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Do you use a silpat for your baking? These flexible, reusable sheets jumped from professional kitchens to home kitchens a few years back, and now we can't imagine baking without one. They're one of the most useful and versatile products to come around in a long time!

In his latest book Ratio, Michael Ruhlman makes a very strong argument for passing on the store-bought stuff and making your own stock at home. He says (and then repeats again and again), "So much of great cooking and soulful dishes begins with stock, the extraction, distillation, and concentration of flavor." It's true. We know it's true. So why don't we do it?

Here's the scenario: you're trying to stick to a pretty tight food budget, but you're also conscientious about the food you buy. You can only afford to buy one or two organic items a week. What do you buy? And just as importantly, why?

We've always harbored a secret, and likely quite idealized, fantasy of one day working on a farm. Until that day comes, we can get a tiny taste for what it might be like at Drumlin Farm, a working farm and wildlife sanctuary run by the Massachusetts Audubon just outside of town in Lincoln. We headed over there a few weekends back to check it out...

We know many of you are trying to bring your own lunch to work with you these days, and we're here to help! This weekend, let's get our acts together and make sure we have a plan for the week...

We felt like we'd won the golden ticket when we were invited to go on a behind-the-scenes tour of Taza Chocolate in Somerville, Massachusetts. You didn't have to ask us twice! Taza has been producing stone-ground, organic chocolates out of their three-room factory space since 2006, and their chocolate-making process has some distinct differences from those used to produce most fine European-style chocolates. Take a look!

While looking for information on microgreens last week, we came across a fantastic chart from the Splendid Table explaining all the different stages of growth for salad greens and other edible plants. According to this chart, commercial growers identify and sell produce at nine distinct stages - think you can name them all?

Bostonians, you don't have to travel far from home if you'd like to do a little fishing this summer! Many lakes and ponds right in the city are annually stocked with fish by the Division of Fisheries and Wildlife - all you need is a fishing pole, some bait, and a license. Do you have a favorite Boston-area fishing hole?

posted originally from: TheKitchn

In the restaurant biz, this is called "FIFO," or "First In First Out." Unlike some of those crazy molecular gastronomy shenanigans, this is one restaurant trick we can definitely apply at home! Let's take a look...

This came up during our discussion on the pros and cons of electronic delivery for food magazines, and we thought it would be interesting to put the question out there. Do you display recipes on a laptop while cooking, or is that just begging for trouble?

Or maybe a better question is have you ever done it? Everyone's looking for ways to save money and trim down the food budget these days. Maybe it's time to return to the barter system...

We've heard (and discussed) boxed wine, but what about boxed olive oil? Jeremy Meltzer of Yellingbo Olive Oil Company was on Good Food this past week to tell us why he thinks boxed olive oil will be the next big thing to hit his industry...

posted originally from: TheKitchn

Sara Kate's musings on her summer garden-to-be got us thinking about CSAs and farm shares. They fill up fast, and now is definitely the time to contact your favorite farm to reserve your spot for weekly produce! Will you be signing up?

posted originally from: TheKitchn

Don't throw away that clementine peel! Did you know that there are plenty of things you can make with the leftover peels from all that citrus you've been eating? Here are a few suggestions...

posted originally from: TheKitchn