This week, dear readers, I had the opportunity to journey to Scotland and spend a few days there.  I know that British cuisine is not exactly world-renowned for its succor, but that reputation is a bit ill deserved.  While traveling through Glasgow for a few days, I was able to not only dine quite well, but also to have one of the best meals of my life.

Though I may not be local, I can still eat locally.  While wandering down a lane with my friend Cassandra and my dear illustrator Mr. Groenink, we chanced upon a rather promising menu posted in the window.  Not only did the restaurant serve local food that was sustainably grown, they listed the actual farms certain ingredients were procured from.  Add to that the little business card quoting Virginia Woolf – “One cannot think well, love well, sleep well, if one has not dined well,” and we were decidedly intrigued enough to step inside. More...

Anytime I see Chanterelle mushrooms piled high into delicate heaps at the market, I immediately change the menu plan. Chanterelles posses a woody essence with apricot tones not unlike a fine glass of Chardonnay. These mushrooms play well with all sorts of preparations from slow braising in jus to sautéing in butter or simply steaming on their own. For this installment of Honest Eats, we’ll bring some Chinese flavor to Chanterelles and let their autumnal aromas come through uncompromised and make for an amazing dish. More...

The Dutch aren’t exactly revered for their food and cookery techniques.  The most popular dishes include variations on stamppotten – that is, mashed potatoes with different vegetables incorporated.  One of the most popular kinds of stamppot is a hutspot, which is mashed potatoes, carrots, and onions.  The dish is served all around town for free in Leiden to celebrate the end of the Spanish siege.  Other forms of stamppot include apples, sausage, bacon, or today’s star vegetable:  the humble kale, known as boerenkool in Dutch. More...

It’s easy to get too much of a good thing, especially if that good thing is food-related.  I know I’ve suffered severely from gluttony: becoming jittery after too much coffee or chocolate or sugar, feeling far too full after ice cream or pizza, burning my tongue on hot sauce…  However, I couldn’t resist 26 pounds of pears this weekend. More...

Honest Eats is our newest seasonal recipe blog by Eric Robertson of Souped Up Cafe.

Heirloom winter squash are to autumn what Rainier cherries are to summer. They are an emblem of October and we’re lucky here in Seattle to have access to so many varieties. Getting a hold of some locally grown pumpkins and cooking them up to highlight their natural, earthy sweetness will really bring a seasonal flair to your kitchen everyone can appreciate, not to mention a chance to show off your culinary prowess. More...

Greetings, dear readers, from the other side of the pond.  Three days into my one-month stay in Holland, I’ve had a fair bit of culture shock.  I’m not able to understand much of what I hear, I can’t ride a bike because every Dutch person is at least 6 feet tall, and traveling on the back of a bicycle so close to moving traffic can be somewhat unnerving.  Undoubtedly, however, one of the most exciting (and shocking) things about my trip has been the attention paid to Election Day here in the Low Countries. More...

Dear reader, this is my last green bite written States-side for the next month.  Starting now and through November I’ll be on a miniature tour of Europe, visiting Holland, France, Belgium, and Scotland.  Never fear, though -- I’ll stay in touch with plenty of recipes and lore from my travels.  For this week, though, my article will focus on preservation of American things, specifically fruits and vegetables. More...

Corn is the subject of quite a bit of controversy, of late.  Though we’ve long enjoyed this vegetable in a culinary sense, we’ve recently discovered we can make fuel from it, as well.  This is both a blessing and a curse to Zea mays. 

A staple in a number of diets, corn has been used to sustain Native American populations, been ground into flour for the ubiquitous Mexican tortilla, and been eaten off the cob by any  number of barbecuing Americans.  Unfortunately, in my opinion, we’ve started using this food crop to create ethanol fuel, making it more expensive to feed hungry mouths.  Some prominent researchers, most notably (at least to me, as I saw him lecture at my alma mater) David Pimentel, also claim that not only is ethanol not going to solve our fuel crisis, it’s going to exacerbate it. More...

Love is a strange beast.  Feelings of indifference can mutate into full-fledged ardor at a moment’s notice, only to fade in the sterile light of morning.  Desire can become obsession, leaving us feeling insecure and exposed.  And of course, it can simply be frightening as hell.  Though this column thus far might lead you to believe I’ve been kidnapped and replaced by some kind of foodie Carrie Bradshaw, that’s not the case.  It’s simply that I’ve had my world completely turned upside down.  By beets. More...

Around the end of summertime, gardeners start playing jokes on one another.  Neighbors donate apples to each other, and receive their produce back in the shapes of homemade pies or crumbles.  Baskets of free tomatoes grace office tables, and Craigslist posts about excess pears abound.  The best way to get rid of extra fruit and veg that I’ve heard of, though, involves zucchini:  put them on your neighbor’s porch, ring the doorbell, and run.  For the record, if anyone out there would like to play this joke on me, just email me and we’ll work something out. More...