Cuisine

Many of you will remember Bev Alfeld from her first volume, “The Jamlady Cookbook,” in 2005. This month Pelican Publishing is releasing her second one, “Pickles to Relish,” chock-full of good recipes and her usual tips, tricks, charts and other helpful information. Bev often visits her mother in Chokoloskee during season, and has included many recipes which will delight Florida cooks. Full story »

If asked to think of businesses identified with New England, most people wouldn’t mention wineries. Yet, on a tour of Rhode Island last fall, we were taken to two such establishments and found them making very good wines. Full story »

I started reading Three Cups of Tea because somebody mistakenly told me it was a cookbook. Wrong. It’s a biographical tale of Greg Mortenson’s adventures written with David Relin, and a story of a true humanitarian journey. Full story »

I have never made any secret of my love for candy, and have often written about it in this column. I grew up on Bunté Tango Bars and chocolate-covered cherries, both of which seem to be scarce or nonexistent now, but I still have several other favorites: marzipan, See’s brown sugar squares (available in California), crystallized ginger, those lovely colorful fruit slices you find at good candy stores, truffles, tiny jelly beans and dulce de leche when I get near a Hispanic grocery. Full story »

While you whip up one of his great recipes... Stephen Muldoon is a Marco resident who also happens to be an exciting and nationally acclaimed artist. He works in oil on canvas and executes murals as well. His work is currently on view through March 26 at the Center for the Arts, 1010 Winterberry Drive. Full story »

The first cattle known in North America were brought ashore — in what is now Sarasota — by the Spaniards in 1521. The scene can only be imagined! Full story »

Some people collect stamps or coins, which probably have real value. I hoard cookbooks, and have been doing so since 1950. Even after getting rid of some when we moved to Marco Island (a mistake, I now think), I still have over 300 and counting, and there seems to be no end in sight. Full story »

The original Johnson and Wales (J&W) school was founded in 1914 by Gertrude Johnson and Mary Wales in Providence, Rhode Island, to provide business training for young women. From that small beginning, it has grown into a pre-eminent chain of universities in the field of culinary arts and hotel and restaurant management. Full story »

It was 500 years ago when the Portuguese came to the New World like the Spanish, but their big modern wave of immigration to the northeastern United States took place mostly at the end of the 19 century. Full story »

With Valentine’s Day approaching, it seems an appropriate time to present to you a fairly recent book by journalist and author Mort Rosenblum, Chocolate: A Bittersweet Saga of Dark and Light. Full story »

If you’ve seen a small whirlwind skittering around Marco and wondered what was happening, you’ve probably encountered Jackie Pham, one of the busiest and hardest-working women in Collier County. Full story »

Several months ago, I wrote an article about an Elderhostel trip to Rhode Island, and I promised more to come. This time I want to take you to the Italian district of Providence, where you will lose your heart. Full story »

Most of us have happy childhood memories of gingerbread men or houses, but the ugly root has an old and honorable lineage unknown to many people. Full story »

The humble leek can boast a literary career seldom equaled in the food world. Chaucer wrote of “much-loved leeks” in his Canterbury Tales, Shakespeare used leeks for comic relief in Henry V and they are mentioned in the Bible. Full story »

This is the time for me to remember all the readers’ questions I never answered in print, and perhaps add a few new ideas for the coming months.
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