The Talk by Heather Shayne Blakeslee I don’t have children myself, nor do I plan to. But kids abound in my life, including the three amazing children that my sister and her husband have ushered into the world. I think about them a lot, and as they get older I wonder when they will start
MoreServe up some sides by Brian Ricci It’s fun to blend hot and cold with summer food—the ephemeral nature of this dish asks that you keep hot and cold items apart until just before serving. Timing and patience are required. This dish translates well into a warm pasta dish—orecchiette would be my recommendation. Serves 4
More1 min read
by Brian Ricci Crunchy purple cabbage and green cucumbers make for a bright and colorful slaw base. Made and served the same day, the textures will be firm and the flavors vibrant. As it sits refrigerated, the purple and green colors begin to bleed slightly—and the flavors mellow. This doesn’t make it worse, only different.
More1 min read
by Brian Ricci Mushrooms are like sponges—they absorb moisture very well. When grilled, they release their moisture, leaving behind their inherent earthy flavors, enhanced by the heat of the grill. Also left are the flavors we impart in our marinades. They tend to become stronger and more concentrated as the water content of the mushroom
More1 min read
Don’t forget dessert! by Brian Ricci In all the heat of grilling and last minute adjustments and mixing, it’s nice to have a finished, refreshing dessert in your “back pocket.” This should be prepared 1 to 2 days in advance so you can take it off the prep list and move on. Just remember not
More1 min read
Photo by Chaucee Stillman Pledged to the Plant Life by Karen Chernick When LJ Steinig won her Grand Champion title at Philly MAC-Down 2016, the city’s first vegan mac and cheese cooking contest, she had the whole group of Philly Vegan Lady Gangsters rooting for her. The gang is a closed Facebook group of more
More4 mins read
Photo by Palette Group – palettegrp.com Serving the Community, One Espresso at a Time by Emily Kovach Consider the archetypal barista: too cool for school, perhaps tattooed, serving and pouring your coffee with no lack of mild disdain. But at The Monkey & The Elephant, a nonprofit coffee shop in Brewerytown, prepare for that image
More2 mins read
Photo by Jason Varney Four Walls and a Cup by Emily Kovach Backyard Beans Coffee Co.408 W. Main St., Lansdale, Pa.Since 2013, Backyard Beans Coffee Co. has been roasting high quality coffee in Lansdale for wholesale, always favoring responsibly sourced beans from small farms and co-ops. Owners Laura and Matt Adams began selling their beans
More2 mins read
Seeing Stars by Emily Kovach Maura Rosato, Lindsay Ferguson and Valentina Fortuna met the way so many chance encounters begin: at work. In 2013, they were all employed by The Farm and The Fisherman Tavern & Market, and all felt a natural connection with one another. A year later, Rosato and Fortuna kicked around the
More1 min read
Nice Ice, Baby by Emily Kovach 1. Milkshake Lattes at River Wards Cafe3118 Richmond St.In a stroke of genius, Joe Livewell at Riverwards Cafe in Port Richmond blends three scoops of Bassetts vanilla ice cream with milk and a double shot of espresso to create a creamy, sweet and caffeinated treat. If chocolate is what
More1 min read
Illustration by Carter Mulcahy Celebrating V-Day by Kate Jacoby One evening in 1999, I ascended the monster of an escalator out of the Dupont Circle Metro in Washington, D.C., fresh from my idealistic internship at the Maryknoll Office for Global Concerns, African Subdivision. I was definitively out of breath because my angsty, prove-something-to-the-world, late-teen self
More2 mins read