Crumb Cake: It’s the Real Deal

By Ben Mims
For Cooking Newbie, a blog for beginner cooks

One of the things I’ve missed the most about living on the East Coast is crumb cake. As weird as it may sound, I associate life in New York and the East Coast with crumb cake. Maybe it’s because of the German immigrants that influenced that region and brought their baked goods with them, that you can find crumb cake in every bakery and corner store there.

Elsewhere in America, crumb cake gets called coffee cake and is merely vanilla cake covered with a little crumble topping. And while those cakes are fine, the real crumb cake should be packed with buttery crumbs of topping, virtually the same thickness as the cake it covers. This cake is one of my favorite breakfast foods; a simple delight when eaten fresh with hot tea or coffee.

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A Quick Chinese Meal

By Sandy Hu
The latest from Inside Special Fork

One of the first Chinese dishes I learned to cook was Ma Po Tofu. I was introduced to this recipe by my sister Judy, newly married to a young scientist from Taiwan and living in Berkeley, California.

Through the years, I’ve stripped down the recipe so it doesn’t require a trip to Chinatown for any special ingredients, making this dish a good dinner choice when you’re time-pressed and don’t know what to cook. You should be able to bring this dish to the table in about 20 minutes.

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Salsa Verde, for a Taste of Summer

By Jennifer Knapp
A new video for Video Friday

In the summer, the last thing you want to do is spend time in front of a hot stove. So it’s helpful to have a couple of go-to recipes that don’t require any cooking.

Everyone knows that the Italians are famous for inventing pesto; however, Italian salsa verde is another raw herb sauce that you may not be familiar with. Like pesto, it’s easy to prepare, just as flavorful, and doesn’t require any cooking.

Not to be confused with the Mexican sauce of the same name which features tomatillos and cilantro, Italian salsa verde is a lemony purée of assorted fresh herbs such as basil, mint and parsley. For depth of flavor, it also contains capers and anchovy (don’t worry, it doesn’t taste fishy!) and lots of garlic. All of these ingredients are pulsed together in a food processor or blender, and combined with extra-virgin olive oil.

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The Ultimate Breakfast Sandwich for One

By Lori Powell
For One or Two Bites, a blog for singles and couples

During the week, breakfast is pretty much on the go, with a hard-boiled egg that I cooked over the weekend (using eggs my chickens have laid for me the week before) with a sprinkle of salt and pepper. Alternating, I have some yogurt and blueberries.

However, now that it has turned super-hot, the girls are simply not in the laying mood so it’s been slim pickings as of late. And just last week, there were only two eggs found in the nest. So now I have resorted to hoarding them and the usual lucky recipients of a gift box of eggs will have to simply fend for themselves until this heat wave is over.

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The Answer to Something Sweet

By Ben Mims
For Cooking Newbie, a blog for beginner cooks

After every meal I eat, I always need something sweet. It's been the bane of my body all my life, but the boon to my soul.

However, when it gets hot outside, I only want something icy-cold and refreshing. But thanks to my lactose intolerance, ice cream is out of the question. And sorbets…well, let’s just say I've never tasted one worth having again.

My solution is chilled pudding that I keep in the fridge in tiny cups and dole out to myself when I need a quick, sweet, cold fix. The secret to mine is coconut milk and very little sugar, which keeps it somewhat healthy, or at least less horrible than traditional pudding, and allows me to add fruit or whatever else I want as toppings to sweeten it up more naturally.

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