June 2011


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Food Bloggers Give Panera’s Menu a Gluten-Free Makeover

Remember the team of activist food bloggers who took our list of America’s Top 10 New Sandwiches and made vegan versions of each sandwich? Well, Namely Marly and her team are at it again. This time, they’re giving one of America’s biggest bakery chains a GF makeover. Namely Marly writes:

I recently met a friend for breakfast at Panera and was surprised, nay shocked, to learn that they didn’t offer any gluten-free items at the bread bar. How could this be? Are they not aware of the growing number of people who are flocking toward gluten-free lifestyles?

The solution? De-gluten-ize the whole place! Namely Marly and her crew came up with gluten-free recipes for nine different items on the Panera menu. But will the bakery chain add any of these creations to their roster? Your move, Panera.

1. Chocolate Chunk Muffins

Recipe: Multiply Delicious

2. Caramel Pecan Rolls

Recipe: Namely Marly

3. Spinach and Artichoke Souffle

Recipe: Clean Green Simple

 

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in Breakfast / Desserts / Recipe / Restaurants / Trends / Veggie 4 comments
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The Legend of Umami

I first heard about the concept of umami when I was helping to open a Japanese restaurant a few years back. During our training, the chef was telling us about the Japanese word umami, which is the “fifth taste.” After sweet, salty, sour, and bitter, what is left? What is the taste that will truly satiate? Apparently it is umami, which loosely translates to “pleasantly savory.” Fair enough.

Umami seems to be a rather intangible concept. If you so desire, take a look at its Wikipedia article, which has all sorts of tips on what foods contain “high amounts of umami” and uses a lot of science-y terms that overwhelm me. To me, umami is my unicorn of the food world. It has a mystical appeal, only made more desirable by the fact that I don’t know if I fully understand or believe in it. But am intrigued by its powers.

A small restaurant chain in LA, unsurprisingly named Umami Burger, has attempted to harness the power of umami. Many of my California friends rave about it. On the cover of the June issue of Food & Wine there is an amazing-looking burger; Patrick and I decided we had to make it, and upon inspection of the recipe, discovered it was an Umami Burger with Port and Stilton. Perfect!

 

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in Cheese / Red Meat / Trends 1 comments
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4th of July Cocktail Cooler Popsicles

This 4th of July we’ve got you ready to stay cool for your summer picnic, and to keep things patriotic we striped your cocktail cooler with Uncle Sam’s signature colors. Kinda.

The striping is a bit messy, but um, so was the test kitchen while mixing. That’s what happens Monday night when you’re mixing, shaking, testing, pouring, more testing—things get a little blurry. The result of that blurry-good-time is a Poptail stamped with our ES Double Seal of Goodness.

The implication of our double seal — Good enough to lick to the stick!

4th of July Cocktail Cooler Popsicles

 

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in Endless Poptails / Holiday / Recipe 12 comments
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Alert Isaac Newton: Gravity-Defying Apple Found in Cleveland

I’m a 1950s housewife these days. I’m writing (unemployed-ish) and therefore find my schedule fairly flexible. Bennett signed up for a work training in Cleveland, but since he would finish by 4pm and we have our friend Heather living there now, I decided to jump along for the Midwestern vacation. I know that’s what my grandmother (housewife) would do when my grandfather traveled for work.

On vacation I rarely think about choosing healthy foods. Fuck it, right? I’m on vacation. But my aunt said something during last Thanksgiving that (unfortunately?) stuck with me. It’s easy to think of a special reason to turn to treats—birthdays, anniversaries, vacations, holidays, break-ups, fights, good days, bad days—so soon every day there can be an explanation to eat dessert or go for that second helping.

So for my second lunch in Cleveland, where the first screamed indulgence, I chose a light dish at Lucky’s Cafe. Something I could be proud of: yogurt with berries and house-made granola. Heather oozed with excitement after I placed the order and my worries of a boring meal on vacation soon diminished. (Heather, by the way, keeps an eating-in-Cleveland blog.)

We sat outside on a wooden picnic table, under an umbrella and next to the restaurant’s large garden.

Then the yogurt came and holy shit.

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in Breakfast / Food Travel / Restaurants / Veggie 3 comments
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Plate It or Hate It

Recent food world discoveries the ES crew is loving and hating…

Plate It: Saffron Chai

We’re already fans of chai lattes, but adding a hint of rich, flavorful saffron makes this taste like drinking a cup of gold. Available from Jaipur Avenue.

Hate It: Bacon Soda

We’re told you many times that bacon will never die, but it’s time for fake bacon flavor to take a hike. We loved this idea when we heard about it last year, but now that it has hit the market it turns out we actually like our soda to taste like corn syrup, not pork syrup.

Plate It: Whipped Cream Vodka

 

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in Bacon / Celebs / Drinks / Rants & Raves / Trends 3 comments
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It’s Better Than the Pill

It’s better than the pill, Amanda tells me. I believe her because she knows about food, she loves slimy, oily fish and she’s really pretty. Her slight Southern accent punctuates the truth: eating actual fish is much more beneficial than swallowing a supplement.

Earlier this year I learned about my elevated cholesterol. I started on fish oil pills immediately. But I also tried to eat foods that would lower my level, not just avoid foods known to perk it up. I dined on oatmeal and lentils through the winter, filling my hunger but leaving plenty of dough in my now very-empty bank account.

But that was winter. I can no longer allow the stove top to fire up my kitchen for a full 45 minutes.That’s when I found Amanda at a backyard party, proclaiming the joys and healthful uses of tiny fish.

I lunched at DC’s Estadio, ordering a decidedly oily sandwich of sardines. Sardines, butter and thinly shaved onions. And suddenly I didn’t feel so terrible, so old, so holy-fuck-I’m-30. I found a legitimate reason to order fishy sandwiches. I will, I will, I will lower my cholesterol deliciously.

in Fish / Sandwich 1 comments
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