Extra bits

A catch-all bin for goodies, often narrative in nature, that don’t quite belong anywhere else. Think of this section as a jumble sale filled with (on a good day) hidden treasures.

The Retro Recipe Project

7 May 2012

I started writing about food through the context of history. I spent the better portion of my senior year in college writing a thesis about ethnic identity and assimilation by looking at  the foods people cooked at home and at community fundraisers. Community cookbooks were terrific resources. The history department selected my thesis as the [...]

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The secrets of food writing

4 May 2012

We know that writing about food isn’t usually the most lucrative endeavor. Some say it’s always been this way. (Even MFK Fisher wasn’t making a living writing about food full-time.) But those who can’t help themselves will do it anyway. That’s a great thing. As an undergraduate, I wrote a thesis about how food intersects [...]

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The fashion equivalent of the boneless, skinless chicken breast

2 May 2012

Do fashion people ever want to throw on a pair of uninspired jeans with an ill-fitting college sweatshirt, and step out in public? Do they ever get tired of making some statement with clothes, or if not a statement, at least showing their expertise? Every day we get dressed. But what if it’s your job [...]

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Beer Jam Correction for The Preservation Kitchen

17 April 2012

It happens. No matter how many people take a look at a manuscript before it’s sent to the printer, something will be missed. Sometimes it’s an extra comma. Other times, as in the case with the beer jam recipe from the cookbook The Preservation Kitchen, it’s a crucial line of instruction: When to add the [...]

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About this ghostwriting business

20 March 2012

Spring is here, and with it the 2012 spring cookbook season. Which means The Preservation Kitchen, a book I co-wrote with Paul Virant, is this close to hitting bookstore shelves. (April 3rd, to be exact.) There’s been more buzz lately than usual about cookbooks, or who actually writes them, thanks to Julia Moskin’s NY Times [...]

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Put a prune on it

13 February 2012

After puttering through the advertisements from this year’s Super Bowl, one thing remained clear: American ads are a snore. Especially compared to this simple, sporty ad from our Kiwi friends.

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Au revoir to all that, Chicago

8 February 2012

I remember my first winter in Chicago clearly. You see, I moved here one day in late December several years ago. Coming from California, I didn’t have the cold-weather jacket-gloves-scarf-hat routine down. I didn’t own appropriate footwear.  And yet I wanted to be sure I could walk to wherever I needed to go. My flimsy, [...]

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Have spices, will travel

2 February 2012

I can’t remember where I bought this Indian spice tray. It could have been while traveling through Kerala, visiting Vik’s Chaat Corner in Berkeley, or browsing in a shop along Devon Avenue in Chicago. I’m fairly certain that these spice trays are easy to find in all three locations. The reason I bring the spice [...]

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Chow bella

12 January 2012

I‘ll be perfectly honest: for the past couple of weeks, I’ve been buried. I have neglected many things (like laundry, mail, and, ironically, cooking). If I posted a recipe this week, it would be that sad excuse for a salad I threw together for dinner last night before running off to Spanish class. (We all [...]

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MMM’s top posts of the year

2 January 2012

Although I’m still trying to shake myself out of 2011, I’m looking forward to this new year. It’s going to be an exciting one. On the national scale, there will be a presidential election, which will bring nightly melodramas to a TV near you. On a personal side, I’ll be attending a big family wedding. [...]

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