food

For the sake of it: a selection of Japanese tipples | Food

If the recent Olympics have triggered a desire to plunge into all things Japanese, don’t overlook the drinks. You’re probably already familiar with the country’s big lager brands such as Asahi, Kirin and Sapporo, and may well have tried sake (taken warm, as many people do, rather than cold, which is what the finer sakes deserve), but Japanese whisky? Gin? Shochu? There’s a lot to get your head around.

Whisky is a good place to start even, and perhaps especially, if you don’t think of yourself as a whisky drinker. It’s typically subtler, sweeter and less peaty than Scotch (although it often contains Scotch whisky) and less butch than bourbon, though some brands, such as Mars Maltage “Cosmo” and Tougouchi Premium, are made in a more American style. Like bourbon, they’re commonly drunk on the rocks or diluted with soda or ginger ale as a highball. Contemporary brands such as Nikka Days (see today’s picks) and Tenjaku blended whisky (£28 Sainsbury’s, 40%) are designed to be diluted and drink well as cocktails. Then there are the likes of Nikka’s Miyagikyo (£68.94 Master of Malt, £74.95 The Whisky Exchange, 45%), with its lovely overtones of red apple peel, that are better suited to contemplative sipping. Or, for a low-alcohol alternative to whisky, try shochu, which is like a slightly more alcoholic sake.

Japanese gins, too, have something quite distinctive to offer, with indigenous botanicals such as yuzu peel, sansho pepper and sencha tea, and

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GROW San Mateo and Samaritan House Food Pharmacy provide healthy food | Local News

GROW San Mateo formed as a collective project to provide free healthy food to promote a healthier lifestyle and educate people on the importance of fresh produce.

Bill Schildknecht started the GROW San Mateo project in March of 2019 for a collection of local gardeners grow and donate fresh produce. He learned about the Samaritan House Food Pharmacy that summer, which is a part of the organization’s free medical clinic, and began a partnership. In the spring of this year, it started to host a table at the two food pharmacy clinics in San Mateo and Redwood City.

“I think what we’ve seen though is that there obviously is a link between preventable diseases like obesity and diabetes and some of those things where food is actually medicine, and the pandemic hit those people with those ailments the hardest. So I think there’s just an increasing realization through this group of people that goes to Samaritan House that eating is not just a luxury. It’s vital to your health,” he said. “I think there’s a huge opportunity for local food to actually change a lot of the problems that we have with the current food system.”

He said he was inspired for this project by the Victory Gardens of the 1940s when communities came together.



GROW San Mateo 2

“I started GROW San Mateo as a way to grow community around the activity of plants because I saw just from my own garden here in San Mateo that plants are able to cross age

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Saraga international grocery brings together Hoosiers around food

Saraga is rooted in everywhere and nowhere at once. The international market is, in some ways, like traveling through a foreign airport. People are constantly in transit, briskly walking or leisurely browsing. One can hear snippets of conversations in French or Burmese or any number of other languages as they walk through the long aisles. 

Indianapolis groceries specializing in Asian, African, South American or other international products often carry more niche items and create an atmosphere that reminds shoppers of home, but Saraga has evolved to be a hub where culture is both preserved and mixed. Today, the 62,000-square-foot international market on the west side of Indianapolis is a one-stop shop for people of different backgrounds. 

“The strongest selling point for Saraga is that Saraga has the most variety of types of products,” said Brad Nam, Saraga’s marketing manager.

Rebecca Jeun shops Saturday, June 26, 2021, at Saraga International Market, 3605 Commercial Drive, Indianapolis.

Over the years, the international market has expanded to include locations in the southside and Columbus, Ohio. Today, each of the three Saragas is a place where kids shop for snacks, couples buy new foods to try and factory workers drive hours to buy crates of vegetables to freeze.

Saraga carries food from nearly every continent that are sorted into aisles based on country or region of origin, so almost everyone will encounter something they’ve never seen before. There’s a whole aisle dedicated to Asian noodles, the seafood counter carries about 100 different varieties of fish and seafood and a meat counter in the back of the store serves halal cuts. 

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6 Ways to Break Out of a Healthy Food Rut

Having your go-to meals dialed in can simplify healthy home cooking. Classic combos like grilled chicken over kale salad and roast salmon with broccoli may always be in your rotation, but sometimes, the dinners you could make blindfolded suddenly lose their appeal. You’ve fallen into a healthy food rut, and the boredom is enough to make you call for pepperoni pizza. But put down the phone — there are better ways to bring some excitement back into your kitchen. Wesley McWhorter, RD, a trained chef and spokesperson for the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, shares his best tips for busting a healthy food rut.

1. Try a New Supermarket

Adding interest to your meals starts with the groceries you’ve got in the refrigerator. If you go to the same store with the same shopping list week after week, things are bound to get dull after a while.

“When I worked as a private chef, there was a Korean market nearby with a huge produce section,” recalls McWhorter. At that store he first encountered kohlrabi. The bulbous plant is related to cauliflower and cabbage, and it brings all the health benefits of cruciferous vegetables. Today, he counts it as among his favorite vegetables.

You can get inspired and maybe even find your next favorite vegetable by changing up where you shop, too. Farmers markets, which often carry heirloom varieties of fruits and veggies you can’t find at the supermarket, are particularly great places to find a fun, new-to-you ingredient that

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What’s for lunch? | Food

At last, in-person school begins, and with it the question: What do we do about lunch?

Kids want fun food that tastes good, while parents strive to provide a meal that supplies good nutrition and is sure to be consumed.

An easy and healthy option is to purchase meals at school. To help, there is a new School Nutrition & Fitness Mobile “Web Menu” App available. This offers an easy way to view menus and nutrient information for products right from your smart phone. You can get interactive menus with nutrient information, descriptions, photos and allergens. It will link you to the online payment system and Nutrition Services website.

This is just one more step they have made to raise the bar on school meals. Menus are healthier than ever, offering a wider variety of fruits, vegetables, whole grains and fat-free/low-fat fluid milk. Meals meet the nutrition needs of students within their age-specific calorie requirements as required by USDA. For information, visit fcpsnutrition.com, email [email protected], or call 301-644-5061.

Some families prefer to pack meals at home, which can be a tall order to fill. Remember, just because the lunchbox comes home empty doesn’t mean the food was eaten. Any student will admit that trading, giving away, and just plain trashing of unwanted food abounds in school cafeterias.

Knowledge of what your child likes to eat is the key to packing a successful lunch. While this sounds obvious, it is the best way to ensure your child will actually eat

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