Monthly Archives: March 2012

A Great Spring Platform

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This meatless month has been a real roller coaster of easy inspiration and complete idea ruts. Last year I began the month by poring through a stack of cookbooks making physical and mental notes of all sorts of ideas to get us through. Occasionally I had a slump, but by then the weekly vegetable box arrived with a challenging vegetable which I used to search my sources. This is how I discovered new favorites like a molassesy turnip radish dish. This time around I just wasn’t as into it from the very beginning and while having a  pre-dreading chat with … Continue reading →

An Unexpected Maple Syrup Duo

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Yesterday I had made an apple tarte tatin in Dutch cheese crust to do away with the pile of apples collecting on our counter. I rarely make desserts like this and when I do I usually eat one piece and give the rest away. And so it was that I delivered a slab of tarte tatin to our friend (and mama of my daughter’s best friend) Andra Zeppelin, author of French Press Memos. While we were visiting she asked what I had planned for my daughter’s dinner to which I replied with a numb kind of stare. Because in my … Continue reading →

If Jacques Pepin Married Martha Stewart

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Recently I resumed our Door to Door Organics deliveries because I had a credit with them and figured with spring there might be some leafy eats. But to my dismay, just like fall, I have been inundated with apples. I like apples, but I find there are only so many I can eat without getting a little bored and nobody else in the house has been helping. Despite the fact that I don’t often whip up desserts just for us, I decided to make an apple pie of sorts just so I could use them all up at once. But … Continue reading →

Smoky Cheese Addiction : Part 2

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Often when my husband and I sit down to eat a home-cooked meal, one of us—usually the head (or sole) chef of the night—will ask, casually, what would you do (quietly implying “if anything”) next time? We are good at giving honest and productive advice and I like to think we also take the criticism well. Alternately, growing up, my dad would often fish only for compliments in what became known as “how’s the soup?” If enough proper praise was not doled out the first time, you could be sure he’d ask again, maybe in a different way. I have … Continue reading →

Smoky Cheese Addiction : Part 1

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While I certainly love to splurge on cheese at the local Truffle cheese shop, I often make due with the increasingly interesting offerings at Safeway and the forever weird King Soopers. A few days ago I picked up some smoked blue cheese that looked interesting. I usually steer clear of too much stinky, funky cheese since Ryan is not a fan. But my dad taught me early on that sometimes it is ok to buy a tub of caviar for the whole family and a tub of caviar just for yourself so occasionally I support just my stinky cheese habit. … Continue reading →

Fresh Pasta is Fun for All

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I’ve been trying to work in ways to get my three year old more interested in eating. I know this is a common battle and that, according to much reading, might last a good while. So my latest plan is to continue to expose her to cooking and a variety of good eats and see what happens. And as her Romanian daycare provider once pointed out, “she is not starving.” Fresh pasta is probably one of the most fun things to make as it most closely resembles playdough. I added to the hype in true cheerleader fashion with oohs and … Continue reading →

SouFAIL: Part 2 – Redemption

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I am not a professional chef. In fact, other than catering parties when one of us is crazy enough to accept such a job, neither my husband nor myself make any sort of income related to food. But I enjoy cooking a great deal. Other than the occasional stress that rises from a shocking explosion of dishes paired with a grumpy toddler, full time job and growing business, cooking is usually a form of relaxation for me. A meal I can meditate on and plan all day and then prepare and enjoy with someone who cares as much as I … Continue reading →

SouFAIL: Part 1

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My love and meh of souffles has risen and fallen great heights since the first, air-whipped, magical moment I first tasted one. Like many splendid wonders of that age (Las Vegas! dry ice! pop rocks!) the magic is never quite the same with time. Especially with fickle, labor-intensive, time-sensitive baked dishes that aren’t just delivered to you in perfect timing at a fabulous restaurant (without having to be ordered at the beginning of your meal).  I still  remember  my mother’s lemon souffle from my childhood with intense clarity. She would let me help make them- and this entailed pedaling the … Continue reading →

Celery is Everywhere and I’m Hiding in Fear

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Celery has nothing to be proud of. It’s mostly flavorless and it’s only real redeeming quality—the crunch—is often ruined by the fibrous strings that come loose sticking in between your teeth and dangling from your lower lip like curled party ribbons. How festive. Don’t agree with me? Try googling “Ode to Celery” or “Celery How I Love Thee” and you will find the following: Celery is a vile, inedible weed. Celery is a method for getting peanut butter into my mouth without having to dip my finger into the jar. i’d rather eat a diaper I can’t believe I finally … Continue reading →

A Sweet Heat Challenge Tackled

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A short while back my husband gave me a pack of dried chili mango challenging me to turn it into some culinary concoction. I had considered a glaze, a dip or marinade until I found myself with a bag of dried chickpeas and decided to use them in a tagine of sorts. Feeling rather proud of my recent success in pressure cooking, I decided to cook the whole vat of chickpeas and freeze some for quick access later in the week. While the chickpeas were percolating away I sauteed some onions and carrots, added some garlic, cumin, cinnamon, smoked paprika … Continue reading →