I happen to love a good cup of tea and I’m a big fan of Crate & Barrel, which is why I’m crazy about these super-chic teapots designed by 12 contemporary artists to commemorate the store’s 50^th anniversary. Each month beginning Dec. 1, Crate and Barrel will feature a new design on limited-edition teapots—I particularly love the whimsical red fish on the September pot by architect Paola Navone and the colorful cityscape on Brooklyn based-illustrator Julia Rothman’s pot for November. Only 200 of each teapot will be produced, making it a great gift for the tea lovers in your life (or yourself!).

Read More

• Dr. Oz's 6 favorite green teas
• 17 perfect hostess gifts

Photo: Marvin Shaouni

What's the best way to raise money for a city-transforming cause? Throw a dinner party, of course.

"There's a fierce inventiveness to Detroit," says artist Kate Daughdrill. "People here take ownership of a problem and work to find solutions." In order to help Detroiters keep doing just that, Daughdrill and a friend cofounded Detroit Soup, a philanthropic supper club. Each month four local groups present ideas to diners who pay $5 to attend; the crowd then discusses the ideas over soup, salad, bread, and pie, and decides which project will receive the evening's proceeds. 

Photo: Thinkstock

TV-cooking-show- and good-food-pioneer Julia Child would have turned 100 this summer. In honor of Radcliffe's daylong Julia Child symposium, Ruth Graham, writes for the Boston Globe's Brainiac blog about how Julia Child set up her now-famous TV kitchen. As Graham reveals, the kitchen had "French and Scandinavian art and stylish appliances that belied its humble location: The very first episodes of The French Chef were filmed in a spare room at the Boston Gas Company after a fire at the local public television station."

As someone perpetually preparing food in a tiny, under-stocked space, I found this revelation to be quite refreshing: Even Julia Child had to fake it sometimes! Design Research's Jane Thompson describes how they set up the studio kitchen, and why it was so significant: "What [Julia Child] was doing was sort of modern living demonstration of the big symbolic thing, which was [meals going directly] from the stove to the table. We didn’t have servants anymore...we’re not living in the old elegant way."

But we can be living in the new elegant way, thanks to Child -- even if our kitchens are less than perfect.  Read the whole post for more, including the unexpected significance of pepper.

Read More:
Finding Your Inner Julia Child
Julie Powell's Favorite Kitchen Tools

Photo: Thinkstock

Ah -- you feel that crisp something in the air? Watch the brightly colored leaves (of paper) drifting through the air (from the mailbox), hear the distant murmur of political debates, and it's clear that here we are in election season, which can mean only one thing: the amplification of partisan bickering. But is this animosity inevitable? The government is run by grownups, right? There must be some way Democrats, Republicans, and that other guy can all learn to work together in harmony. And it's probably free cupcakes.

The bakery chain Sprinkles has begun a "Pay It Forward" campaign designed to bring a little more, ah, sweetness to the typical partisan squabbles. Every day until Election Day, members of Congress can get a dozen cupcakes from the Georgetown Sprinkles shop for free -- if they have it sent to a representative or senator from the opposing party. According to Washington City Paper's Young and Hungry blog, Sprinkles founder Candace Nelson hopes “to inspire a spirit of bipartisanship on Capitol Hill.”

I'm sure political junkies and sugar fiends alike can agree that this is one of the more original ideas we've heard out of Washington DC in some time.

Read More:
What Oprah Knows About the Importance of Voting

Photo: Thinkstock

A friend of mine was contemplating getting a tattoo. "I'm thinking I should get a tattoo of pizza," she said, only half-joking, "because you know, I'm never going to not like pizza." While I would never doubt her passion for what is code-named in my family The Italian Delicacy, I would suggest a pilgrimage to the pizza museum instead. And no, I'm not talking about a bachelor pad's leftover-stuffed fridge. I'm talking about Pizza Brain, the pizza museum that opened recently in Philadelphia.

According to Zagat (and the Guinness Book of World Records) pizza enthusiast Brian Dwyer has the largest collection of pizza-themed art and ephemera in the world. "It’s the only food that makes everyone happy," Dwyer told Zagat," It makes people remember their childhood - it’s the great equalizer." The museum, which is located in a pizzeria (naturally), features displays of pizza-themed art, literature, music, and, of course, actual pizza. (Read the Zagat story to find out what kind of pizza these pie-experts serve...)

I admit to having a tattoo-worthy love of pizza myself, but I also have a weak spot for quirky little museums. The news of Pizza Brain got me thinking -- why leave it at pizza? Did you know there is also a Peanut Museum? That's right, and Happy Peanut Day to you. One guess as to where the Potato Museum is. And don't forget about the SPAM Museum. Are you thinking what I'm thinking? ROAD TRIP!

Read More:
Food Art
Women, Food, and God

Photo: Gentl & Hyers

1. Extra spaghetti works beautifully in a frittata or, added to two whisked eggs and a splash of cream, an omelet.

2. Almost any cooked vegetables—broccoli, zucchini, potato—can be mashed and made into fritters. Simply add to a beaten egg, flour, and salt (you want the mixture to resemble thick pancake batter), and fry in canola oil until brown on both sides.

3. Puree surplus berries, then add lemon juice and sugar to taste for an easy pancake topping or yogurt stir-in.

Keep Reading: Your biggest cooking questions—answers!

A top choice for your late summer revelries, fried chicken is a classic—but to many of us, it's also...complicated. But making fried chicken from scratch means you can customize every step of the process, which allows you to get as creative – and healthy – as you want.

Enter Dante Gonzales, the Los Angeles-based chef and fried chicken master whose upcoming cookbook, Ride or Fry, will be out this November. Gonzalez recently hosted a luncheon where guests got a chance to taste his perfectly seasoned signature crisped fowl. We had to ask how to achieve the same results at home. His advice? Check out these 5 easy steps...

Photo: Courtesy of Lark Fine Foods

Slurpy, drippy, creamy, sweet—what's not to love about ice cream? But by late summer, my daily diet of the frozen treat means I'm also itching for new ideas. Here are five toppings capable of transforming that bowl of vanilla (or chocolate or strawberry...) into something deliciously new.

Lark Fine Food's Scourtins
They're like...cookie crumbles
Except...they're studded with bits of black olive. The sweet-salty contrast may sound jarring, but it was love at first bite in our office. The traditional French-style cookie's olives are almost raisin-like in their concentrated sweetness. And the super-buttery, super-crumbly texture makes it easy to crush a few of these grown-up cookies (at left) over ice cream.

Spoonable Sesame Caramel Sauce
It's like...traditional caramel
Except...toasted white sesame seeds give this so-thick-the-spoon-won't-move sauce an almost chewy consistency and a subtly salty bite. I especially loved it spooned over Talenti's Double Dark Chocolate gelato, for a doubly decadent match.

Jansal Valley Basil Crystals
They're like...candy sprinkles
Except...this basil candy is made from small, hand-harvested basil leaves mixed with sugar syrup. Crunchy, colorful, and sugary, the topping also packs an herbaceous freshness that can elevate a simple bowl of strawberry ice cream.  

Of the many ways to cool off on a muggy day—visiting the pool, perfecting the floppy-hat-look, downing mint juleps like a character in The Great Gatsby, or my personal favorite, hiding out somewhere air-conditioned—the most creative we've ever seen has got to be watermelon carving. This is a pastime like carving a pumpkin, but with more delicious pulp-goop to scoop; like an ice-sculpting but without the need for dry ice and chainsaw.

The website of Japanese artist Takashi Itoh claims that each astounding carving takes about an hour, and that anyone can learn how to make one in about a week. Hmm. I'll just say I appreciate the modesty and optimism, respectively. Look at some of this watermelon-master's work:



I'm proud of myself when I actually cut a watermelon into slices that are somewhat uniform, but okay. Here's the extremely cute, eater-friendly hedgehog from, who else, The National Watermelon Promotion Board. (Instructions for creating your own little melon-pet are on the site.):


And then let's not forget (but how could we?) the Melounovy Festival of Watermelon Carving, which apparently produces some truly wonderful specimens, including this much-blogged, slightly threatening but still kind fun, watermouthen:


An internet search for even more images of carved watermelon is guaranteed to provide you with hours of nice, cool, air-conditioned fantasizing. Or get motivated and make one of juicy creations as a barbecue centerpiece. The only downside? You're going to give your lumpen potato salad a complex.

Read More:
Mouth-Watering Watermelon Recipes
Sheryl Crow's Watermelon Margaritas
More Food Art We Love
How to Express Yourself With Food, Art, and More...

Photo: Thinkstock

When you speed-shop your way through the grocery store, you see “lettuce” on the list and know that means red leaf—because red leaf is what you always buy. But with summer produce over the next two months, you might want to try other options to your usual greens. For instance...

The spinach alternative: Boston or Bibb lettuce
Soft and silky, butterhead lettuce leaves have a tender texture similar to baby spinach. And if you’re a fan of the former’s mild, rather sweet flavor, you’ll love find a comparable taste in the the—yes—buttery leaves of of Boston or Bibb. With their light green, loosely clustered cupped leaves, every bite yields a dose of Vitamins A and K, as well as potassium, and work equally well in salads or as cups for holding tuna or chicken salad. Just handle it lightly and eat it quickly (the shelf life typically is shorter than spinach’s: about 3-5 days).
How to use it: Don’t add too much or these greens will literally fall flat. Use a light dressing (such as 3 parts red wine vinegar to 2 parts oil, plus dried mustard, salt, sugar and poppy seeds to taste) and mix with a few brightly flavored ingredients like sliced strawberries, candied walnuts, and feta or goat cheese to punch up but not overpower the delicate greens.