About claudia

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So far claudia has created 181 blog entries.

SAFFRON TAKES ON NEW LOVERS.

I, like so many of you, have a lovely little jar of Saffron in my pantry. Every time I open the cabinet, it looks at me and says, "Do yo know that I am one of the most expensive spices in the world?" Do you know that I am a sex organ of a crocus flower? Do you know that  people in Spain, Greece, Iran etc. painstakingly hand pick each of my strands from these flowers? If you know this, Claudia, then why the Heck are you leaving me in this dark little cabinet with the likes of onion powder [...]

By |2018-10-03T16:04:15-04:00September 22nd, 2010|
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DO YOU KOMBUCHA?

If you do, and by do, I mean drink, then you are probably very sad that it is currently off the shelves at Whole Foods due to "concern around potential labeling issues related to slightly elevated alcohol levels in some products" . When I first heard the news, I joked that it explained why "everyone", not just hippies and health nuts are plunkin down upwards of $2.50-$3.99 per bottle of the stuff daily. Must be the booze! Of course, that is where the masses and most of the lovely media went with it. It is easy to make those assumptions [...]

By |2018-10-03T16:05:23-04:00September 16th, 2010|
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UGLY TOMATOES, A BEAUTIFUL THING

Have you tasted the difference between vine ripened organic tomatoes and the grocery store variety? If you have, then you know that there is no comparison in texture, intensity and flavor. For years I thought that I had tasted the best that tomatoes could offer because I was lucky enough to have friends with gardens nearby. I was wrong again. About 5 years ago I took my first glimpse at the goofy-shaped and colorful heirloom tomatoes and never looked back. If you can't find organic heirloom tomatoes at your regular grocery store, your best bet is to find your closest [...]

By |2018-10-03T16:06:04-04:00September 9th, 2010|
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TONNO A LA OSAKA

Last night I had to figure out dinner quickly. I had a nice Sashimi grade Ahi tuna steak, a bag of Wild Arugula and a new can of La Tourangelle Sesame Oil ($6.99 at Home Goods, normally upwards of $9). I wasn't sure how Arugula would taste with a sesame vinaigrette.  Arugula is like a spicy 45 year old Italian woman and the sesame dressing is like a 22 year old Thai cabana boy/underwear model. He took the edge right off of Ms. Arugula, made her blush and didn't water down her sassiness. I won't bore you with more tuna/arugula [...]

By |2018-10-03T16:06:49-04:00August 31st, 2010|
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HONEY, GIVE IT TO ME RAW.

I grew up eating honey from a plastic bear. My mom used to put honey on buttered toast and it was yummy. As I grew older, honey was relegated to sweetening tea. It wasn't until I met my clients, Royal Hawaiian Honey, that I really discovered how amazing honey could truly be. RHH is not paying me to write this. It happens that it is the most amazing honey I have ever had. RHH makes three honeys, Organic Lehua, Macadamia Nut Blossom and Organic Christmas Berry. It is not entirely true that they "make" the honey. I would hate to [...]

By |2018-10-03T16:29:18-04:00August 25th, 2010|
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