Eastern European Dishes Shape Jewish New Year Observances

I'm very proud of this new story for The San Diego Union-Tribune's food section on Rosh Hashanah dishes. I collaborated with my mom on this and the recipes for stuffed cabbage rolls, chicken soup with matzoh balls, and kugel are from her and my grandmother. These are dishes I grew up with and cherish. Thank you to K.C. Alfred for the lovely photos and for collaborating with me on the food styling. What an adventure!

A Guide to Pickling

I have this childhood memory — shared to my knowledge with at least one of my cousins — of going to see my Nana and Poppa (i.e., my maternal grandparents) on weekends and invariably seeing several quart jars of dill pickles soaking on their front porch. And that meant one thing: We’d drive home with these oh so sour, garlicky pickles, with instructions to shake the jars periodically and let them sit for several more days before opening.

I don’t think my Nana realized that what she was doing was fermenting vegetables. Pickles were pickles. But, while all fermented vegetables are “pickles,” not all pickles are fermented. In my latest story for the San Diego Union-Tribune's food section I describe the difference and my friend Curt Wittenberg, a true fermentation geek, walks us through the process of making both sauerkraut and fermented vegetables. I've already make two batches of vegetables and love this approach. Sauerkraut is next. It's easy and if you love pickles you'll want to try your hand at making your own. 

Debut Article for San Diego Union-Tribune's Home and Garden Section

Along with the UT's Food Section, I'm now writing for the Home and Garden Section. My debut story just appeared and I loved working on it. It's about how to refresh a tired patio and weird hardscape and create in its place a colorful, native landscape and zen hideaway in a small space. As a project it's terrific inspiration for the rest of us who aspire to peaceful outdoor living that's also sustainable. Here's the link.

Yogurt: Purely Homemade

Why make your own yogurt when it's so easy to buy yogurt at the market? How about flavor? Texture? Sublime ingredients? And the fact that it's also pretty easy to make it at home?

Farmer Jack Ford taught me how to make yogurt recently from goat milk. And our mutual friend Michelle Lerach shared with me her recipe for her stunning vegan coconut yogurt. Compared with the grocery store varieties the coconut flavor in Michelle's yogurt explodes in the palate. 

Obviously, there are endless ways to enjoy yogurt other than as a snack. But you'll enjoy Herb & Wood Executive Chef Shane McIntyre's recipe for Charred Carrots With Aleppo Yogurt, Dukkah and Carrot Top Pesto. The creamy yogurt with a hint of heat delicately envelopes sweet carrots and garlicky pesto.

All these recipes are in my latest story for the San Diego Union-Tribune's food section. 

Grilling: Not Just a Man's World

Grilling isn’t strictly a guy thing. Let’s give a boot to the “women cook, men grill” stereotype. After all, as chef Claudette Zepeda-Wilkins told me, the women she knows in Mexico routinely cook with fire — and it’s not because it’s hip. It’s out of necessity. I interviewed Zepeda-Wilkins, who was full of fab grilling tips and presented three beautiful dishes that showed her prowess as a grill mistress and how accessible grilling a full meal, including dessert, can be. So, head over to my story in the San Diego Union-Tribune for Zepeda-Wilkin's tips and recipes and get your grill on. 

Update: Claudette and I were guests on KPBS radio's Midday Edition on June 12, 2018, talking, of course, about women and grilling. If you missed the segment, you can catch it here.

San Diego Foodstuff Earns Feedspot Position in Top 15 San Diego Blogs and Websites to Follow in 2018

San Diego Foodstuff, the food blog I launched back in 2007, has been included in Feedspot's list of Top 15 San Diego Blogs and Websites to follow in 2018. This comes after SDF was awarded Best of Show for website entries by the San Diego Press Club last October and Feedspot's previous naming of San Diego Foodstuff to the Top 50 San Diego Blogs to follow in 2018. 

Feedspot explained that winners were ranked based on the following criteria:

• Google reputation and Google search ranking
• Influence and popularity on Facebook, twitter and other social media sites
• Quality and consistency of posts.
• Feedspot’s editorial team and expert review

Thank you to all my readers! And I hope you'll encourage friends to read and subscribe to both the blog and this weekly newsletter. And, if you have a business you want to advertise, please consider San Diego Foodstuff to help support my work!