I have an extraordinary amount of admiration for Joe Biden. He is, in so many ways, everything that is good and right about politics in the United States. The given Biden narrative is that he’s gaffe-prone — that he tends to wander off message, sometimes into dangerous territory. But it seems to me that if […]
Posts by Adam Zolkover
Eastern State Penitentiary
In addition to grilling asparagus this holiday weekend, and watching Joe Biden deliver some of the most honest, admirable Memorial Day remarks of which I am aware (more on this later — maybe), I had the opportunity to get out of the house and peep about Philadelphia’s Eastern State Penitentiary. For those who don’t know, […]
Grilled Asparagus
Asparagus and grilling are two of the great pleasures of the late spring and early summer. And the one, it seems to me, was made for the other. Now don’t get me wrong, I like asparagus pretty much any way you want to serve it to me. Its sweet-bitter flavor, its soft-crunchy texture, have long […]
Cardamom-Nut Granola
Making granola is simple, simple, simple. And as I think about it now, I cannot fathom why it is that I haven’t done it in years. I got it into my head to start again when Sarah told me the other day — offhandedly — that I really shouldn’t buy the pre-packaged granola. That when […]
Strawberry Cheesecake Mousse
So … strawberries. They’re in season in the mid-Atlantic. For real this time. They weren’t just a couple of weeks ago, when I made my mixed berry tart. Those strawberries were trucked up from Florida — characteristically swollen and colorful, but also characteristically bland. The strawberries in this post are different. They are from right […]
Spent Grain Bread
I love spent grain bread. It’s one of my very favorite things about brewing. You see: brewing is sort of a wasteful process. You take eight or ten or twelve pounds of grain, soak it in water, and convert the runnings from that little bath into five gallons of sweet wort, and then eventually into […]
Tuna Noodle Casserole
My post about fried rice, it seems, has gotten me thinking about weeknight food. It’s gotten me thinking about those fast, easy recipes that serve when time is at a premium, but also that more than serve: that please, that offer comfort, that turn into favorites in a peculiar way that more elaborate, once-in-a-while dishes […]
Microlending at Kiva.org
I posted this elsewhere online a couple of weeks ago. But it occurs to me that I ought to mention it here too. Kiva.org — the microlending website — is offering a special while-supplies-last promotion where, if you sign up for an account and start making loans, they’ll give you an extra $25.00 to get […]
Weeknight Fried Rice
This is not Chinese food. Just so we’re clear. This is food that takes a couple of principles and a handful of ingredients from Chinese cooking, and turns them into a convenient, tasty, quick weeknight meal. Please don’t mistake those two things, because they are not the same. And please don’t go around saying that […]
Mitt Romney’s Minstrel Logic
In grandfather’s day, one minstrel recalled, men were judged by merit, not money; styles were sensible; young men did not ogle girls; married men were faithful; politicians were honest; and there was no war. One hundred years ago, another intoned, farmers did not cut their legs off with mowing machines; there were few divorces; lamps […]