Articles in "Island Epicure"

It’s that time of year again. I’m hearing about cases of the flu and the season for it goes on right through the winter. You don’t have to succumb, though. Maybe you had your flu shot and feel secure. But the virus can mutate. Also, the virus that comes around may not be the one the health authorities were expecting and made the shots for preventing.  

Besides, some of us are allergic to the eggs, rabbit blood, or horse blood in which the anti-flu serum is cultured. The shot could make us sicker than the flu itself. Even if that doesn’t apply to you, both Dr. Jonathan V. Wright of Renton and Nan Fuchs, Ph.D., in their health newsletters, inform us that flu shots are not that effective in people over 65.

Shop weekly, not every day or two. Saves time, gas, and bother. Shop with your list in hand. Don’t let the store seduce you with its appealing displays into spending more than you intended.

The day before your weekly grocery shopping, take inventory of fridge, freezer, and pantry. Plan menus for the week ahead. With your cookbook at hand, make your shopping list of items needed to fill in the gaps in the recipes needed for your menus.

A couple of Sundays ago, all my descendants except for the son who lives in China and one grandson who had to work, gathered to celebrate my birthday with shish-kabobs, watermelon, and birthday cake. A son-in-law whose birthday falls on the same day as mine helped blow out the candles, and be assured there were lots of them.

Italian kids are tested at age six for sensitivity to gluten, and 12% of them are reported to test as positive. I wonder if the percentage is any different in the USA, and right here on Vashon Island. Wheat is the worst offender. Most of my descendants, like me, are much healthier avoiding wheat and avoiding or minimizing consumption of other foods with gluten in them.

The joy of cooking this spring has been enhanced by my Chinese daughter-in-law’s eagerness to learn to cook American foods and her willingness to share her Yunnanese style recipes. A field trip to a Chinese market makes her day.

Meeting an entrepreneur friend recently, I asked her, “How’s business?”
“Slow,” she said, “but we’re still eating beans.”
Bless the bean, so thrifty yet adaptable to a thousand different, delicious recipes. I could write a whole book of bean recipes, and did decades ago. Unfortunately “Beans, Rices, and Pastas” is out of print now. Shucks, I could write a book just on bean soups. Leaving room for other news and columns in The Loop, I’ll content myself with including just a few in this issue.