Food

Commissary kitchens are incubators for restaurants

Summer means getting outside and having fun with your dog.

There is a standard by which all dog-friendly patios must be judged.

PARIS – What does a city proud of its culinary reputation, but also committed to hosting a climate-conscious Olympics, serve to thousands of athletes seeking peak performance? It’s been a tricky balance at the Olympic Village, where caterers are preparing 40,000 meals a day.

Come August, you’ll find farmers market stands laden with bright, juicy tomatoes, vfresh zucchini and various nightshades in peak form, and somehow, they all end up coming home with you. A ratatouille galette, with its flaky, buttery crust and layers of tender, roasted vegetables, is the perfect vessel for all that peak-season deliciousness.

Each year in the Inland Northwest, dog owners eagerly await the days of sunny, warm, easy-breezy outings with their pack. Finally peak dog-walking season arrives and before you know it, it’s already so hot that Fido has to wait for a walk until after dinner.

The great Italian chef Luigi Portabello once proclaimed, “Bread feedsa the masses, but pizza feedsa the soul!” OK, I may have just made all of that up. If there ever were a real-life Luigi Portabello, I’m sure he’d agree with that quoted sentiment, just like the rest of us.

I know summer has officially set in when I opt for hearty, easy-to-make salads that can last a day or so in the refrigerator. I could blame it on the fact my kitchen doesn't have air-conditioning, but really, it's just that warm and sunny weather makes me so lazy when it comes to meal prep. I'd much rather be hanging out on my porch reading a book or riding my bike. Working up a sweat over a ...

At the pottery shop where my mom worked for years, there was a running joke about how to make pots that would sell: “Make it good, or make it blue.”

When Madison Stoltz began baking at age 8, she quickly layered on a creative flair for cakes and buttercream frosting. A few years later, she launched her sole Spokane business, Snak Rabbit, as a bakery and now operates out of a small home kitchen  to handle special orders, sweets catered for small events and more recently treats cooked up for the Perry Street Thursday Market during most weeks this summer.

For an ingredient with such a small footprint, there is a whole lot of ground to cover when it comes to salt. How much to use? What type? Should you even use salt at all?

Most of us have directly experienced the trauma of recent price increases in the fast-food world. Those prices make today’s recipes for takeout burgers seem particularly appetizing. Depending on your fondness for, or dare I say addiction to, takeout burgers, these recipes may even offer a timely lifeline.

Each year, tracks from musical artists of all types vie for the coveted “song of the summer” title. If there were an herb of the summer, that crown would always be snugly rested atop basil’s head.

Workers and residents in northeast Spokane in search of a good sandwich shop can now stop in and visit Ottimo Sandwiches and More at 912 E. Francis Ave., owned by the same family that runs Uncle Rusty’s Diner in downtown Spokane.

SEOUL – In the United States, Everything but the Bagel seasoning is a favorite from Trader Joe’s, known for the savory goodness it adds to foods from salmon to waffles. But in South Korea, the trendy topping is generating a different kind of buzz as fans realize it’s actually contraband.

CHARLOTTE, N.C. – The plate that landed on the table at Community Matters Cafe was immediately striking. Two offset pancakes, golden from corn, topped with pulled pork and a sunny-side-up egg, all connected with drizzles of a red glaze that appeared to be applied by an aspiring Rembrandt.

I have a salad fantasy, and it goes something like this: I open my fridge and am greeted by so many prepped ingredients, cooked and raw, that I can treat my kitchen like a fast-casual restaurant. I’ll pick out my base greens, the toppings, crunchy bits and dressing, ask myself whether I want bread with that, and sit down to a fresh meal that’s exactly what I want to eat at that moment.

The Spokane County Library is hoping to create a bridge between teenagers and cultures from around the globe – through their stomachs. Moran Prairie Library is hosting the first session of “Making Snacks from Around the World” at 3 p.m. on Friday, July 12.

For anyone who enjoys the art of food, taste -making, wine and assorted brewed beverages, Crave is a can’t-miss event.