FOOD HOLIDAY: National Pears Hélène Day

Poires Belle Hélène, shown without the ice cream. Photo by Teresa Kasprzycka | Dreamstime.   If you’ve never had Pears Hélène (more properly called Poire Belle Hélène), today’s the day: National Pears Helene Day. The dessert owes its origin to the opera La belle Hélène by composer Jacques Offenbach. It’s a comedic take on the…
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TIP OF THE DAY: A Pot Of Lavender

Lavender is a genus of 39 species of flowering plants in the mint family. It’s not only lovely and fragrant, but a charming culinary herb. It enhances sweet and savory foods with a floral and slightly sweet flavor. Bees love lavender nectar—hence lavender honey. And you can drizzle some of that honey over lavender-coated goat’s…
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PRODUCT: Perky Jerky

Tender jerky with a jolt. Photo by Jerry Deutsch | THE NIBBLE. Here’s one of the niftiest products to come down the pike in a while. We give it an A for originality and another A for execution. Perky Jerky is “the world’s first all-natural performance enhancing meat snack.” In other words, protein- and sugar-laden…
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ST. PATRICK’S DAY: Irish Soda Bread

Irish soda bread is irresistible any time. But St. Patrick’s Day provides an extra excuse to bake up a batch and treat family and friends. Soda bread is a chemically-leavened quick bread* made with baking soda instead of yeast, which produces a lighter, airy crumb. Irish soda bread dates back to approximately 1840, when bicarbonate…
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TIP OF THE DAY: A Pot Of Parsley

Flat-leaf parsley available from WhiteflowerFarm.com. Parsley is perhaps the most common culinary herb—but do you ever use the entire bunch before it yellows away? If not, a windowsill or garden pot of parsley will add beauty and convenience to your home. Flat-leaf Italian parsley is more flavorful than the curly variety, so choose it to…
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