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Food

Environment

New Jersey River Polluters Fund Toxic Fish Swap — But There's A Snag

Sarah Gonzalez

Passaic River polluters are telling local fishermen to trade contaminated catch for healthy tilapia. But there's no disposal plan for the toxic fish, and residents don't want them to be incinerated.
National

'Lolita' And Lollipops: What Nabokov Had To Say About Nosh

Nina Martyris

Vladimir Nabokov was an indifferent eater, but his writing made sumptuous use of food. Fans will enjoy unearthing links between his fiction and private life in a new collection of letters to his wife.
Arts & Culture

Meet The Most Pampered Vegetables In America

Eliza Barclay

Ryan Kellman

Chef's Garden is a farm in Ohio growing vegetables to the specifications of the world's top chefs. It's a place where vegetables are artistic materials painstakingly tended and handled like jewels.
The Audacious Korean-American Chef Who Mastered 'Mission Chinese Food'

Born in South Korea, raised in Oklahoma, Danny Bowien was an adult when he taught himself to make Chinese food. That DIY vibe to his cooking has made him a rising star. Now he's written a cookbook.
KPBS Midday Edition

Where To Dine For San Diego Restaurant Week

Maureen Cavanaugh

Marissa Cabrera

Michele Parente, dining and lifestyle reporter at The San Diego Union-Tribune, shares her picks for San Diego Restaurant Week.
Health

New Dietary Guidelines Crack Down On Sugar. But Red Meat Gets A Pass

Allison Aubrey

Maria Godoy

An advisory panel had recommended telling Americans to cut back on red and processed meats. But that controversial advice is missing from the update to the government's official nutrition guidelines.
International

Lahore's Food Safety Czar Declares 'War' On Unhygienic Food

Philip Reeves

In poorly regulated Lahore, Pakistan, Ayesha Mumtaz is a relentless enforcer of food-safety rules who strikes fear into local eatery owners. But some restaurateurs say she goes too far.
National

Bad Poetry, Great Booze: The Story Of The Hidden Bootlegger's Manual

Angus Chen

The book's outside cover boasted poems by a disgraced writer. But inside was page after page of handwritten recipes for alcohol — the secretly preserved know-how of a Prohibition-era doctor.
National

Cook Your Own Adventure: 11 Cookbooks For Kitchen Dreamers

T. Susan Chang

This year's cookbooks point to big dreams, and a kind of comfort with concepts once considered the province of professional cooks.
'The Book Of Pears': A Love Letter To A Once Pre-Eminent Fruit

Eliza Barclay

A British fruit historian convincingly argues in a new book that the pear is "the most exciting of the tree fruits." And she says it's time to revive pear culture and explore the fruit's diversity.