A warm, slightly sour aroma fills the kitchen on a Tuesday morning. My husband, Floren, has made it out of bed before me, and he’s baking bread. This is a rarity not because he’s Spanish and often stays up, a book propped on his lap, till nearly midnight. It’s unusual because our jobs normally separate…

I’m not going to sugarcoat it: we’re all getting a little punchy, and we’re only 19 days or so into our COVID-19 social-distancing efforts. I’ll skip the commentary on what this means about us as a species; even a dedicated introvert like me can admit that wanting to stay in is a lot different than…

  Shari Peltier has heard all the myths and stereotypes about veganism and vegan food. When asked to recount some of them, she settles back in the vinyl-upholstered booth of Thrive Vegan Diner, her new Pittsfield restaurant. “It’s tasteless. It doesn’t contain enough nutrition or protein,” she says, ticking off each point on her fingers….

  In some parts of the country—namely Kansas City, Memphis, South Carolina, and pretty much anywhere in Texas—barbecue isn’t just a tasty cuisine, it’s also a spectator sport. Festivals are planned and thousands gather to watch the most dedicated to their grilling craft compete for bragging rights, and sample the delicious results. So while Berkshire…

  My quest to replicate favorite restaurant dishes has been, well, let’s just say not always successful. There’s usually some indescribable something missing, a close-but-no-cigar rendering of what my tastebuds crave. But once in a long while, my wing-it kitchen experiments manage to outdo the original. Such is the case with this recipe for Vegan…

If you’re like me, when you go out to a restaurant, you typically order dishes you wouldn’t make for yourself at home. One of my restaurant faves is butternut squash ravioli—a toasty, fall-harvest-flavored treat that I would regularly comb bistro menus for . . . until I started eating non-dairy. Finding vegan butternut squash ravioli…

  I used to be somewhat indiscriminate about Indian food. Most Indian restaurants—even the ones with run-of-the-mill lunch buffets—passed muster, largely because their food, unlike what you find at a typical American lunch or dinner joint, had lots of flavor. As a vegetarian, I leaned toward classic meat-free dishes like biryani, pakoras, samosas, and malai…

  Although I’m mostly vegan, I’m not a picky eater—if it grew in the ground at some point, I’ll toss it with spices and other vegetables, throw it on the stove or in the oven, and see what results. I can count on exactly three fingers the plant-based ingredients I won’t shovel into my mouth,…

  Like the tree that falls in the woods when no one is around to hear it, does a culinary movement exist if foodies haven’t yet anointed it with a clever epithet? Craig Bero, longtime restaurateur and owner of Pleasant & Main in Housatonic, one of many small, picturesque villages in the Berkshires of Western…

  After the events of the past couple of months, I think we can all use a little comfort. Jumping on the pumpkin spice bandwagon might seem like a cheesy way to get there, but food offers a great temporary respite whenever the world outside is feeling not so awesome, so I’m staying in and…