The Feed: May 15, 2013

The Feed is my weekly round up of interesting food-related stories from newspapers, magazines, blogs and websites.

The New York Times: “Putting Spring Vegetables to Work” by Dee Shoe.
Following on the recent one on artichokes, the Times offers another recipe photo graphic, this time featuring a variety of dishes with seasonal spring vegetables like Ramp Focaccia by Melissa Clark and Simple Spicy Asparagus in a Wok by David Tanis. Mark Bittman’s Braised Artichokes even make an appearance.

National Public Radio: “Bee Deaths May Have Reached A Crisis Point For Crops,” by Dan Charles.
More news about the bees dying off, and it’s not pretty. Last week I talked about Time’s story. This week, NPR looks at the issue and it appears to be even more dire: a survey of American beekeepers found that almost 1/3 of American honeybee colonies did not survive this last winter. Charles reports this spells trouble for crops like almonds, blueberries and apples that rely on bees for pollination. Some suspect pesticides, but it doesn’t seem like the chemicals’ role in this is very well understood. Seems like something that needs immediate study.

Los Angeles Times: “Food deserts may not be key in what people eat, study says,” by Mary MacVean. 
I read about food deserts last year in Tracie MacMillan’s The American Way of Eating and they came up again earlier this year when the USDA released its food deserts atlas. This new study, published in the journal Preventing Chronic Disease, finds a weak association with being overweight and the availability of nearby food outlets. They conclude that access to motorized transportation means shopping habits are weakly related to neighborhoods (i.e. people are able and willing to drive outside their neighborhood to get food). Nonetheless, they did find that having access to fast-food outlets within easy driving distance was associated with eating more fast food, so I’m not ready to give up on geographic factors as a role in the obesity epidemic just yet.

DC Eater: “Anatomy of a Noodle: Daikaya's Supplier Talks Ramen,” by Missy Frederick.
If you’re a fan of the chewy Sapporo-style ramen noodles at Daikaya, you’ll enjoy Frederick’s profile of the Japanese company that supplies the popular downtown ramen shop with its noodles. Lots of great facts here, like that there are 26 different types of ramen in Japan. Imagine eating your way through all that!

Wall Street Journal: “Springtime Superfood,” by Gail Monaghan.
I have a bag of watercress in my fridge right now, and after reading Monaghan’s piece about the flavorful and nutrient-packed spring green, I have some better ideas of what to do with it. She includes recipes for Watercress and Mussel Soup and two salads.

Washington Post: “Dinner in Minutes: Pan-Seared Garlic Ribeye Steak,” by Bonnie S. Benwick.
I’ve been in the mood for ribeye lately (in my review of Le Diplomate I ranted gently against the hanger steak trend, which I’m ready to be over). This Dinner in Minutes recipe from Benwick looks like just the ticket, a quick recipe packed with lots of garlic and smoked paprika flavor. It has some dramatic flair: the sauce finishes with a bourbon flambé!