Joe Benevento

I have to admit it; some people think it tastes like fermented garbage, but I’m a huge kombucha fan. It’s the earthy taste mixed with effervescence and the lift I get afterwards. Since I’ve given up alcohol, it is the closest I’ve come to drinking a beer.
Kombucha is reported by many to be a detoxifier of the body, and an energizer of the mind.
Of course, since there are conflicting stories about these benefits, let me just say that I feel them myself and leave it there. I will also say that, contrary to popular belief, it is not a mushroom that creates the kombucha culture, but rather a symbiotic combination of bacteria and yeast (the acronym used for this combination is SCOBY).

Not long ago, I was faced with the dilemma that so many of us contend with regularly, the question of what to cook for dinner. Being a chef should exempt me from such difficulties; but having two kids that do not always agree with my avant-garde creations, I do get stumped. Inspiration is what I needed, and I knew exactly where to go.
The Savory Spice Shop is my favorite place to go for culinary inspiration. With 400 herbs and spices, and over 140 unique seasoning blends, all available in amounts from ½ ounce to pounds, the Savory Spice Shop is a true Mecca of flavoring opportunity.

Apricots. They are so heavenly that just the mention of them sends a shiver up my spine. They remind me of when I used to sit in the apricot trees at my mom’s house, and just eat and eat until my stomach ached, smiling all the while. Offering a flavor that is a little bit sweet and a little bit tart, apricots are kind of like peach’s sexy cousin, who only comes to visit for a few weeks at the beginning of each summer.
Many connect apricot’s origins to Armenia, possibly because of the fact that they have been deeply entwined within that culture for so long; but historians point to China as the most likely birthplace of this delightful little member of the plum family.

If you have an appetite for all things culinary, then this weekend is sure to satisfy. The Bite of Bend is Central Oregon’s food lovers’ festival and it is celebrating its tenth anniversary on June 23-24. Offering a veritable plethora of gastronomic delights, this year’s event will focus on the bounty we have around us like never before.
Among the activities included in this year’s festival are the Top Chef competition, the third annual 5K Beer Run, the Bartenders’ Brawl, food and wine booths, a beer garden, live music on the performance stage, a children’s play area and more.

Whenever the time seems right to bust out the BBQ, and do some grilling, my wife always insists I make chimichurri. With the toasty weather, it’s just about that time, so I thought I’d share this much loved recipe.
Chimichurri is an Argentinean sauce that is typically made with parsley and other herbs, oil, vinegar, onion, garlic, and other goodies, and is used for grilled meat. The fresh herbs, mixed with the onion and garlic, combined with the vinegar create a tangy sauce with kick that helps to bring out the sabroso, or the delightfulness, in everything. It can be used as a marinade, as well as a finishing sauce, and its typically bright green color just adds to the appeal.

Salt, salt, where would we be without it? I mean, other than dead.
Essential for life, salt has played a role in human history that easily outshines petroleum in terms of sheer power factor. Wars have been fought over it. Fortunes have been made from it. Currency has been literally made from it. Historians have speculated that civilization, as we know it, was formed in part because of the quest for salt.
It's the only rock we can eat, and so important that one of the five major tastes – salty, sweet, sour, bitter and umami – is named after it. But, when it comes to cooking, people often make mistakes with salt and even foodies are still relying on standard sea salt rather than testing out the plethora of options available today.

Garlic was my first love of the kitchen, and totally changed the way I looked at food forever after. I was 12 years old, and my mom's friend was cooking dinner. He was a “real Italian, from New York,” and on the menu that night was linguini and clams, with garlic bread. As he went about the kitchen, creating magic, my task was peeling and chopping the garlic. I was instantly hooked. Thirty years later, with over half of those years spent in kitchens all over the country, I am still hooked.