The Mexican states of Oaxaca and Puebla are famous for their rich, complex moles. On a quest for mole enlightenment, writer Mike Diago delved into our local Mexican communities and found two women who are keeping mole‑making traditions — and the cultural heritage they represent — alive in the Hudson Valley. *originally published in Valley Table…
Mark Bittman Teaches us How to Eat in His Latest Book
Nutrition advice is a carnival of health-fad snake-oil hawkers, protein-guzzling muscle men, garbage-food peddlers, and marketing hypnotists. Mark Bittman is here to escort us away from those distractions, reminding us of the simple tenets of healthy eating along the way. In his new book, How to Eat, he and co-author David Katz, MD, do just that. We…
The Fight to Bring Oysters Back to the Hudson River
New York nonprofit Billion Oyster Project works to repopulate one of the Hudson River’s keystone species. Imagine strolling down to the river late one afternoon, wading in and scraping up a handful of oversized oysters, then sitting by the riverside, watching the sun set behind the Highlands, shucking and slurping and tossing your shells into…
‘Aunt June’s Candied Yams’ Recipe & Little Richard
The music Little Richard Penniman made in the mid-fifties was a crazed jittering sugar rush—sweet candied yams with marshmallow eyeballs popping. Tutti Frutti, Lucille, and Rip it Up turned the heads of every would be flamboyant front man or woman to follow: James Brown, Mick Jagger, Tina Turner, Elton John; they all looked up at…
Guide to Latin Restaurants in Newburgh During the COVID-19 Crisis (and Beyond)
NOW OPEN: Zulimar, Honduran Cuisine,286 Washington Street, 845-569-4742, During COVID hours are in flux so call ahead. Usually hours are: Tues-Thu 6am-7pm, Fri-6am-10pm, Sat 7:30am-10pm, Sun 8:30am-9pm Tacos Uriel, 49 Mill Street, Newburgh, NY, (845-542-8112),Open for take out and delivery. during COVID hours are 10-10, normally hours are: 6am-10pm daily. Los Portales, 295, Broadway, Newburgh,…
Moons Over My Hammy Recipe & Wacko
A punk rock tornado ripped through a Denny’s in Long Beach, CA last December causing two thousand dollars in damage. Because the Algorithm knows me so well, a video appeared on my social media feed. I was supposed to be working but I clicked. It begins with a baby boomer in a cowboy hat pacing…
Pataconas w/ Hogao Recipe & Gaby’s ‘El Meneaito’
Menaito Mania hit Colombia hard in 1992. By the time my family arrived for Christmas vacation that year the Reggae en Español thumper had the whole Magdalena River percolating. In Honda, Tolima at my Abuelita’s nochebuena party, young and old were sliding to it, at a friends hacienda my uncle was drinking aguardiente to it,…
Ruth Reichl Picks: Sour Cherry Pie
“Have you ever had a sour cherry pie? Let me just say that you have not lived until you have had a sour cherry pie.”
Belgian Frites with Andalouse Sauce Recipe & Total Science
In 2001 I found myself in a swirling neon centrifuge of euro club-kid culture—the final act of separation between my mind and the rhythms of American teenage life as I knew it. My father and I moved to a quaint Belgian town named Waterloo (famous as the site where Napoleon had his final tantrum). I…
The Legend of ‘Champ’: Eyewitness Accounts
Champ——the prehistoric god of the lake— didn’t bestow Lucas, Alex, Mario and I with any good luck on our ice fishing trip trip last February. We left without fish or new lake monster sightings to add to the record. Perhaps in the age of smartphone cameras, she’s been laying low. In the late eighties/early ’90s though……
THE MUSICAL INGREDIENT 