From the category archives:

food flotsam & jetsam

Hospital Food Gets a Makeover

August 13, 2010 berkeley bites

Unfortunately I can report from recent personal experience that in some facilities hospital food remains truly awful. If you’ve been in a hospital this will likely not be news to you. A couple of in-patient visits over the past few months have given me an up-close view of what gets served to the sick [...]

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Summer Birthdays Rule

August 4, 2010 baking

August is THE birthday month in our house. And this is the time of year when my son celebrates his birthday with a group of kids he’s known since birth.
Some children may lament a summer birthday (all your buddies are on vacation, so party plans often get tabled until back-to-school time).
Here’s 12 reasons why a [...]

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Epicurean Concierge Leads Food Lovers Through Berkeley’s Gourmet Ghetto

July 23, 2010 berkeley bites

What you can expect on a food tour of Berkeley’s Gourmet Ghetto with an epicurean concierge. Great eats — and a celeb sighting too.

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Learning to Love the ‘Hood on Foot: One Edible Adventure at a Time

July 22, 2010 berkeley bites

Getting to know the edible offerings in my neighborhood, on foot.

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Meatless Mondays: A Handy Primer, Part One

May 17, 2010 food flotsam & jetsam

Every Monday is meatless in my home. Most Tuesdays-Sundays as well, as regular readers of this blog already know. Okay, there’s one notable exception, which you can read all about in a recent post, A Culinary Confession.
But for the purposes of this blog entry: I’ve essentially been a veg head for the past three decades, [...]

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Best Restaurants, Award Winners, and Signature Dishes

May 7, 2010 food flotsam & jetsam

How much attention do you pay to culinary awards, magazine lists of best restaurants, and recommendations from expert and citizen critics to check out an eatery?

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Lettuce Eat Kale Has a New Home

April 14, 2010 food flotsam & jetsam

Welcome to the new home of Lettuce Eat Kale.

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Lettuce Eat Kale Celebrates First Birthday

March 31, 2010 food flotsam & jetsam

Lettuce Eat Kale celebrates its 1st anniversary.

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A Culinary Confession

March 23, 2010 food books

Confessions of a lapsed vegetarian. Blame it on Bakesale Betty.

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How to Host a Dinner Party so Everyone Enjoys It

March 17, 2010 food flotsam & jetsam

Ten tips for dinner party etiquette for fabulous hosts.

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Professionals by Day Pursue Culinary Arts by Night

March 12, 2010 baking

Two Bay Area confectioners, Anand Chokkalingam and Michael Winnike, whip up sweet treats after hours.

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Dinner Guests: What Makes a Good One?

March 10, 2010 food flotsam & jetsam

Ten tips for earning good dinner guest status. And a drunken dinner guest too.

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A Daughter's Memories of a Beloved Father's Food

February 24, 2010 food flotsam & jetsam

Dear Readers:
In my last post I asked you to share a favorite family food memory. I received this response from new friend and frequent Lettuce Eat Kale commenter Julie Cleeland Nicholls, a fellow Australian living in Singapore. I met Julie through my oldest friend in the whole wide world Jane Rogers, who was wise enough [...]

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Valentine's Day Dining Out: Just Say No

February 12, 2010 food flotsam & jetsam

Allegedly, this coming weekend is a good one for amore.
That’s debatable, of course, depending on how your love life is looking.
What’s indisputable: It’s a great weekend for restaurants. This year, Valentine’s Day falls on Sunday, so presumably there’s a wider window (tonight might be a tad early, but tomorrow or Sunday works) of possibilities for [...]

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Garlic Gadgets: Cool Tools or Waste of Space?

February 3, 2010 food flotsam & jetsam

So I need to come out. I am, indeed, a (gasp!) garlic press user. Not sure when this habit started or why I can’t kick it.
But, well, I used just last night. Okay, I know I’ve probably lost any pro chefs who have stumbled upon my posts. I’m probably losing some of you savvy home [...]

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Serving People, Serving Food, Days of Service: Help Haiti

January 20, 2010 baking

Seem to have a food-related volunteer theme emerging this week. Not my intention but just going to run with it.
If ever there was a time to ignore the imperative Think Global, Act Local, this is it. Don’t you agree?
As I explained to my son on this week’s MLK Day of Service, we’re thinking and acting [...]

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2010 Harvest Calendar

January 5, 2010 food flotsam & jetsam

Happy New Year! I wanted to share with my peeps one of my favorite holiday gifts (thanks again Marge), this lovely harvest calendar by artist and organic plant nursery co-owner Helen Krayenhoff.  It’s filled with photos of tempting produce and each month includes a recipe — Picante Cabbage Slaw for January, Bok Choy Sauteed with [...]

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New Year's Food Resolutions

December 31, 2009 food flotsam & jetsam

We all know the scoop on New Year’s resolutions: They rarely stick. Especially those ones about eating better or less.
So this year, instead of making a vow I’m unlikely to keep beyond February, I’m going for a modest goal. I’d like to host more dinner parties.
Okay, let’s get real here. I’d settle for serving up [...]

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Seeking Comfort Foods During Season of Excess

December 28, 2009 comfort food

Had too many fancy-pants dinners lately? Sick of rich desserts? Over overindulging on the eating and drinking front at holiday parties?
If I’m in Australia this time of year I start to O.D. on nibbles like taramosalata dip, champers, and triple-cream Brie. In California, it’s enough with the holiday cookies already.
So, quick question: During this season [...]

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Menu for Hope

December 16, 2009 food events

Here’s a shout out for a worthy cause sponsored by food bloggers around the globe during this season of giving, getting, and overeating.
Menu for Hope is an annual, above board, fair dinkum, fundraising campaign to help feed hungry people worldwide. The devastating tsunami in Southeast Asia provided inspiration for the first campaign, which raises funds [...]

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'Tis the Season for Eating, Giving, & Doing Good

December 4, 2009 food flotsam & jetsam

Last night I attended another classy holiday party hosted by those savvy gals at blogher. As at previous blogher events, invitees were encouraged to bring canned goods for distribution at a local food bank. Stellar idea.
As I headed to the groovy gathering carrying my brown paper sack filled with canned beans I passed people in [...]

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Listening & Leftovers

November 27, 2009 food flotsam & jetsam

This I believe: Everyone has as story to tell. So, today with a fridge full of leftovers, there’s plenty of time to step away from the kitchen to sit down with someone you love to hear a tale or two.
The Storycorps Project heard on National Public Radio, the people who brought us the book, Listening [...]

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Gobble, Gobble & Gratitude

November 24, 2009 comfort food

Hello peeps.  I know many of you are busy prepping for the annual American food fest, so I won’t keep you long.
First, full disclosure: I do not (heart) the holidays. And nothing announces the official start of the festive season than Thanksgiving. Well, I guess there’s also Halloween, the end of daylight savings, the beginning [...]

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Fear of Flying: The Food's a Factor

October 15, 2009 food flotsam & jetsam

Flickr photo by nicholas.blah used under the Creative Commons license.
I’ve recently spent 27 hours in the air, something I do on a relatively regular basis, so I think I’m well qualified to weigh in on airline food for the long-distance traveler. It’s horrible — no surprises there. But what’s to be done about it?
In the [...]

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