Food

March Madness is underway and Wendy’s is ready to make a slam dunk.

Although the Lunar New Year started on Feb. 17, any day of the year is a good day to celebrate Asian food, especially when noodles and spring rolls are involved.

What candy do you prefer in your Easter basket?

In October, a beloved Spokane Valley landmark got a new life and a new menu.

There are a variety of nutritious, dairy-free ways to add body and creaminess to soups. Beans and potatoes are two ingredients primed for the job. If they’re already in the soup, simply smashing some of them against the side of the pot with a wooden spoon can do the trick. Mashed, or pureed, white beans or potatoes can also be added stealthily to soups that don’t typically include them – such as tomato or broccoli cheddar – for creamy thickness. Plus they’ll contribute fiber, essential nutrients and, in the case of beans, a protein boost.

A cup of chamomile tea. A glass of warm milk. The classic turkey sandwich. Certain foods and drinks have a reputation for making us sleepy.

It’s that time of year again to paint the town green and raise a pint or two o’ Guinness to the good Saint Patrick and the Emerald Isle. There’s a little Irish in all of us when St. Patrick’s Day arrives, and there are plenty of opportunities throughout the Inland Northwest to participate in the celebration.

If cooking dinner every night feels repetitive and downright exhausting to you, you’re not alone. If you’re ready to simplify your weekly meal planning, skip last-minute grocery runs and still enjoy delicious, home-cooked meals, meal kit delivery services and online grocery delivery are your go-to solutions.

Two years ago, Brittany Graham would pull into her local Chipotle in Chico, California, once a month and order her favorite entree, a steak bowl.

It’s the water.

In a Feb. 11 article titled, “Birthday schemes and Boston Baked Beans,” I reflected on the heartfelt hunt I undertook with my 93-year-young “Mama,” Mary Lou, to locate a hard-shelled peanut candy she recalled from her Spokane childhood. It seems these treats are an explosive favorite with Spokesman-Review readers.

I am not over the cottage cheese trend yet, because I never needed to get on board with it. For me, cottage cheese isn’t a fad. It’s a mainstay in my refrigerator and has been for as long as I can remember. As a child, I sat at the kitchen table with my grandfather noshing on bowls of it mixed with sour cream and sliced banana. My grandmother stirred it with hot egg noodles, butter and caramelized onions for dinner. I’ve been making cottage cheese pancakes for years, as well as using it in dressings and dips to add creamy texture in a healthier way.

FUKUI, Japan – A farmer in snowy Fukui City ships tropical bananas year-round.

Salmon recipes often say to remove the skin. The salmon I buy usually has skin only on one side. Is it really necessary to remove it when a recipe says to? And if so, what’s the reason for removing it? Does it really matter?

Is it a dessert or is it a dip? Great Wolf Lodge, one of the most popular family-friendly resorts in the U.S., has announced its limited-time Ranch Milkshake.

I have a theory. I call it the soup theory of everything. You won’t find it published in any scientific journal, at least not yet.

Cooking at home is one of the best things you can do for your health. No matter what you make, home-cooked meals tend to be better for you – lower in sodium and saturated fat and more sensibly portioned – than restaurant food or takeout. If you lean into more healthful recipes, that’s even better. But it’s not only the food itself that’s beneficial, as Nicki Sizemore explains in her cookbook “Mind, Body, Spirit, Food.” The process of cooking itself can be nourishing, too.

For 18 years, Jorge Valdovinos worked in the restaurant industry in Spokane.

One of the powers of food I appreciate most is its ability to transport – how eating cinnamon toast or chicken noodle soup brings me right back to my childhood, or enjoying a lobster roll puts me on a dock in New England on a sunny summer day.