What to Do With All That Summer Fruit

The word “ambivalent” doesn’t really exist in my vocabulary, but there is no other word to describe my feelings for August. On the one hand, August is objectively flawless: long, lazy days of abundant sunshine, spontaneous trips to the beach, endless streams of extremely cold wine and a constant parade of flawless produce. Many people…

What Should I Do With My Dead Dog?

Alexandra Manno was 16 when her boyfriend at the time gave her a surprise gift: a dog, which she named Calle. A pit bull mix that appeared to have some Australian cattle dog in her bloodline, Calle slept with Ms. Manno every night, moving with her from North Carolina to the Seattle area, where she…

Quality Canned Seafood, All in One Place

In Spain and Portugal, sardines, mackerel, cod, tuna, mussels and other seafood packed in cans aren’t emergency pantry items. They are highly valued for dining, and restaurants serve them. Now there’s a website selling Portuguese brands that has aggregated many of the tinned products, or conservas, from various producers to make shopping easier. The seafood…

A Tool for Pomegranate Fans

The pomegranate’s tart-sweet, jewel-like ruby seeds (arils) are a mighty challenge to extract. A new gadget from Tescoma, a company in San Martino, Italy, streamlines the usual method of holding the cut fruit in your hand over a bowl and smashing it to release the seeds. Yet even with this clever contraption, nine steps are…