Welcome

This is the seventh article in a series about attending Culinary School.

One of the things I love about writing about food is trying new ingredients. When I run across something at the farmers’ market or in the grocery aisle I haven’t cooked before, it almost always ends up in my cart. When amaranth (pronounced ah-mah-ran-th) found its way into my kitchen last month, I was skeptical but curious about what this tiny grain had to offer.

Trying new ingredients usually ends up one of three ways in my kitchen:

This is the first post in a series on making your own sourdough bread. Stay tuned next week for the full starter recipe and the step-by-step, day-by-day process of growing a sourdough starter.

If you asked me to name my favorite flavor profile, it wouldn’t be salty, sweet, or bitter, but sour. I adore sour things—yogurt, sauerkraut, kombucha, cultured butter…the list goes on. Part of the reason may be that when it comes to food and drink, sour flavors feel balancing to my palate. Combining tangy sauerkraut with corned beef balances its saltiness. Eating plain yogurt with fruit balances the fruit’s sweetness. Adding a squeeze of lime to pad Thai can elevate the dish to a new level, simply by bringing all of the other flavors together.