Front Burner: An Heirloom Masa Harina

If you make your own tortillas and tostadas, there’s a new masa harina to consider. (Masa harina, the corn flour used for tortillas, has been nixtamalized, or treated with slaked lime to remove the corn hulls, soften it and improve the digestibility of its nutrients.) Masienda, a company that specializes in products made from heirloom…

Front Burner: Meet a New Crab to Eat

We have our blue crabs, but invasive green crabs from Europe, which have been in our waters for two centuries (uninvited arrivals by ship) are predators that attack the blues, especially the soft-shells. They also wreck the eelgrass and other beneficial maritime environments. The idea now is to eat the green crabs as a way…

Don’t Call It Tex-Mex

HOUSTON — This city’s Second Ward is full of temptations for Adán Medrano, a writer and chef who lives just a few miles southeast. The Mexican-American neighborhood is home to the perfect flaky tortillas at Doña María Mexican Cafe, scratch-made in flour or corn, and ready to be folded around eggs with the fine threads…

22 Eco-Friendly Brands to Shop on Earth Day

Pilicarota Earring in Orange Pili Restrepo maison-de-mode.com “There’s a lot of talk about sustainable fashion but not as many people know that jewelry can – and should! – be sustainably made as well. Pili Restrepo is an ideal example of a cool company creating original designs while also respecting the environment and its workers. Every…

How to Get Eggplant Right

LONDON — It’s a fine line, when you cook, between success and failure. I am always surprised by how tipping the balance in a dish can so easily transform it from delectable to inedible. How many times have you oversalted or undercooked a dish? When did you last lament wasting a fistful of pine nuts or…