PANTRY – Page 12 – Real Foodies

IF SOPHIA LAUREN WAS A GRAIN.

She'd be Farro. I had never tasted Farro until a friend ordered a Farro Risotto at Bar Jules in San Francisco and little did I know that it would contain no rice. I took a bite of the creamy farro risotto and was instantly besotted. Sadly, it wasn't until almost a year later that I would attempt to wrangle Farro myself. The inspiration to purchase and cook farro came from my girlfriend Rebecca. She is a great cook and a master of healthy and tasty. She gave me a little bowl of farro, of which I took about 3 tablespoons [...]

By claudia|2018-10-03T15:50:47-04:00October 19th, 2010|

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 claudia|2018-10-03T16:04:15-04:00September 22nd, 2010|

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 claudia|2018-10-03T16:06:04-04:00September 9th, 2010|

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

SNACKY

The word "snack" used to conjure feelings of deep seated guilt and images of Cheetos, Doritos, Lays and maybe even a Slim Jim. For years I hoped that someone would create snacks that taste sinful, but don't fill your body with chemicals, preservatives, artificial colors and hydrogenated oils. I have a very long thank you letter in the works for Trader Joe's that keeps growing and growing because they continue to listen to our collective yearnings and make virtually guilt free snacking possible. My focus has never been low fat or low calories and even though organic is preferred, I [...]

By claudia|2018-10-03T16:30:09-04:00August 19th, 2010|