cuisine
From street-food to fine dining, traditional Italian to Asian-Fusion, being well-versed in global cuisine is the first step to culinary mastery.
Most Iconic Summer Food
I moved to NEPA when I was 12 years old and that summer, was indoctrinated into the summer activities starting with the Rattlesnake Roundup, hosted by the Noxen Volunteer Fire Department. Aside from the snakes (contained behind a double fence) these gatherings featured music and food. According to my taste buds Potato Pancakes were the most wonderful of these. They were Invented in Eastern Europe by the Ashkenazi in the 1800s when there were crop failures. Polish and Ukrainian farmers planted potatoes to replace the lost crops because they were inexpensive and easy to grow. When they emigrated to the Wyoming Valley in NEPA they brought their recipes. These delightful pancakes are sold three for a dollar and served with applesauce or sour cream (I like both). It is a delicious combination that tones down the oil (usually grapeseed or vegetable) and is most perfect when the potato pancakes come hot off the griddle. Because they are lightly fried in oil (not drowned deep fried), potato pancakes have a light flavor of potatoes and onion.
By Wanda Joan Harding4 years ago in Feast
Decadent eats blessed by the island sun
The island sun, according to my mother, is what makes the mangos in Puerto Rico taste better. An almost overripe fruit that has been chilled until it becomes so soft and creamy that it briefly resembles ice cream. One of the most magical flavors ever experienced combines the rich sweetness of mango with the icy coolness of helado de coco, which is made from the milk, flesh, and sugars of the fruitful coconut. The ice cream is generously scooped from a cart, piled high in a cup, and eaten in heaping spoonfuls after being gratefully purchased from a vendor met in the middle of the afternoon while taking a walk through the city. Mangos are a blessing from the same trees that grant us nutrients and shade. These rich flavors refresh me in the scorching heat by first soothing my tongue and then gradually cooling the rest of my body.
By Gabriella Pomales4 years ago in Feast
It Tastes Like Sunshine
She stared into the darkness of the summer night, letting her eyes adjust. The warm breeze drifted through the open window and she smiled. She wasn’t sure what had awakened her, but now she had to use the bathroom and she didn’t want to wake up her young daughter by flicking on lights.
By Amy Lovett4 years ago in Feast
A Cool Choice.... Top Story - June 2022.
For most of us, summer is a time when we want to relax, settle into a very comfortable deck chair, have a drink, and let the sun and heat allow us to forget how quickly the moment can pass. There are picnics, festivals, barbecues, family gatherings and vacations to be had, and with all of that, we have food to eat. For me, my family’s food and meals were always full of different varieties of colors, flavors, spices and styles. The difficult thing is to try to choose one thing that defined our summer eating. Barbecues would provide a lot of choices straight from the grill; then there was watermelon (not a favourite food, but still quite popular), sorrel (a drink made from the dried plant of the same name, and still not a favourite), ginger beer (pass), homemade candies and cakes and a lot of salad (oh, so much salad). But none of these choices really brings my childhood summers home to me (the only summers that really count). I have to choose something that involves my own family and certain outings to the farm where I participated in gathering this particular choice.
By Kendall Defoe 4 years ago in Feast
Red, Bread, Redemption
The first time I really ate a tomato was years after the first time I’d tried one. For most of my childhood, tomatoes seemed like a cruel joke: ruby red, shiny and promising, begging to be tasted, only to deliver a flavorless, mealy mouthful of lies. Sliced up straight from the fridge or surrounded by ice of questionable hygiene in the salad bar of our local pizza place, the tomatoes of my youth in the 90s were, frankly, a travesty. I can’t remember a single kid I knew who liked tomatoes. I knew people who liked brussel sprouts, but not tomatoes. For a long time, all I wanted for lunch was a cheese and pickle sandwich, and I was known to eat blue cheese and radishes as an after school snack, but tomatoes? No thanks.
By Megan Malcolm4 years ago in Feast
Ice Cold Summer
You always knew summertime in the South was just different. The temperatures steadily climbed and by 10:00 am the heat was nearly unbearable, but you couldn’t not be outside. Lemonade and ice water flowed endlessly as shouts of laughter intermingled with the smell of chlorine. The kids, against better judgment, practiced their most outrageous dives at the community pool.
By Tamara Golden4 years ago in Feast
The Perfect Summer
The Perfect Summer Drip, drip, drip. Water flew off my body as I raced out of the pool. “Food is ready!” Someone yelled as everyone flocked to gather around the table. The smell of the barbecue filled my nose with all the memories of summer's past. My heart was full. Summer was finally here!
By Keala Asher4 years ago in Feast
Cheetos
My daughter loves Cheetos. Since the first day she was able to eat solid foods, I believe. I wonder if kids are just born with a predisposition for loving the powdery, orange puffs. “What kind of chips do you want with your peanut butter sandwich?” I’d ask, always met with the same answer: Cheetos.
By Kristina Henry4 years ago in Feast
Ode to Yellow Watermelon
Memories are fickle things. Two people recalling the same event can weave drastically different images since each person focuses on different details. My siblings and I grew up experiencing the world in the same way. If one were to ask either of them what summertime brings to mind, their answers would likely not be the same as mine.
By Teresa Gonzales4 years ago in Feast
The Simplicity of Watermelon
Summer as a child. One of the purest, simplest times imaginable. No school, no homework, none of the crippling social anxiety borne of having to interact with the same people day after day, and never really figuring out how to talk to them...
By Brittany Bailey4 years ago in Feast
