of the concoction."

SANGRIA BLANCO (WHITE WINE)
The Bubbly Girl ~ Apricot White Cherry Sangria
"The somewhat awkward season between spring and summer is actually one of my favorite times of year. It’s the time when the first soft and fragrant apricots appear in the stores, along with the gorgeous white cherries that might be called Rainiers or Napoleons. Besides their delicate flavors, these fruits look beautiful together, so I decided to make up a special white sangria to use these early summer fruits."

The Tipsy Hostess ~ My Tried and True White Sangria
"I clipped this recipe out of the St.Petersburg Times years ago and I can't count how many times I've used it since then. Buy enough ingredients to double the recipe, we almost always go through 2 or 3 pitchers. And be careful because this Sangria sneaks up on you!"

Dragons Kitchen ~ Spicy Sangria
"This Sangria is unusual because of the addition of jalapeno peppers, and because it is made with white wine rather than the traditional red. I used white wine so my guests could see all the beautiful fruit and the peppers. The heat came through, but it was still very refreshing."

SANGRIA GONE ADVENTUROUS!
Not Eating Out in New York ~ Peach Watermelon Sangria Sorbet
"... a refreshing frozen dessert so easy to prepare (as long as you have an ice cream maker) that I wonder why sorbet hasn’t replaced the canning craze."

Big Red Kitchen ~ Edible Cocktails: Sangria
"Edible Cocktails are quirky. From seeing them wiggle on the platter, tilting your head back and throwing one down, to licking the stickiness from your fingers, you will agree that these gel cocktails will bring smiles to your guests' faces."

And you?
And you, what's your favorite way to make sangria? Leave a recipe or a link to a recipe in the comments!

BlogHer food editor Alanna Kellogg managed to drink a little too much sangria over the weekend so for the moment is sticking to the extra-lemony Old-Fashioned Homemade Lemonade.

Cold Treats for Hot Days: Summer Popsicle Recipes

2009-06-06T08:30:00-05:00

"In every neighborhood in Puerto Rico there is an old lady that will sell you limber [basically a popsicle in a small dixie cup] for .50 cents, back in my day it was .25 cents. Usually she will come out in a “bata” or mu-mu with curlers in her hair. I remember when I was a little girl there was this lady that lived down the street and sold limber in 5 different flavors, coconut was my favorite. ... These are a great treat on a hot day." ~ by Meseidy from The Noshery

Meseidy's description of street-side popsicles got me to thinking about all the unusual popsicles that have been popping up in the food blogs recently. These are homemade popsicles -- no high-fructose corn syrup, often with 'sugar' coming from the natural sweetness of fresh fruit. These are frugal, no paying for sugar water and packaging. These are fun -- put at least one on your "must make" list for the summer!

The Noshery ~ Coconut Cream Popsicles
"Mmmmmm they are so delicious, great to have in the freezer for your kids or your hot Hubby…..you know because he has been out in the sun all day….. literally he is hot."

Mocha Chocolatarita ~ Tamarind & Palm Sugar Popsicles
"... summer heat is the perfect excuse reason for everything icy. ... above all... POPSICLES!!! Refreshing, thirst quenching, fruity, icy cold goodness on a stick, in a hot summer afternoon. Perfection."

A Smart Mouth ~ Melon popsicles with mint, honey, and yogurt
"... why do 9 million New Yorkers all have to have cravings for popsicles, watermelon, and ice cream at the same hour on the same day? Today I wanted a popsicle bad. Alas, I couldn’t find a single one without HFCS in the stores. And while I probably am becoming more of a New Yorker by the day, I still refuse to wait in line at one of the many ice cream shops. What is one to do? Make popsicles, of course."

Sea Salt with Food ~ Mango & Orange Popsicles
"... I made some frozen treats for my kids - delicious popsicles! Basically, you can experiment with different kinds of fruits and juices and then create your own concoction. In fact, I have a long list of request from my kids. They have given me some interesting combinations of their favorite flavors. It's going to be a fun project with them :-)"

Cooking Dunkin Style ~ Tazo Iced Passion Tea Popsicles
"My niece who works at Starbucks turned me onto this wonderful tea, Tazo Iced Passion Tea. It is delicious, so I figured why not make popsicles with it? Sometimes I do get a great idea and this was one of em!"

For the Love of Food ~ Frozen Jello Pops
"my husband had the great idea to make popsicles. ... Even though he was at the largest grocery store in town, there were only 3 [Jello] flavors! Three!! Lemon, Waldmeister, and Cherry. ... My husband got creative and decided to put the jello in popsicle forms and freeze them. They were really fun to eat with a sort of jello/slushy consistency."

Raw Food Crafting ~ Grape Kabobsicles "I did ... make these grape kabob Popsicles that my nephews couldn't stop eating. :) They were a lot of fun. :) All I did was take some kabob sticks & poked some green & purple grapes on to them & froze them in the freezer on a flat plate. Yeah, super hard recipe right?!!:D The frozen grapes really remind me of fruit Popsicles. :)"

And you?
And you, what's your favorite summer popsicle? Leave a recipe or a link to a recipe in the comments!

BlogHer food editor Alanna Kellogg makes fudgicles with milk and a box of pudding mix. Easy!!

Bonkers for Biscuits

2009-06-02T11:30:00-05:00

Who knows what it is -- group think? that phenomenon where women who live together tend to menstruate together? -- but every so often, a bubble of similar recipes pops out of my favorite food blogs, without prompting, no Bread Baking Babes, no Tuesdays with Dorie, no Daring Bakers required. Recently? Biscuits, baby, we're crazy for 'em.

Good biscuits are as much a journey as a destination. First, you must know your biscuit style, tall and flaky? rich and dense? barely sweet or slightly savory? It's okay to say "yes, please" to each objective and then develop a coterie of recipes. Here's a start.

A Yankee in a Southern Kitchen ~ Buttermilk Biscuits
"A few months ago my grandson tugged on my shirt early one morning. He proceeded to tell me that he was hungry for “briskcus”. Unclear as to what he was saying, I asked him to repeat his request again. Still unclear we went another round or two when it dawned on me what he wanted. Oh, you want Mimi to make you “biscuits”? Yes, “briskcus”. Well, I am so glad that you like my baking; let’s go make some right now." ~ Kim Morgan Ross

Phe.Mom.enon ~ Perfect Buttermilk Biscuits
"I have finally found and tweaked the perfect biscuit recipe! This may not seem like much of an accomplishment, but I have been on a serious biscuit craving hunt for years!" ~ Holly the Phemom

Just Baking ~ Rosemary Biscuits
"I know it’s really not polite to brag, but I make delicious biscuits. They’re everything a biscuit should be- flaky, moist, salty, crumbly but not too crumbly. They’re perfect." ~ Elena Rosemone for Just Baking

Garden of Eating ~ Sweet Potato Biscuits
"Although I am not southern, the appeal of biscuits is far from lost on me. Soft, bready, and short, I think they are good on their own with a little butter or as a way to sop up extra gravy or sauce as part of a meal." ~ Eve Fox

Everybody Likes Sandwiches Dill, Red Onion and Cheese Drop Biscuits
"There are a few dishes that I make over and over again. The ones requiring a recipe are taped to the side of my fridge. The list includes ... and now there's this biscuit. I originally spotted the recipe on Bread & Honey and since then, I've made it countless times ..." ~ Jeannette Ordas

Baker's Banter The Original Sausage Cheese Biscuit. Scone. Biscuit. Whatever.
"Here in America, scones and biscuits are pretty much the same thing (we’ll leave Great Britain out of this discussion for the time being). Scones are basically a dressed-up biscuit: sweetened, often including extras (nuts, chips, fruit), and usually cut in wedges, rather than circles. But in the end, butter-enriched, baking powder-leavened siblings under the skin." ~ PJ Hamel for King Arthur Flour

STILL MORE BISCUIT RECIPES

Baking Bites ~ White Whole Wheat Biscuits
"Most biscuits I come across are made with white flour, either an all purpose flour or a cake flour (or other low-protein flour) in the hopes of producing the most tender biscuit. While I would never turn down a perfectly made biscuit, it is nice to know that you can still make delicious biscuits using whole grain flour without sacrificing taste or texture." ~ Nic Weston

The Kitchn ~ Two-Ingredient Biscuits
"We were browsing through AllRecipes, and this recipe for two-ingredient biscuits came up very highly ranked. We were skeptical: how good could they possibly be? Well, the reviews were almost uniformly positive: cooks loved them! They said that these biscuits were light, fluffy, and so, so easy. What were the secret ingredients? Two staples of old-timey kitchens: self-rising flour, and cream." ~ Faith for The Kitchn

STILL in SEARCH of PERFECT BISCUITS? Try these tips!

SlashFood ~ great tips for biscuits

Dorie Greenspan ~ biscuit tip sheet

And you?
And you, are biscuits in your recipe repertoire? Leave a recipe or a link to a recipe in the comments!

BlogHer food editor Alanna Kellogg has yet to match her mother's perfect homemade biscuits but manages decent loft with Best Shortcake Biscuits for Iowa-style Strawberry Shortcake.

Five Simple Coffee Cake Recipes to Sweeten Your Summer

2009-05-30T07:00:00-05:00

Lisa from the Portland (Oregon) food blog "My Own Sweet Thyme" conjures up the Velveteen Rabbit to describe the recipe card that holds her family's forever recipe for coffeecake. "This card has grown shabby. It is stained and creased and worn. Time has turned it yellow and experience has spattered batter on the front picture and spilled something else, maybe vanilla, on the back. Still it is well loved, regarded and remembered. It holds the secret formula for a coffee cake we have consistently treasured in my family since the beginning."

Continues Lisa, "... for a while, we made it almost every Sunday, without variation, for an after church brunch. To newlyweds on a tight budget this coffee cake was a real treat. Warm out of the oven it is fragrant, soft and delicious. Later in the day it is a little firmer but still wonderful."

~ from My Own Sweet Thyme, keep reading and get the recipe at Cinnamon Coffee Cake.

Photo by Inn Cuisine

Inn Cuisine ~ Strawberry Rhubarb Coffeecake with Crumb Topping
"If you already like rhubarb or the strawberry-rhubarb combination, I think you’ll appreciate the following recipe for Strawberry-Rhubarb Coffee Cake (with extra tips at the end). And if you’re like me, having never experimented with rhubarb before… then this is a recipe that will perhaps change your mind."

Dawn's Recipes ~ A Simple Coffee Cake
"What I love about this recipe is that I can make it at a moments notice. None of the ingredients are fancy. I almost always have everything I need on hand. It also comes together very quickly. You can throw it together in the morning, and let it bake while you’re in the shower. Then you can wow your co-workers by bringing in something fresh from your oven."

My Baking Addiction ~ Cinnamon Roll Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting
"Now let me reiterate...this IS a doctored up cake box recipe...so please do not be expecting a culinary masterpiece! This cake is simply very good for how easy and quick it is to make!"

Rookie Cookie ~ Chocolate Streusel Coffee Cake
"This would be an great breakfast treat for your house guests to wake up to. Even if your house guests happen to be your spouse and your children. They will love it."

And you?
And you, what's your favorite summer coffee cake? Leave a recipe or a link to a recipe in the comments!

BlogHer food editor Alanna Kellogg is ever so happy that her sister saved their mother's recipe for Blueberry Coffee Cake.

Burger Mania: Better Burgers Beyond Hamburgers and Beef Burgers

2009-05-26T10:54:12-05:00

Culinary conundrum: why are hamburgers made with beef, not, you know, um, ham??? This puzzle is a good reminder that when it comes to burgers, there are oh sooooo many more options than beef. Let's take a look -- how many non-beef (non-ham) burgers have you tried?

LAMB BURGERS
Farmgirl Fare ~ Feta Lamb Burgers

Photo by Ezra Poundcake

SHRIMP BURGERS
Ezra Pound ~ Shrimp Burgers
"This shrimp burger recipe calls for the raw scallions, corn kernels, parsley, ginger and lemon zest to be added to the shrimp and refrigerated before frying. When you first bite into the burger, you’ll notice that the flavors are very bright, especially the ginger and lemon zest. They really complement the shrimp and help turn the sandwich into a seafood experience rather than just a burger alternative."

TURKEY BURGERS
The WHOLE Gang ~ California Cobb Salad Burger
"I love everything that goes into the salad, why not turn it into a burger. For some folks, especially the ones at my house, burgers are more fun to eat than a salad. So take all of the ingredients and turn it into a burger."

CHICKEN BURGERS
Sarah's Cucina Bella ~ Mouth-Watering Chicken Burgers
"This delicious, juicy chicken burger is ranking tops on my short list of craveworthy foods. Yum."

SALMON BURGERS
The Photo Kitchen Blog ~ Salmon Burgers
"My after-gym-lunch today was this nice and crunchy grilled salmon burger. This one is inspired by “Joe Allen’s” (a restaurant in Miami Beach) fabulous grilled salmon sandwich with cucumber and lettuce on ciabatta. Chilled romaine and cucumber, warm grilled salmon, crunchy bun - nice!"

PORK BURGERS
Steamy Kitchen ~ Asian Pork Burgers with Kimchi

VEGGIE BURGERS
Delicious Wisdom ~ Coconut Curry Burgers
"You can make a veggie burger out of any damn thing. Rather than waiting around for Morningstar to come out with a new flavor so that you can pay some painful amount for a box of four -- maybe we should all get inspired by random flavor combinations, skip the fillers and soy protein isolates, and start making our own."

So?
How many non-beef, non-ham burgers have you tried? Better yet, how many non-beef, non-ham burgers do you promise to try during the summer grilling season of 2009?

OH. And if you have a favorite burger recipe -- beef, ham, all others! -- leave a recipe or a link to a recipe in the comments!

BlogHer food editor Alanna Kellogg is wild for burgers, now that she's learned some new (and simple!) tips for better burgers.

Wet Your Whistle: Five Tall Cold Drinks for Summer

2009-05-23T07:34:18-05:00

Close your eyes. Imagine yourself lounging by the pool, all lazy-daizy and sleepy-snoozy. Your skin is warm, in a minute, it'll be time to swim a slow lap to cool off. When you get back, the cabana boy (hello, boyfriends?! husbands?!) will have left a cold drink, the glass dripping with condensation, the color dazzling in the light. Aii, it's finally, finally summer.

Photo by Baking Bites
Baking Bites ~ Raspberry Mojitos
"Mojitos are one of my favorite summertime drinks. They’re easy to make with just a few ingredients that can be put together by hand, and the combination of fresh mint and fresh lime juice is incredibly refreshing."

Photo by Joy the Baker
Joy the Baker ~ Summer Sweet Raspberry Lemonade
"This gorgeous Raspberry Lemonade is absolutely the perfect drink to have chilled in the refrigerator all summer long. Consider it The Real Deal Pink Lemonade. An absolute dream, and worth the two easy steps it takes to make."

Photo by The Whole Gang
The Whole Gang ~ Strawberry Margaritas "I wanted a drink that used fruit and tequila and a little agave [and not special bottles of liquor]. So here it is. I really like the color and taste."

Greedy Gourmet ~ Strawberry Orange Juice
"Just when the UK summer started showing signs, strong winds blew hard and brought cloud after cloud to us, not to mention rain. At least strawberries started appearing in the shops and this drink will definitely refresh you on a muggy afternoon."

White on Rice Couple ~ Blackberry Tom Collins
"The blackberries have been fantastic lately in one of our favorite markets, so this has been a regular beverage right now. Thanks Modern Beet Jen for getting us started on these blackberry cocktails."

And you?
And you, what cold drink would the cabana boy of your dreams deliver? Leave a recipe or a link to a recipe in the comments!

In her own poolside reverie, BlogHer food editor Alanna Kellogg wants the cabana boy to deliver an ice-cold glass of Old-Fashioned Lemonade, hmm, perhaps with a shot of rum.

A Veggie Dozen: Twelve Healthy Summer Salads

2009-05-19T15:43:59-05:00

If May weren't slipping into history fast enough already, this weekend -- whoa, check the calendar, it's true -- is Memorial Day long weekend in the U.S.. It's the unofficial start of summer, plus (hey, I'm a foodie, forgive me if I define the world in terms of food and drink?) the Memorial Day weekend launches the grilling season, the potluck season, the picnic season, the ethnic festival season, the suppers-by-the-pool season. And that means we all need a regular supply of great summer salads. Let's see what some of my favorite food bloggers offer up for inspiration.

Cucumber Salads

Photo by Karina's Kitchen
Karina's Kitchen ~ Cucumber Salad
Habeas Brulee ~ Cucumber Salad in Two Grandmotherly Ways
Nami-Nami ~ Shaken Cucumber Salad

Green Bean Salads

Photo by Smitten Kitchen
Smitten Kitchen ~ Green Bean and Cherry Tomato Salad
Hedonia ~ Herbed Green Bean - Potato Salad
Simply Recipes ~ Mexican Green Bean Salad

Beet Salads

Photo by Yulinka Cooks
Yulinka Cooks ~ Creamy Beet Salad
My Kitchen in Half Cups ~ Roasted Beet Salad with Anise
Mama Manifesto ~ Mandarin Beet Salad with Feta

Grain Salads

Photo by Food Blogga
Food Blogga ~ Inca Quinoa Salad
City Mama ~ Summer Barley Vegetable Salad with Meyer Lemon Miso Dressing
The Perfect Pantry ~ Wild Rice Salad

And you?
So there, there are a dozen choices. But surely, you have a favorite summer salad? Leave a recipe or a link to a recipe in the comments!

BlogHer food editor Alanna Kellogg loves-loves-loves summer salads and has several lined up for her new 2009 collection of easy summer recipes.

Fabulous Strawberry Desserts

2009-05-16T07:50:47-05:00

This week, the first home-grown strawberries appeared at a Mennonite farmers market in northern Missouri. There was no resisting their sellers, two bright-eyed, big-smiled girls in long dresses and caps. There was no resisting the berries themselves, perfectly ripe, finger-dripping juicy, that 'strawberry' red that's so different from 'rhubarb red' and 'raspberry red' and even 'beet red'. So like many of us, I'm on the hunt for recipes for fabulous strawberry recipes, here's a collection from some of my favorite food bloggers.

My first inspiration comes from Denmark, where 'June' is strawberry season.

Photo by TasteFood

"Danish strawberry season is fleeting - primarily for the month of June - and for that one month we would gorge ourselves on strawberries. We would pick our own at the nearby organic farm, or stop at roadside rest areas where people would sell their garden harvests from backs of pick-up trucks and car trunks. While driving on country backroads, at the end of long rural driveways, we would find lone tables perched under tilted garden umbrellas shielding cardboard boxes of just-picked strawberries from the fickle Danish sun. We would select our strawberries and pay our money into an unmanned cash box - all transactions done on the honor system, of course.

"For this one month (if we were lucky, and it wasn't a rainy season) we would stuff ourselves with strawberries. We would eat them plain and with cream, in trifles and pavlovas, in fruit soups and salads. When we gave up because we couldn't eat them as fast as they arrived, we would freeze them for later in the year, as a tease and a whisper of our summer past. And, finally, when we began to think that we couldn't possibly eat another strawberry, the season would be finished.

For the rest of the story and food writer Lynda Balsev's recipe for Strawberry & Mascarpone Cream Parfaits with Balsamic Syrup, visit TasteFood

Photo by Susan Voisin

Fatfree Vegan Kitchen ~ Strawberry Snack Cake "So I set to work on making the best, low-fat strawberry dessert I could, baking 4 different versions of the same recipe and gaining 5 pounds in the process. All the experimenting paid off; the final version was light and tender."

Photo by Andrea's Recipes

Andrea's Recipes ~ Strawberries & Cream with Macaroons "It’s an easy dessert that’s elegant enough to serve to guests. We loved the flavor and think the macaroons lend even more taste and texture."

STILL MORE STRAWBERRY DESSERTS

Sugar Plum ~ Strawberry Rhubarb Crumb Cake "This cake is simple; it's a buttery cake topped with strawberries, rhubarb, and a crumb topping."

Crumbly Cookie ~ Fresh Strawberry Scones "The recipe includes yogurt and milk instead of the richer cream often called for in scones."

Lost Button Studio ~ Strawberry Agua Fresca "It's like all-natural Kool-Aid. ... We also just squirted a wedge of lime into each glass instead of adding the lime juice."

MamaMamaHoney ~ Strawberry Cheesecake Ice Cream "All of the ice creams I’ve made in the past have involved cooking ingredients first. This one, however, uses cream cheese and requires no cooking (my kind of recipe!) and will definitely be something I try again – with every fruit I can find (next on my try list – MANGO)! Not only was this recipe delicious, it was light and very refreshing and not too sweet. My kids loved it and loved watching the ice cream maker turn liquid into solid ice cream."

ECurry ~ Spiced Strawberry Soup "With the chilled berry soup, with mint cream & crisps ringing in my heart, I decided on a slightly spicy soup with creamy & minty yogurt & almond & chocolate crisps. The combination of strawberry, mint, cream, nut & chocolate sounded just right."

Kahakai Kitchen ~ Strawberry Almond Crumble with Sweetened Yogurt "Delicious! Roasting the strawberries sweetens them and the crumble is nice and light. To make it healthier, I swapped out the plain flour and added whole grain pastry flour. I also slightly reduced the amount of sugar and butter. "

And you?
And you, what's your favorite strawberry dessert? Leave a recipe or a link to a recipe in the comments!

For tonight's strawberry feast, BlogHer food editor Alanna Kellogg is deciding between Strawberry Rhubarb Cobbler and Strawberry Banana Chocolate Crumble.

Foraging for Food in All the Wild Places

2009-05-12T16:05:35-05:00

Looking for free food? There's no need to scribble a plea on cardboard and situate a prime corner for hand-outs. Instead, explore the world of foraging for food. It just might be as close as your backyard.

FORAGING FOR DANDELIONS in the BACKYARD

"I’ve been rather curious about dandelions for a while. Last winter I received a comment on a post where the writer mentioned harvesting dandelions. It was one of those slap-yourself-on-the-head moments when I realized the greens I buy at the market for my ravioli filling are the same weeds that are growing in my lawn.

"Well, not exactly the same—I believe it’s a different strain—but close enough. Ever since then I’ve been thinking about eating my lawn.

Photo by Tea and Cookies

"When I saw the recipe for dandelion muffins and my niecelets came over yesterday to play for the day, I decided to put my plan in action. I told the girls we were going to go on a dandelion hunt.

"They were so excited. Fairies eat flowers, they told me. We were going to collect fairy food."

~ from Tea & Cookies, see what the fairies eat at Dandelion Muffins with the Niecelets

FORAGING FOR DEWBERRIES IN HOUSTON & CENTRAL PARK

"Picking dewberries is a wonderful warm-day pastime. When I was young, my friends and I would march out to the wilder parts of my suburban Houston neighborhood—such as the bayou, vacant lots or the rough patch next to the golf course—and brave water moccasins, thorns and poison ivy to score some of these black orbs, warm from the sun and ready to pop in your mouth.

Photo by Lisa Fain of Homesick Texan

"Usually, we’d eat them straight from the bush, smearing our t-shirts and shorts with the dark, sticky juice. But sometimes we’d be more organized and bring a container so we could pick them and then take them home to our parents so they could make dewberry cobbler for dessert."

~ from Homesick Texan, Dewberry Cobbler Is Your Reward

FORAGING FOR WILD GARLIC in the FORESTS OF GERMANY

"Back in the US, nettles are my favorite wild food. Here in Germany, it’s bärlauch, also known as wild garlic or bear garlic.

Photo by Modern Beet

"On Sunday Steven and I rented a car and went for a hike near the small town of Coppenbrügge, which is nestled at the end of a 13 mile long tree-covered ridge. The first mile was pretty grueling — it was steep! — but once we reached the top of the ridge, the terrain was gentle. The views of the Niedersachsen countryside were pretty spectacular; there are many rapeseed farms around here, and currently the fields are full of glorious, bright yellow blooms.

"Besides the view, the other remarkable part of the hike was the wild garlic — for miles and miles the forest floor was thickly covered in it! At first I wasn’t sure if this green plant with broad leaves was the bärlauch I’ve heard so much about, but after a while, the smell made things pretty clear — wild garlic has a strong smell, but it’s sweeter and less pungent than regular garlic. It’s strong, but not overt. My guess is you will know it when you smell it."

~ from Modern Beet, Barlauch Roasted Chicken

FORAGING FOR MORELS & FIDDLEHEADS at ... well ... WHOLE FOODS

"If you live in the right area, you can try your luck at finding your own [morels] in the woods right now, but as with all foraging, make sure you have the right mushroom before you eat it. It’s best to go with someone who knows what they are doing, but the locations where wild morels grow are usually carefully guarded secrets, considering the price they’ll fetch at markets. It’s easier and safer to pony-up some cash at Whole Foods, even though it’s not as adventurous."

Photo by Vegan YumYum

~ from VeganYumYum, Pan-Fried Gnocchi with Morels & Fiddleheads

And you?
And you, are you brave enough to make a salad or muffins from dandelions in your back yard? Or is Whole Foods more your style? Either way, if you've been foraging, (for blog readers) leave a story or (for bloggers) a link to your post about foraging in the comments!

BlogHer food editor Alanna Kellogg spent the weekend in the Ozarks thinking about making tea from chamomile, pennyroyal and sassafras but chickened out and instead made Rhubarb Chutney with rhubarb 'foraged' from her side garden.