Who: Andrew Curren and David Norman
What: Chef and Baker, respectively, at Easy Tiger
Where: Austin, Texas

Five years ago my wife and I took a trip to Germany, and when we returned what we missed most from the trip were the pretzels. The dark brown salted exterior and the soft, chewy interior was perfection and like nothing we'd ever had in the States. Then late last year we began hearing rumblings of a bakery and beer garden opening up in Austin, one that would have chef Andrew Curren and his farm-to-table philosophy behind the traditional bratwursts and cured meats, and skilled doughpuncher David Norman at the helm of a bakery producing heritage breads. They called the place Easy Tiger, and when the doors finally opened the fare was all we ever imagined. The sausages were handmade and the breads were a perfected art. More

"It was so magical," Scott told me, as we drove from the train station to the farm. "A tempest was literally happening! [The actor playing] Prospero, the magician, was talking about his art and magic, and as he waved his hand, there was a flash of lightening outside! It couldn't have been better."

That's the first thing Scott Chaskey, poet-farmer of Long Island's Quail Hill Farm, wanted to talk about when I made my mid-summer visit to him earlier this week. For the second year in a row, six actors performed a play on the grounds of Quail Hill—this year was, obviously, The Tempest—and Scott went to all four performances. Shakespeare performances on a farm? Well, that's just one element of this farm's mid-summer swing. More

One of summer's great pleasures is eating handful after handful of fresh, sweet, crimson cherries, cold from the fridge, until all you're left with is a pile of green stems and pits. But producing a bag of perfect cherries isn't as easy as simply plucking the fruit from the trees and hoping for the best.

On a recent trip to Washington, I learned all about the cherry's journey from the field to your local supermarket's produce section, and the most surprising aspect of the process is the number of tests and quality checks the fruit go through to ensure only the best cherries end up on store shelves. It's a lot of work — but as any cherry-lover would agree, it's certainly worth it. More

While visiting Tel Aviv a few weeks ago, I spent a few Thursday night hours in Bnei Brak, located in the Dan metropolitan region east of Tel Aviv, observing preparations for the Sabbath. One of my visits that evening included a trip to the area's largest challah bakery, which operates 24 hours a day, six days of the week (every day except Saturday). Here's a sneak peek into how that traditional Jewish braided loaf gets made on an industrial scale: More

Who: Colin Howard
What: Lead Distiller at House Spirits Distillery
Where: Portland, Oregon

Colin Howard of House Spirits Distillery—makers of the much-adored (and personal favorite!) Aviation Gin—leads a small distillation team in Portland, where he's responsible for dreaming up new spirits (depending on season and collaboration) all in service of the quality products that put this company on the map in 2005. Here's one more reason to celebrate an artisan maker in Portland, Oregon. Bottoms up! More

Who: Ben Jacobsen
What: Jacobsen Salt
Where: North Oregon Coast

Salt is so basic, elemental, and simple. It's one of the one of the oldest local foods, having been harvested by sea–faring people for thousands of years. You could argue that it is the one cooking ingredient with the strongest sense of place, locality, history and importance. Salt is essential. Ben Jacobsen believes everyone deserves hand-harvested sea salt, so he gathers buckets of brine from the blustery Pacific Ocean off the coast of Oregon (about 80 miles from Portland) and transforms them into glorious white crystals. More

Gregory is the executive chef at one of Portland's hottest downtown restaurants, Departure. When he's cooking at home, he keeps things simple with lots of fresh fruits and vegetables in his colorful kitchen. Come take a peek at this wildly vibrant kitchen!

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When I arrived at Samin Nosrat's house, her front door (which, appropriately, also happens to be her kitchen door) was wide open. I could see her shuffling around inside with a rag underneath each foot as she hastily dried her freshly washed kitchen floor. With sparkling eyes and a wide smile she shuffled forward and welcomed me into her kitchen.

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I have enjoyed Ashley Rodriguez' beautiful food blog Not Without Salt for a long time, and suddenly it hit me that we live in the same city, the coffee capital of the US, Seattle. So the only natural thing to do was to contact her and see if she would be willing to let us have a peek into the place where she spends her time creating, inspiring and nourishing. And what do you know, she was!

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Today we're going to take a tour of Austin kitchen celebrity Ms. Jess Simpson. No, not the Jessica Simpson known for pop music, MTV, and Tony Romo. We're talking the cheery Austin talent that sings with her food on ForgivingMartha.com. Working out of her apartment kitchen, Jess doesn't let things like counter space and gluten-free dietary restrictions prevent her from whipping up creative meals (and desserts!) that look as good as they taste. Let's get real, y'all.

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