Round-Up: January 7th – Brain Food

Happy New Year! Now that the rush of the holidays has passed and resolutions have been made, I’m hungry for brain food. Food, nutrition, culture, and science have been occupying my mind and I can’t get enough!

Check out the excellent pieces below to learn something new, chuckle at the silliness of food trends, and discover new ways that cuisine can make ourselves and communities happier in the new year.

• New year, new diet. That’s the way it goes. But should it be this way? I say, step away from the detox and embrace year-round healthy eating!
• We all know how hard it is to find a new community, this piece from MyJewishLearning illustrates one small, food-based way that we can build welcoming traditions.
• Oakland and the East Bay have been showcased in the New York Times list of “The 52 Places to Go in 2016,” and I’m so proud! The food, wine, and cocktail scene is fantastic, the weather is great, the people diverse in background and interests. Come for a visit already!
• Jewish and Israeli foods are booming! With Palomar being named the best restaurant in London, Alon Shaya winning the James Beard Award for best chef in the South, Michael Solomonov’s Zahav cookbook dominating cookbook sales, babka and rugelach becoming au courant, and Michael Mina’s “Tel Aviv-meets-San Francisco” pop-up, the pattern is clear. Now, we are seeing the rise of “Jewish-slash-something else” restaurants.
• Molly and her equally awesome blogger friends (#squadgoals) had a #MarzipanKiki with each publishing a magnificent recipe featuring marzipan. Sesame mini cakes! Skillet-baked cinnamon rolls! Cardamom pistachio ice cream with rose? Save me now!
• Trends seem to appear out of nowhere – hemlines rise and drop like the tide, colors become chic instead of hopelessly kitschy, and previously undesirable vegetables are plopped on a pedestal. I enjoy most vegetables, and shudder when any of them becomes stylish. Suddenly, the sunchokes I appreciate several times a year are overexposed and topping every dish. Come on food trends, let me love my veggies without obsession!
• And speaking of food trends…

By Jaya Saxena and Matt Lubchansky via The Eater