Recent food stories

• Perfect Sear - 6/12/2013

  At some point in our long-distant past, an ancestor of the cow fell or strayed into a fire.

  
• Sharing advice over food can work wonders - 6/12/2013

  My initiation into the world of food was a San Francisco test kitchen.

• Onion's starring role - 6/5/2013

  Is any ingredient more hardworking, yet humble, than the onion?

  
• 'Commando Spice' - 5/29/2013

  Pepper is hot.

  
• Straight into Goldie's sticky snare - 5/29/2013

  Memo from me to anyone hanging out in my kitchen: If you happen to notice the spider web on the window sill over the sink, please note, it's not...

• Crazy for cauliflower - 5/22/2013

  For a long time, I wouldn't touch cauliflower.

  
• Chef's Secrets - 5/15/2013

  ATLANTA — Richard Blais wants you to know that great flavors can be coaxed out of ordinary ingredients — and that a bit of simple science...

  
• Oregon strawberries are sweet purity - 5/15/2013

  The strawberry is one of Oregon's dearest commodities, and it arrived early this year. So time's a-wasting!

• Scone simplicity - 5/8/2013

  Scones are one of the basic pleasures in life.

  
• A backyard oyster roast - 5/1/2013

  RALEIGH, N.C. — You can't roast oysters without one piece of essential equipment: a pint of beer.

  
• It's the perfect time to go after rhubarb - 5/1/2013

  Pacific Northwest rhubarb has hit the market and it's as beautiful as ever. OK, so it isn't as chic as sapote, or as artsy as an artichoke.

• Real 'apeel' - 4/24/2013

  Here's to life handing you lemons — lots of them.

  
• Completely Kale - 4/17/2013

  Kale is about as unlikely a food star as you can imagine.

  
• Work yourself up a bit of wok-bliss - 4/17/2013

  I consider stir-frying the modern answer to the "cook's surprise" casserole my Mom assembled from all of the fast-fading ingredients she could cull...

• Sweet or savory? - 4/10/2013

  I should have known better. My cousin's seemingly casual invitation was too intent on success, the gleam in her eye a bit too bright.

  
• Champion chia - 4/3/2013

  The "pudding" that nutrition consultant Tiazza Rose prepares is quicker than any packaged powder.

  
• The wonderful world of artichokes - 4/3/2013

  If you ever want to pass some time on a long flight, just turn to a fellow passenger and announce "the correct way" to cook an artichoke.

• Eggs-cellent! - 3/27/2013

  Like Easter eggs hidden away for holiday hunts, the deviled variety have a way of showing up unexpectedly.

  
• Available year-round, lamb still tastes of spring - 3/27/2013

  Although "spring lamb" is a term about as archaic as "spring chicken," this succulent Oregon commodity still is considered a harbinger of the season.