TIP OF THE DAY: Shishito Chile (Or Pepper Or Chile Pepper)

Before cooking, bright green. Photo courtesy SpoonForkBacon.com.   The shishito pepper is a relative newcomer to American cuisine. Finger-shaped, slender and sweet (not hot), it is growing in popularity as a snack, blistered on the stove top or grill. The shishito is named after its shape: The tip of the chili pepper was seen to…
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TIP OF THE DAY: Roasted Peach & Chicken Salad

Inspired feasting: grilled chicken salad with grilled peaches. Photo courtesy Good Eggs.   There are so many ways to approach an entrée salad. This suggestion, from our favorite artisan grocer, Good Eggs of San Francisco, combines grilled proteins with grilled fruit. (They can be oven-roasted instead.) Good Eggs also suggests that instead of an all-green…
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FOOD FUN: Stovetop Elote

Elote, Spanish corn on the cob. Photo courtesy Good Eggs.   Elote is the Mexican version of corn on the cob, a popular street food. It is typically grilled, then served on a stick with a lime wedge, ancho chili powder and crumbled queso fresco. Elote is the Aztec (Nahuatl) word for what the corn…
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TIP OF THE DAY: Pozole (Posole) ~ Not Just For Special Occasions

Much of what we know about Aztec customs is thanks to Bernardino de Sahagún (1499-1590), a Franciscan friar, missionary priest, scholar and ethnographer who traveled to New Spain* (current-day Mexico) after its conquest. Arriving in 1529, he learned the Nahuatl language of the Aztecs and spent more 61 years documenting their beliefs, culture and history.…
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TIP OF THE DAY: Okra’s In Season, What Should You Cook?

Most people think of gumbo as a soup or stew from Louisiana, typically made with chicken or shellfish, Andouille sausage, bell peppers, celery, and onions, and thickened with okra pods. But in the beginning, “gumbo” was simply the word for okra in the African Bantu language. Okra came to America with the slave trade and…
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