Food news antipasto

We start out this week’s news with a couple of gardening tips. First, there is a surefire companion plant that can help maximize your cucumber (and other curcurbit) harvest: nasturtiums. Because nasturtiums have trumpet-shaped flowers similar to cucumber blossoms, they attract the same types of pollinators. Also, nasturtiums are often more tempting to pests like cucumber beetles, distracting them from the vegetables. Even better, nasturtiums attract beneficial insects that eat the noxious pests. Win-win.

The second gardening tip involves everyone’s favorite garden plant, tomatoes. If you are looking for a DIY fertilizer, look no further than your refrigerator. Milk can provide calcium to your tomatoes to keep blossom end rot at bay. You can use either powdered or liquid milk. If using powdered milk, spread it at the base of your plants and water it in well. For liquid milk, dilute it with an equal amount of water and apply it to the base of the plant. Some gardeners mix in Epsom salts with their powdered milk to add another layer of mineral content.

The feel-good story of the week goes to a tiny greenhouse-turned-bakery. Well, the baking is done elsewhere, but customers line up at the tiny structure to buy bread and other baked goods – all on the honor system. Approaching empty-nest status, long time baker Wendy House felt like she needed a new occupation and after spying a small greenhouse at Costco, the light bulb turned on. Now she sells sourdough, cinnamon rolls, and other goodies out of the roadside stand. “If you know a baker, encourage them,” House says. “I think that a lot of people are unaware of cottage food laws in their state, and it’s relatively easy to operate under cottage food laws and work from home.”

Here’s an article that will make you hungry: 52 writers describe the best sandwich of their lives. From a “delectable” Brooklyn tuna melt to a “Levantine delight” of Merguez and a parsley fried egg, to a “steaming revelation” of a Thai-spiced Philly cheesesteak, the description of these sandwiches is bound to make your tummy rumble – and it might inspire your next sandwich creation.

It’s not a secret that restaurants are facing tremendous pressure in countries all around the world. Rising food, rent and energy prices, coupled with inflation eating away at people’s discretionary income, have made it challenging to run a successful eatery. Celebrity chef Tom Kerridge agrees, telling the Independent’s Alex Ross: “I don’t know why anyone would open a pub or restaurant anymore.” In addition to the issues mentioned above, Kerridge says that the UK’s rise in minimum wage and National Insurance are pressures that squeeze restaurateurs.

Finally, an argument about weight loss that makes sense. Pete Wells writes that the secret to eating less may be to love the food you are eating (gift link). Dr. Dana Small at Canada’s McGill University has published a series of papers that turn the scientific community’s consensus – that enjoying food leads to overeating – on its head. “I believe that pleasure may help you eat less, rather than more,” she said.

Events recently added:

• Maxine Scheckter – Patisserie Made Simple (UK tour)
• Elisa Sunga – Cake Picnic
• Alex George – In the Mood to Bake

Other articles of interest:

• A surprising potential protein source
• There’s a new breed of chip in town
• A prescription for lobsters?