The Boston Globe
Cereal bars
Blurring the line between breakfast and dessert Presented with an array of goodies to taste, one participant asks: “Why do cereal bars exist?” An inauspicious start. But six brands later, the answer is not apparent. With a soft crust and a fruit paste inside, cereal bars have a Fig Newton quality. Fig Newtons, of course, …
Read moreMatzo
Crisp kosher crackers taste like Passover Matzo, a thin, often square, perforated cracker, is the symbolic food of the Passover table. When the Jews left ancient Egypt, they fled without letting the bread rise. During the eight days of Passover, which begins on Monday night, no foods with leavening are allowed on the table. Today’s …
Read moreCaesar croutons
All hail the best of the crunch If you make croutons at home, you probably begin with leftover bread that you cut up into what approximates small squares, toss them in olive oil, salt, and pepper, and toast them until lightly brown. You can sprinkle them on soups, toss them with salad greens, or simply …
Read moreHot Cocoa Mix
Instant reactions: sweet to sandy Cocoa evokes memories of childhood. For many, that meant bitter unsweetened cocoa spooned into a mug filled with steaming milk and as much sugar as you could beg. A real marshmallow floated about, melting into a creamy circle. Fast forward to busy schedules, less time for the kitchen, and instant …
Read moreMicrowave Popcorn
Search for kernels of truth leads to overall sense of dissatisfaction It used to be so simple. There was a jar of kernels, a little oil, and a pot with a cover. Shake vigorously over a burner, add a little melted butter, a sprinkle of salt, and you had something wonderful. Then came the air …
Read moreWhole Cranberry Sauce
In the shopping bag or back to the bog? As one taster put it, “I was born and raised in New England – I have to like cranberry sauce!” Indeed, the cranberry should be our state emblem. Last year, more than 14,000 acres of cranberry bogs, mostly in the southeastern part of the state, produced …
Read moreSTRAWBERRY PRESERVES
Fruit, not sugar, makes the spread First the strawberries. Then the -oses: sucrose, fructose, and glucose syrup. Perhaps some cane sugar and corn syrup, a little pectin, and citric acid, and you’ve got strawberry preserves. We tasted five brands and while all those sugars were not in one jar, many had at least two, some …
Read moreWhat’s a Sox game without dried squid and beer?
TOKYO – Peanuts! Popcorn! Squid jerky, anyone? The Boston Red Sox play their season opener nine days from now at the Tokyo Dome, once home field to their relief pitcher Hideki Okajima, a former member of the Yomiuri Giants. And instead of those sausage and onion subs on Yawkey Way, fans will be munching dried …
Read moreThinking inside the box
More people than ever are packing a lunch for work or school. The number of ways to carry the meal have grown, too.Are you still brown-bagging it? If so, it may be time for a change. Lunch has evolved beyond the sandwich, and lunch containers have kept pace. They keep your salad crisp, your dressing …
Read moreSwooshing through a spa in high-tech Tokyo
TOKYO — Spa LaQua is a contemporary take on one of Japan’s national treasures: the “onsen,” natural hot springs that bubble up from deep inside the earth. Such resorts are a popular destination for Japanese and are found from north to south on the archipelago. Spa LaQua’s saltwater springs come from about 5,500 feet below …
Read moreIn the heart of Chicago, hardy food full of comfort
CHICAGO — On a recent visit to help my son settle into his apartment off Lake Shore Drive, I opened the fridge to look for something for breakfast. Skunked!On his way out the door to register for classes, he said, “Mom, try Valois on 53d Street . They have the best breakfasts, it’s a friendly …
Read moreCOOKBOOK REVIEW’Japanese Cooking’ is still the master
Japanese Cooking: A Simple Art,By Shizuo Tsuji, Kodansha International, 507 pp., $45 When “Japanese Cooking: A Simple Art” first came out 25 years ago, sushi was exotic, teriyaki was the sauce, and miso soup was for the macrobiotic crowd. No one who frequented the few Japanese restaurants in American cities could have predicted what would …
Read moreFlickr Images
Bento:Build a Better Lunch
Debra Samuels, bestselling author, food writer and cooking instructor, wants to give the American lunchbox a makeover. In the chapter on “bento,” the traditional Japanese lunch box, in her upcoming book, My Japanese Table, Debra encourages the use of color, texture and taste to create healthier and more visually appealing meals.
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