I was doing my best to converse with someone over the phone about a reservation code and with the process came confusion, or at least lack of clarity.

As I was doing this I was desperately trying to remember the International Radiotelephony Spelling Alphabet or simply Radiotelephony Spelling Alphabet, commonly known as the NATO phonetic alphabet. You know, Alpha, Bravo, Charlie…

After all these years, I could not remember the words that go with the letters....

So, it got me thinking, why not food instead of NATO?

At least for me it might be easier to remember Apple, Banana, Chocolate (or coffee?)....

So, here is the first blush of a Food Phonetic Alphabet for the next phone call requiring clarity.

A - Alpha - Apple
B - Bravo - Banana
C - Charlie - Cherry - Chocolate - Coffee
D - Delta - Dessert
E - Echo - Escargot
F - Foxtrot - Food
G - Golf - Grill
H - Hotel - Honey
I - India - Ice Cream
J - Juliett - Jam
K - Kilo - Ketchup
L - Lima - Licorice
M - Mike - Mustard
N - November - Nuts
O - Oscar - Olive
P - Papa - Parmigiano-Reggiano
Q - Quebec - Quiche - Quesadilla
R - Risotto - Ramen - Rice
S - Sierra - Sugar - Salt
T - Tango - Tuna
U - Uniform - Umami
V - Victor - Vinegar
W - Whiskey - Watermelon
X - X-ray - X-ray
Y - Yankee - Yuzu
Z - Zulu - Zucchini


Any suggestions for any letter are always welcome.

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This is a classic Italian pasta dish and it's perfect for the early fall when the potatoes and beans are coming into the market and you begin to have a hankering for heartier fair. Although it is traditionally made with Fettuccine, any long pasta will work.

In this case, the recipe calls for walnuts and pine nuts. If the pesto becomes too thick, you can use some of the pasta water to thin the sauce. You should be careful to add the liquid a little bit at a time after you have combined the pasta, pesto and veggies together.

See the Pasta with Pesto, Green Beans & Potatoes Recipe here!

Sometimes a panini sandwich is just what you need.

See the Pear, Bacon Spread and Arugula Panini Recipe here!

It has been a moment since this oil has been available to us. The perfect oil for almost everything.

To the nose, this olive oil has some punch. You can tell with just a whiff that it's going to have great flavor.

The first spoonful reveals the oil to be light and fluffy. It dissipates quickly on the tongue and in the mouth. And then, almost as if it misses the middle of the mouth, it goes right back to the top of your throat, spicy and kicky, inciting a good cough.

The second sip reveals the olives, and the sip disappears as quickly as the first.

With the third sip, you hold the oil longer, trying to decipher the flavors and nuances. This appears to create more vapor, which then races to the back of your throat, giving you another good cough.

Given how oils have been over the last few years, it's such a treat to have an oil that has real personality, punch and flavor. When you flatten your tongue and lick the spoon, you get this fine layer of oil again with a wonderful flavor and taste.

This oil is imported by Chef Fulvio for his restaurant, and we are lucky to be able to share it with you.

Shop now for Petrizzelli Coratina Olive Oil from Puglia!

Nothing could be easier, and tastier, than this recipe. Unless you want to cook beans from dried, it's almost as simple as opening a few cans from your pantry, mixing the ingredients together, and scooping into endive spears to serve.

See the Tuna and White Bean Salad in Endive Spears Recipe here!

Cannellini beans, also known as Italian white kidney beans, have a nutty, earthy flavor that is great in salads, cassoulet, and ragouts.

Canned beans, compared to dried and uncooked beans, are like dried pasta compared to fresh pasta. They share the same base but differ in their intended purpose, with each excelling in its own way.

However, canned beans from Italy are much better than the ones typically found in local grocery stores. They taste like a completely different food!

Firm and satisfyingly tender, these beans are just right.

Remember to reserve the liquid from the can as a binder for gluten-free recipes.

See the Italian Cannellini Beans here!

This tuna is my go to everyday tuna. Sometimes I eat this straight out of the can and others I add the olive oil that fits the recipe.

"This was hands-down one of the best canned tunas I've ever had and it's not even oil-packed! I was expecting dry and dense, as water-packed tuna often is. This was so flavorful, moist and delicious on its own that I had it straight from the can, with just a small blast of lemon juice. It easily rivals any of the fancy Italian and Spanish olive oil-packed tuna brands. It's the perfect tuna to build a Salade Nicoise around!!!"

-- Tina Ujlaki - James Beard Foundation's Editor of the Year Award - Food & Wine Magazine

I want to tell you a wonderful fish story. It started with a trip out of state and ended up with me meeting a neighbor I hadn't met before. Funny how that works sometimes. Not exactly a next-door neighbor, but a neighbor to the north, about 90 minutes away by car.

I was in San Francisco at a food show and ran into an old friend, Mehdi (he makes the Harissa we all love).

We chatted about, what else, food. Then Mehdi said to me, "Did you try the wild-caught canned tuna from Lummi Island?" I was like, "No, not really interested." And he said, "Come on, you have to try this; it is really, really good."

So over we went to the Lummi booth, and I met Ian and Riley from Lummi Island who let the fish do the talking. And the fish was good, really, really good. So good I knew right then and there we were going to carry it.

The taste was special. As good as any tuna in a can I have ever had. It was surprising. We have had a lot of tuna over the years. Many cans have been recommended to us, and rarely, if ever, are they super special. This tuna is memorable!

This sashimi-grade young tuna is individually caught with single hook lines and is flash-frozen solid at sea right after it is caught, making it a sustainable canned tuna, as well as a tasty one! Averaging up to 50% less mercury than many common store brands, this tuna has more omega-3 fatty acids than most salmon!

All of Lummi Island's wild-caught canned tuna comes from one second-generation tuna fisherman, Paul Hill, and his crew, who care about the fish and making sustainable canned tuna. Because of the special gear they use, they get virtually no bycatch.

We had an impromptu taste test in the shop this week of all our canned tuna to refresh our memories and to welcome our tuna to the school. Everyone has their favorites and is not likely to relinquish their choice. Though everyone agreed Lummi Island tuna is quite special and worth pulling the tab!

It is a great story, a good fish story!

Shop now for Lummi Island Wild Albacore Canned Tuna!

This recipe is from "Between Harlem and Heaven" by Chef JJ Johnson and Alexander Smalls. I met Chef in Aspen many years ago when he was one of the Best New Chefs for Food & Wine Magazine. We talked a lot about rice and the history of how rice has moved around the world. His knowledge was extensive and enlightening.

His food is delicious! Simple ingredients that create complex tongue twisting flavors that amaze my palate. Keep in mind, I have learned that excluding ingredients creates subpar results when it comes to his recipes. This is a cookbook to have in your library.

See the Pineapple Black Fried Rice Recipe here!

There are, of course, many artisan soy sauce (shoyu) producers all across Japan. But the finest and most unique Japanese kishibori shoyus are produced by small- and medium-sized, family-run shoyu breweries that use traditional ingredients and labor-intensive production methods.

JAPANESE KISHIBORI SHOYU is manufactured by the Takesan Company. Takesan was established in the early 20th century by Yoshiji Takebe. It is located on the small island of Shodoshima in the Seto Inland Sea, one of only 14 artisan brewers like the Shodoshima Island-based family-run shoyu brewer featured in the Netflix series "SALT FAT ACID HEAT."

Shodoshima is located between the main Japanese island of Honshu and neighboring Shikoku and has a 400-year-old history of artisan shoyu production. Takesan is one of only 14 traditional shoyu member brewers of the Shodoshima Shoyu Association.

Shodoshima, which is a 60-square-mile island, is the second-largest of the more than 700 islands in Japan's Seto Inland Sea. Since the 14th century, the Seto Inland area has been known as a salt-producing region. As a result, many shoyu brewers began production there in the 17th century, using the island's high-quality salt.

Shodoshima is the fourth-largest shoyu production region in Japan, with over 30 factories on the island, but only 14 are established members of the Shodoshima Shoyu Association.

Shop now for Kishibori Shoyu - Soy Sauce!

This simple recipe can be used as is on so many dishes or modify the basics to match your desires!

See the Chinese Broccoli with Oyster Sauce Recipe here!

I am super happy with this Oyster sauce find!

The lore of oyster sauce is a simmering story about Mr. Sheung, a restaurateur in southern China who, in 1888, forgot about a pot of oyster soup cooking for a set time. It simmered too long and turned into a thick gravy, creating a delicious sauce that is used far and wide in dishes spanning around the globe.

With a desire to see if there was something less "produced", we went on the hunt to find an oyster sauce that was special, and we think we found one!

This oyster sauce starts with the oyster. Oysters that are grown in the Karakuwa area, where the forests meet the sea, about six hours north of Tokyo by car on the east coast.

The bay is rich from the rivers that flow in to it, carrying the nutrients of the forests, which feed the healthy phytoplankton and provide an excellent food source for the oysters.

The intricate coastline creates a calm home with complex ocean currents that create amazing oysters.

Kesennuma only harvests their oysters from March to late May, just before the oysters spawn. This timing creates the richest taste, called "fully ripe oysters," the milk of the sea, which makes this oyster sauce truly special.

To the nose, if unfamiliar, it will first come across as fishy. Perhaps it is not so much as fishy, but more correctly the smell of the sea, just super concentrated. It is a clean, sweet smell.

To the mouth, it is a simple yet complex thick sauce with a flavor profile that brings the upper mouth the flavor of oyster and sweet & salty across the tongue. When you are done, squeeze your cheeks in for the last bit of umami.

A spoonful will be filled with oyster first and second with the tip of the tongue finishing with happiness! It is enjoyable straight up, even when it is filled with so much flavor.

Think of adding it to your stir-fries, fried rice, marinades, as a dipping sauce, or drizzling it across asparagus or green beans. Though we think of classic Chinese dishes here, think of the oyster sauce like you do Worcestershire, adding a punch of unusual vibrancy to your dish!

Remember, think a spoonful or just a dash; that might be all your dish needs to bring out the most for you.

Comparatively? This one you can eat with a spoon; the others? No way.

Shop now for Kesennuma Milky Oyster Sauce!

The origins of this classically Italian pasta sauce are being constantly debated. I think of it as being a classically Sicilian dish which uses salted anchovies, which are always available at the local food market. You can prepare the sauce while the pasta is cooking and both will be ready at about the same time.

See the Spaghetti Puttanesca Recipe here!

The spaghetti Bigoli Nobili Mori pasta is absolutely fabulous! How is it possible that a pasta can taste this good? We don't know, but we love it! If you can have only one pasta, it might have to be this one!

Bigoli is a traditional pasta from the Veneto region of northeast Italy, and references to Bigoli date from the mid-1400s.

In 2002, Pastificio Sgambaro reintroduced its bronze-drawn Bigoli in three versions: Mori, Bianchi e Sottili, and al Radicchio Rosso. They gave these amazing pastas the name "Bigoli Nobili" to pay tribute to the best culinary traditions of the Veneto region.

Sgambaro "Mori" (dark) is made from the best durum semolina grown in Italy. The spaghetti Bigoli Nobili Mori pasta is slightly darker and denser than most pasta, and its surface has a rougher texture, perfect for encouraging sauces to cling and the taste is special!

Shop now for Bigoli Nobili Mori Pasta!

Scalia is known for its anchovy fillets packed in extra-virgin olive oil - yes, extra-virgin! Many companies, especially those available in the grocery store, use second-press or less flavorful oils, like sunflower or soybean. In addition, these anchovies have been aged for at least 12 weeks, which means richer, more complex flavors. The added chilies give these jarred anchovies just a kick of heat. Salty, hot, and umami. Perfect!

Shop now for Scalia Anchovy Fillets in Olive Oil with Chile!

"Duganski" hardback garlic is a variety of hardneck garlic, specifically within the Marbled Purple Stripe group, known for its hard, woody central stem. It is recognized for having large, easy-to-peel cloves and vibrant purple-striped skin. Duganski garlic has a robust, spicy, and complex flavor, often more potent than softneck garlic varieties, making it a favorite among chefs and garlic enthusiasts.

Because it is a hardneck type, Duganski garlic also produces scapes (flower stalks), which are edible and can be used in cooking.

See the Duganski Organic Hardneck Garlic here!