| Making the matzo
On the face of it, matzo brei is a humble dish -- so easy to make that a recipe is hardly needed: Matzo, the dry flatbread of Passover, is broken into pieces and meets briefly with water so it's damp, before being mixed with beaten eggs and poured into a hot frying pan sizzling with butter. Brei, which rhymes with fry, is from the Yiddish word briehn, or soak. And yet, no less august a food authority than Ruth Reichl, editor-in-chief of Gourmet magazine, has called matzo brei "one of life's perfect foods." Reichl came to her post at Gourmet after many years as a restaurant critic, including several at the New York Times. The woman knows food.
Gallery: Passover celebrations
Find a Passover seder worldwide
For aficionados, matzo brei is part-pancake and a kind of cousin to French toast.
Mac and cheese: The gooier the better
GOOEY cheddar robes tender curls of pasta, perhaps some crunchy breadcrumbs lounge on top this is all-American fare, this is macaroni and cheese. Whether decadently rich, light and creamy or from the famous blue box, mac and cheese occupies a space in the comfort-starved hearts of many Americans. While gussied-up gourmet versions, laced with truffles or imported cheese, are hip in trendy restaurants, deep down this dish is simple, straightforward comfort food the stuff childhood is made of. Last month we asked readers for their favorite macaroni and cheese recipes. The first submission we received was from a self-proclaimed "cheeky" reader who sent us a typewritten vote for Stouffer's frozen macaroni and cheese. Well Cheeky, we admire your spirit and we have to agree, Stouffer's is pretty tasty.
Shack snacks
Cooking for a husband and three kids is challenging at the best of times. For Kumiko Drinkwater, the challenge comes with a twist. "We don't have hot water in the kitchen," Drinkwater says. "There's only a tiny sink, an old stove, and [until recently] we didn't have a microwave." Drinkwater lives with husband Grant and her three children in a "shack" on the beach at Stanwell Park, just north of Wollongong. A shortage of kitchen facilities hasn't dented the supply of hot meals from her kitchen, however. "She's one of the people in this area at home [while others are at work] and has made a big effort to look after the kids and make sure they have good food to eat," says Grant, Kumiko's husband of 17 years. KFC, or Kumiko's Fried Chicken, is a favourite with the Stanwell Park kids.
How sweet it isn't: up go chockies
"Two anarchist spaces means double the fun for us and double the trouble for the rulers," said a flyer to anarchist book readers. Big new jet airliner After multiple delays there is growing confidence that the first commercial flight of an Airbus A380 superjumbo could still arrive in Sydney late this year. The French aircraft maker announced it had completed another series of "commercial route proving flights". Airbus failed to provide any comparisons on the jet as it has on previous occasions, suggesting it has given up on its plans to fill an A380 with 35 million ping-pong balls and 57 fully grown Asian elephants. However, Reflux is concerned the aircraft maker's first A380 customer has thrown up some new comparisons that could delay the planned October delivery of the first superjumbo.
DVD set shows how Julia Child paved way for today's TV chefs
Would Julia Child make it on today's food TV shows? I wondered this as I viewed a three-disc DVD set called "Julia Child! The French Chef" (WGBH Boston, $39.95).
The first disc is a biography, with clips, photos and commentary by people such as Ruth Reichl, editor of Gourmet magazine; Boston chef Jasper White; and Judith Jones, the editor who talked publisher Alfred Knopf into publishing Child's first book, "Mastering the Art of French Cooking."
There are some fun anecdotes from Child's youth, as well as the tale of how she met her future husband, Paul, while working for the Office of Strategic Services in Ceylon (now Sri Lanka) during World War II.
He remarked in a letter to his twin brother that she was "a sloppy thinker" and that her "gasping and giggling" mannerisms got on his nerves.
Union Square Bursts into Bloom
Farmers are just now planting seed; if storage potatoes and onions don't scratch your spring foraging itch, greenhouse greens and a profusion of flowering plants, budding fruit-tree branches, cut flowers, and potted herbs should do it. We'll be keeping tabs on seasonal foods at the gourmet markets until local produce is going strong. .
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