COOKING   Check out this fresh salad recipe. Read More>>

COOKING  If a roasted heirloom carrot salad dressed in grapefruit-lime vinaigrette doesn’t sound like your typical pub grub, it’s because Manito Tap House isn’t your typical pub. Credit atypical owner Patrick McPherson and his mercurial, mustachioed executive chef, Branden Moreau. 

“I love upscale pub food,” says McPherson, who collaborated with Moreau on the roasted carrot salad for the spring menu. “To me what makes pub food ‘upscale’ is using fresh ingredients in a creative way… not just using a bunch of frozen and fried foods.” Read More>>

COOKING   I bet I can get your salivary glands firing on all cylinders with the mere mention of Italian food. You’re thinking long strings of mozzarella dribbling from a slice of thick crust pizza, right? Ah, American- Italian food: a delicious refuge of big carbs and bigger calories. Read More>>

COOKING   The holidays can be magical and all, but bitter cold and lack of sunlight coupled with an in-law invasion could easily drive anyone to drink. And that’s no lie: The Distilled Spirits Company of the United States reports that a quarter of liquor companies’ profits are made in the stretch between Thanksgiving and New Year’s alone. Read More>>

COOKING  "Let’s see: Seeds. Seeds. Seeds and nuts. Nuts. Nuts. Seeds.” Allison Collins paces the cold case at the front of her new Spokane cafe, Boots, pointing out the items that contain a pistachio or a pumpkin seed, a flax seed egg replacement or some cashew butter. She points to almost every item in the case.

“When people tell me they have a nut allergy,” Collins says, her face stretching into a wry smile, “I say, ‘You may not eat here!’”

Above the register is a chalkboard with a quote that changes daily. Some days the board carries a piece of timeless wisdom. Today it reads, “Blah blah bla bla blah,” which the board attributes to “Yadda Yadda.” Read More>>

COOKING  For Chef Ryan Stoy, a meal’s last course is sort of like the passing of the Olympic torch. “Dessert offers an opportunity to remember the last bite — and look forward to the next,” says the Downriver Grill chef.

While dessert fills many health-conscious eaters with apprehension, Stoy says it doesn’t have to be a diet disaster. Instead, desserts can offer the perfect opportunity to enjoy seasonal ingredients and experiment with unique flavor combinations that don’t rely on fat and sugar to wow the tastebuds. Read More>>

COOKING  For too long, the worlds of the kitchen and the clinic have been separate. Even though the link between food and health is undeniable, the culinary world is largely alien territory to physicians, at least as part of their medical training. And chefs in the past have been more interested in crafting decadent meals and rich desserts than in contemplating the effects of all those ingredients on diners’ health. Read More>>

COOKING  Say you’re dying for some tacos. Delicious, savory tacos. You get out the skillet to brown the “meat,” which is frozen and comes in a little green package and is pre-crumbled. It begins to sizzle the way hamburger does and, after a few minutes, in a strange way, it almost starts to smell like hamburger. The steam rising off it has the hint of salt, if not the hint of savor (a flavor profile food scientists call “umami”). Read More>>

COOKING  Mid-afternoon tummies rumble. Three hours after lunch, it’s time to stoke the metabolic fire. But enter the snack zone with caution. For it is here that many of the most alluring but nutritionally empty food choices await. Candy bars, chips and sweet drinks can derail all the day’s previous conscientious efforts.

Knowing my weaknesses, I plan ahead. My favorites are a zipper bag with veggies, half a peanut butter sandwich on whole wheat or a crisp Fuji apple, complete with a paring knife and a napkin. Read More>>

COOKING  Mid-day nourishment refuels our metabolic fire. Schoolchildren, eager for springtime recess, inhale a sandwich with a carton of milk before dashing outside to play. Seniors gather at the table to savor the importance of a shared community meal. Business professionals flood local restaurants to break from screen time at work. Construction crews rest their legs on site. Read More>>