Blog
What is a marionberry?
This last weekend I was driving to Montana for a hockey tournament when I saw a sign on the side of the road for "the best marionberry milkshake." While I didn't stop and try it, the sign grabbed my attention and made me dig a little deeper into what a marionberry is....
Who is the Alfredo in Alfredo sauce?
Lifting the cloche on another piece of food history, this week we discuss the origins of Alfredo sauce. At first glance this sauce may beg the question, "is this sauce even Italian?" Noodles with butter and cheese? Sure, but it's a far cry from the ubiquitous...
What is ham? Is it pork?
We're going back to our butchery class to answer the question, what is ham? I can tell you that growing up, a lot of the families I knew would have ham on Easter, and I can also tell you that most would have ham without knowing the reasoning behind it. Ham is pork...
A roux? A slurry? Beurre Manie?
How and why would you use these to thicken a soup, sauce, or stew? I still have nightmares thinking about calling 30 seconds out from a meal being delivered to the pass and knowing my sauce would never thicken to the right consistency in time. A good...
What is the Maillard reaction?
Brown food tastes good. Put simply, the Maillard reaction occurs at 250F and above, and is a when the amino acids and sugars in food react to the heat. The most obvious sign of the reaction is the browning that happens to food. The...
Why does a pita puff?
A few weeks ago I was lucky enough to have a few volunteers come and make pitas with me for our meal. We made 120 pitas, which were then served with roasted spiced chickpeas, a lemon dill sauce, and an arugula salad with pickled radish and onions. So...
Do you love al pastor tacos?
Al pastor tacos come directly from Lebanese immigrating to Puebla, Mexico. Without going down a huge historical rabbit hole, these immigrants left due to the fall and disintegration of the Ottoman empire. If you've ever seen the way the meat is cooked for the taco,...
Chickpeas? Garbanzo Beans? Where did these two names come from?
Let's start with the chickpea. The Latin word cicer refers to the plant family of legumes. Actually, ancient Roman scholar Cicero got his name from the word cicer since his family grew legumes on their farm. This word then led to "Pois Ciche"...
Volunteer Spotlight: Meet Eva
This month we’re meeting Eva, one of HIP’s current serving volunteers for the Senior Community Meal and a long-time HIP volunteer across our programs. Eva began volunteering with HIP in 2017, originally participating in Healthy HIP Packs packing parties with her sons....
Redefining nutrition: Senior Meal program removes ultra-processed foods from menu
For the last year and a half, Senior Meal Program Coordinator and classically-trained chef David Salerno has been working towards a goal of removing “ultra-processed” foods from his program. This goal has evolved out of his personal standards for the meals he prepares...
