Food Writing
Quail eggs return to this year's Burgers and Brews (The Onion 3 June 2010)
Food Love (Mini-Fest #3) (The Onion, 9 April 2010)
Secret Suppers: A Beginner's Guide to Madison's Semi-Underground Dining Clubs (The Onion, 30 March 2010)
A $25 Taste of the Good Life: Restaurant Week Tradeoffs (The Onion, 21 January 2010)
Hot Locavore Breakfast Returns to the Dane County Farmers' Market (The Onion, 6 January 2010)
The year in Madison food: The A.V. Club's 2009 tasting tour (The Onion, 7 December 2009)
11 Very Important Things to Know About Cider (Mental Floss, 18 November 2009)
What else ails the world?: The A.V. Club's Tales from Planet Earth (The Onion, 2 November 2009)
Wisconsin Book Fest: Meals from the dark side (The Onion, 10 October 2009)
Thursday at the Wisconsin Book Festival: Blessed are the cheesemakers? (The Onion, 9 October 2009)
Ferment Happy Hour to Explore "Forgotten Fruits" (The Onion, 5 October 2009)
Eat local on the cheap (The Onion, 3 September 2009)
Fight on, Spandex Warrior: The A.V. Club's guide to Madison's Recreational Clubs (The Onion, 1 September 2009)52-Miles of Local Food (The Onion, 1 September 2009)
Places Not to Take Your Parents (The Onion, 27 August 2009)
Mini-Burger Madness: A Quick Look at Burgers and Brew (The Onion, 28 May 2009)
Fresh off the Square: Decider's guide to non-downtown farmers' markets (The Onion, 6 May 2009)
Classy Tailgating (The Onion, 8 April 2009)
Winter Market Delights (The Onion, 25 March 2009)
On Wisconsin Film Fest: Big bad food, again (The Onion, 23 March 2009)
Craic Consultants (The Onion, 12 March 2009)
Cures for the Common Hangover (The Onion, 31 December 2008)
Season's Grindings (The Onion, 10 December 2008)
Tippin' One with the Bros (The Onion: Decider Madison, 19 November 2008)Will Bike For Food (Madison Magazine, October 2008)Nora Pouillon: Queen of Green (Isthmus, 18 April 2008)
Long before "organic" and "local" were on most people's food radar,
Isthmus Green Day speaker Nora Pouillon was serving organic food at her
namesake Washington, D.C. restaurant. Opened in 1979, Restaurant Nora
became the first certified organic restaurant in the country in 1999
(notable in a city seemingly hellbent on increasing yields and
subsidizing commodity crops rather than supporting small farmers).
One stop shopping, the sustainable way (Isthmus, 9 November 2007)
When I saw the phone number, I had a feeling this was my kind of place:
845-FOOD. Paoli Local Foods opened in June in what is likely the area's
top biking destination, and it has quickly built a following among
hungry residents, bikers and visitors alike.
Perseverance in a Box (Isthmus, 12 October 2007)
If ever Richard DeWilde questioned the loyalty he's developed with the
members of his community-supported agriculture program, the
catastrophic flooding that devastated his and other farms in
southwestern Wisconsin in late August has silenced any doubt. "Being a
member of your CSA has meant more to me than I can say," writes one of
his members. "I find it an extraordinary privilege to stick with
[Harmony Valley Farm] for the long haul."
Culinary Journeys (Isthmus, 14 September 2007)
Two unusual tours get diners closeWith fall's fast approach, the time
to get out and find fresh foods before the cold comes is now. And just
in time, on Sept. 29, are two unique events that will give you the
chance to get up close to your food and the people who produce it.
Crops of Yore (Isthmus, 17 August 2007)
Squash, sunflowers, gourds, beans — these are just some of the native
foods of the Americas that have transformed the world's food supply.
And for the last three years, these and many more have been planted at
Middleton's Pope Farm Park by archeologists
from the Wisconsin Historical Society, with help from local
fourth-graders. Their work highlights American Indian agriculture, as
well as the gardens of European settlers.
Jar Expert (Isthmus, 19 July 2007)A few weeks ago I bought a jar of rhubarb-passion fruit preserves from
Lee Davenport’s new stand, Pamplemousse Preserves, at the Northside
Farmers’ Market. A deep burgundy color and filled with neatly cut
chunks of rhubarb, it was stunningly good, which led me to consume most
of it straight from the jar.
Teach your children well (Isthmus, 21 June 2007)
Scarcely
a minute goes by that Robert Pierce isn't laughing, waving or greeting
people by name at his South Madison Farmers' Market stand, where he
serves as market manager. Friendly, warm and fiercely dedicated to
making local food accessible to all, Pierce also runs a youth gardening
program that teaches minority kids that "eating good is a good thing"...
Asparagus is here (Isthmus, 24 May 2007)
Confession:
For the last two weeks, I have eaten little else but asparagus.
Breakfast, lunch and dinner, steamed, grilled, roasted, even raw, the
tidy bundle barely leaving the vendor’s hand before I’ve pulled a stalk
loose to munch on...
Here comes the bounty (Isthmus, 26 April 2007)
Despite
nature's best attempts to delay the arrival of all things edible, my
favorite season has finally arrived: market season...
How sweet it is (Isthmus, 29 March 2007)
There's
a Chinese proverb that goes, 'Spring is sooner recognized by plants
than by men.' And when it comes to maple syrup, that certainly is
true...
Learn from the masters (Isthmus, 1 March 2007)
Master
cheese maker Sid Cook of Carr Valley Cheese has come up with a whole
new way to make people fall in love with his award-winning cheese: He's
offering a series of cooking classes in the new test kitchen at his
Sauk City retail store...
Neighborhood grocery (Isthmus, 1 February 2007)
You
might think the days of the small neighborhood grocery are numbered,
now that the Mifflin Street Co-op is gone and the national chain Trader
Joe's has moved into a space formerly occupied by a local food store.
But the Regent Market Cooperative, 2136 Regent St., is struggling to
keep alive the tradition of the small, community-based store...
Troy Gardens (Wisconsin Trails, January/February 2007)
Rooting for rutabagas (Isthmus, 1 January 2007)
A
round, baggy root may not sound appealing, but under the rough skin of
this homely tuber lies rich and flavorful flesh the color of gold.
Rutabagas have a delicate sweetness and flavor that hint at both
cabbage and turnip...
Stop making fun of fruitcake! (Isthmus, 21 December 2006)
There
is no gift more vilified, more dreaded or more ridiculed than
fruitcake, which too often is mass produced with cheap ingredients.
That's a shame, because at its best, fruitcake is a delicious mix of
dried fruits and nuts, bound by sugar, flour, eggs and a few spices...
One size fits all (Isthmus, 7 December 2006)
In
the spirit of the baking, giving and eating season ahead of us, here
are a few favorite local flavors to give (and to get) that you won't
find just anywhere...
Food around the corner? (Isthmus, 24 November 2006)
They
say that the key to a successful business is location, location,
location. Yet location, along with a small space, may have been, in the
end, the death of the Mifflin Street Grocery Cooperative...
A co-op for Stoughton? (Isthmus, 9 November 2006)
When
Stoughton's Main Street Market closed last June after 22 years, town
residents didn't take the news lying down. 'I heard from people all
over the city after we lost the store,' says Stoughton Mayor Helen
Johnson...
Bowls for sale (Isthmus, 26 October 2006)
Thousands
of us belong to community-supported-agriculture farms or shop at a
co-op, while tens of thousands more attend one of the many farmers'
markets around the city and in the area. With such an embarrassment of
riches, we can easily forget that fresh local produce is not accessible
to everyone. The Empty Bowls dinner on Oct. 28 is an annual reminder
that food insecurity remains a persistent fact of life for too many
Dane County residents...
Readin', writin', fricasseein' (Isthmus, 12 October 2006)
For
many of us, the chance to experience a meal prepared by chefs Tory
Miller and Eva Ringstrom of L'Etoile Restaurant is saved for special
occasions ' anniversaries, birthdays, promotions, and engagements. But
for seventh-graders at Sherman Middle School, that special occasion
happens every month...
Leafy green and still good for ya (Isthmus, 28 September 2006)
Hard
to believe, but the nationwide spinach panic may actually prove a
benefit to local producers. Last week, Governor Doyle assured residents
that Wisconsin-grown spinach was safe. 'I want to encourage Wisconsin
residents to support our local farmers and farmers markets by
purchasing and consuming locally grown spinach,' he said...
Grub for everyone (Isthmus, 19 September 2006)
Some
people, like yours truly, spend way too much time reading about food,
thinking about food, shopping for food and talking about food...
The milkman cometh (Isthmus, 31 August 2006)
Remember
the milkman? He came every week, leaving milk, butter and cream in
glass bottles that clinked as he set them on the porch. Or so I have
seen on television: Home-delivered dairy long ago went the way of
home-delivered ice in my corner of the universe...
You say fruit, I say vegetable (Isthmus, 21 August 2006)
Tomatoes are in season, and so it is time once again to ponder the age-old question: Is the tomato a fruit or vegetable?
Party on the Farm (Isthmus, 10 August 2006)
After
our long winters, we Wisconsinites greet summer with abandon. Just
being out in the sunshine is reason enough to celebrate, and if you go
to the north side's Troy Gardens on Aug. 12, you will find a
celebration....
Earth Day: An Area Farm Group Explores the Connections Between Food and the Environment with Special Dinners and Dialogues (Wisconsin State Journal, 21 April 2006)
Fresh Way to Grow and Share (Wisconsin State Journal, 19 April 2006)