Today’s Fare Exchange begins in an area where cooks must excel: multitasking. But our topic is not people, but kitchen equipment. Here is a fact: You can make a really good cake in a rice cooker. Now that’s multitasking.
Here are the next questions: “What cake? What rice cooker? And how?”
Champ, whose cooking repertoire is clearly expanding, sent these words to his kin this week, and also to us: “A person cooking is a person giving. Even the simplest food is a gift.” Laurie Colwin wrote those words, and as I read them, I wished to have some ideas for simple food that is a welcome gift. It has been said that food is an edible prayer, so simple food becomes a simple edible prayer. It might be a prayer of concern or one of whoop-and-holler joy. What is your go-to foodie gift?
Somewhere recently, in the countless online pop-ups designed by an algorithm, I saw a simple list of how to live forever / be healthy / have a problem-free life / whatever. One entry in a brief list was “no dairy.”
But wait, but wait. What kind of far-reaching condemnation was that, when dairy offers so much that is rich and good? I’d like to hear your opinion on dairy of all kinds — milk, yogurt, cream, cheese: anything. What is truly good for YOU?