Recipes that call for lots of garlic are always best when they’re made with new crop garlic, which is making its first appearance at farm stands and local farmers markets. New crop garlic’]]> Untitled Document It was something everyone had in common. We’d gathered last summer for a conference on “Food Memories.” Everyone was interested in preserving ]]> Stuffed – Midwestern sausages, that is. Mother-in-law sandwiches. Journeying through Midwestern sweets and dessert traditions.It’s anthropology of hoof, claw, fin, root and leaf: culinary ]]> Drip, drip, drip . . . It was late February. After a long, cold winter, it was first day that hinted spring was on the way. Drip, drip, drip . . . It had been below freezing overnight, but by noon the]]> My first was at the U of I campus town in Champaign back in the ’70s. The place was Zorba’s, a dark and dingy dive that smelled of stale beer and broiling meat. It was my first gyro. Waiti]]> No, I’m not talking about New York’s disgraced former congressman. I’m talking about the iconic American food that’s eaten from sea to shining sea as well as in Alaska and Hawa]]> Comingling of two cultures can occur in any number of ways, some positive, others negative.  It may be through immigration, trade or proximity. Sometimes the mechanism is invasion and conquest.&n]]> Want to know what Jimmy Buffet drinks in his dressing room? (It’s not margaritas!) What a certain female rocker looks like in curlers? Which rapper writes into his catering rider that staff neit]]> What does it takes to make a good cook? Among things I’d list would be knife skills — the ability to slice, chop and dice with accuracy and speed. Planning and preparation are ]]> Most vegetables are suitable for grilling, though there are a few delicate exceptions. Densely textured vegetables usually need to be partially or wholly cooked before grilling, and all shou]]> Some call it liquid salad. That's understandable, but there's a lot more to gazpacho than a glass of V-8, though you might never know it from some of the gazpachos that show up ]]> Untitled Document Legend has it that Marco Polo brought pasta home to Italy after his travels in China. Like so many legends, however, this one doesn't stand up to close scrutiny: Mar]]> Innovative, intelligent women. Industrious men who went the distance. Commitment to community, customers, and family.The history of Springfield’s oldest surviving locally owned grocery store con]]> "Stop the car!" my daughter Ashley exclaimed. I hit the brakes and anxiously looked around. We'd gone to see how high the creek on the other side of our road had risen after the ]]> Untitled Document It’s used to make one of the most traditional and delectable complements for wine but also has many other guises; best known are cream puffs a]]> I love ravioli. I’ve always loved them. As a child, they were my inevitably requested birthday dinner. The recipe with a chicken spinach filling came from Italian friends of my grandparents they]]> In Dublin’s fair city,%u2028Where girls are so pretty,%u2028I first set my eyes on sweet Molly Malone,%u2028As she wheeled her wheelbarrow%u2028Through streets broad and narrow,%u2028Crying, &ld]]> “Remember gentlemen, it’s not just France we are fighting for, it’s Champagne!” – Winston S. ChurchillMost New Year’s celebrations seem a bit awkward to me. The sil]]> It’s almost impossible to comprehend the devastation in Haiti after the Jan. 12 earthquake. But then, unless you’ve been there, it’s almost impossible to conceive conditions in Haiti]]> Who says there’s nothing to do in Springfield? Not anyone who reads the weekly IT calendar section, for sure. And if that weren’t enough, the IT special edition guides – fall, summer]]>