Herbed Rice with Carrot and Potato
Herbed rice with Carrot and Potato was inspired by a Central Asian rice dish called Mashkichiri. Readers fluent in Hindi, Farsi, Uzbek, or Uiger may recognize the words mash–meaning mung bean, and kitchri, meaning a rice dish prepared with additional ingredients. My information comes from Jeffrey Alford and Naomi Duigud’s…
Thai Salt-Pickled Cabbage (Pak Dong)
If you are feeling ever so slightly depressed these days, you might take heart at the notion of fermented cabbage as a unifying force. Hear me out. At a time when people are busy insulting one another on social media and doing worse IRL, some of us have been equally…
Poached Chicken with Udon Noodles
Poached chicken with udon noodles started with the noodles, which I made one night to accompany something–I forget what. My memory is not what it was. But I remember liking the noodles far more than the protein, and thinking I’d better write down how I cooked them, right then, mid-meal,…
Back on the air
Hello all- Sorry to be off the air. I would be lying if I said I knew what happened beyond a server issue. Thanks to the tech at Bluehost, who restored the blog in minutes. A new post will be up shortly. I know the past week has been extremely…
Pie Crust
Today’s post is unusual in that the entire thing is a recipe: for pie crust. Rather than give an explanation followed by a recipe repeating much of the post, I decided to let the post be the recipe. I realize many of you know how to make pie crust and…
Simple Yellow Cake
Simple Yellow Cake is a recent addition to my collection of one-bowl cake recipes. The recipe comes from Laurie Colwin’s beloved More Home Cooking, specifically, the essay “Four Easy Pieces.” Unrelated peach picture. For years I read this recipe, which Colwin describes as a “classic, basic sponge cake English women…
Pickled Eggs
Dorothy Hartley, writing in Food In England, offers this unattributed quotation about pickled eggs, dating to 1700: “When eggs are plentiful, farmers wives’ take four or six dozen newly laid, and boil them hard; then, taking off the shells, they place them in earthenware jars and pour upon them scalding…
Lamb Chops with Pomegranate Molasses and Olive Oil
Lamb Chops with Pomegranate Molasses and Olive Oil is inspired by a Paula Wolfert recipe in The Slow Mediterranean Kitchen, a book I often cook from. While today’s recipe departs significantly from the original, sources always merit citation. Basically, you’re marinating lamb in pomegranate molasses, olive oil, tomato paste, seasonings,…
Cherry Ice Cream
I know: cherry season is fifteen seconds long, and for many people, that fifteen seconds has passed. Where I call for cherries, substitute your favorite fresh fruit: peaches, apricots, blueberries, raspberries, strawberries, or plums. Or use frozen fruits. Further, none of these recipes require an ice cream maker. A rather…
Stir-Fried Okra
Today’s recipe, a simple stir-fry, came about after consulting numerous cookbooks. Few American cookbooks mention okra, and those who do often have little good to say about it. Deborah Madison, writing in Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone, can only manage “okra is slimy, and rather than try to ignore this fact,…
