It was Rick Bayless who turned me on to the idea of vegetable tacos. Not just vegetarian tacos with the meat replaced or removed – bean and cheese, or soy crumbles, or whatever – but tacos that truly celebrate vegetables. When I turn to the “Tacos, Enchiladas and Other Casual Fare” chapter of my battered…
Archives for 2014
They put what in my soda?
I was walking through the beverage section of Talin Market when I saw it. I didn’t believe it at first. Buffalo wing soda. Now, I love Buffalo wings. And I like soda well enough, though I don’t drink it like I used to. Just a few a month, really. (Oddly, I have a can…
My Favorite Chocolate Chip-and-Chunk Cookies
This one doesn’t really take a lot of explanation. Who doesn’t like cookies? And who among us cookie-lovers doesn’t count chocolate chip near the top of the list? Sure, I love all kinds of cookies: oatmeal-raisin, peanut butter, a wide variety of molasses-spice (Joe Froggers recipe coming soon!), butter cookies with or without fruit fillings,…
Creamy Smoked Gouda and Ale Soup
Arne and I honeymooned at his parents’ rustic cabin in Woodland Park, up a mountain pass from Colorado Springs. At that time neither of us drank alcohol, so I’m not sure what led us, while we were exploring the Springs, to venture into Phantom Canyon Brewing Company. At any rate, in we did venture. We…
A Facelift for Banh Mi Coda
I stop in at Banh Mi Coda so often – not just for lunch, but to pick up fresh tofu, the best baguettes in town, and occasionally other ingredients – that if I don’t show up for a couple of weeks the counter staff asks me where I’ve been. So it was a surprise…
Eating PDX: Lauretta Jean’s, and Oregon Baked Goods
Oregon is a mecca for baked goods. It must be the weather. When it’s cold and rainy for most of the year, who wouldn’t want to spend a lot of their time in a warm, steamy kitchen, whisking and stirring and pouring and molding and turning out beautiful nuggets of comfort for friends and family?…
Master Recipe: Crunchy, Toasty Granola
I’ve been experimenting with granola for years now, as long-time readers of my blog know: I’ve posted two recipes for it, as well as one for granola bars. Granola is my favorite weekday breakfast; I’ve taken to making it every other week or so, and I think my flavorful, deeply brown, super-crisp granola is the…
Eating PDX: Lan Su Chinese Garden Tea House
Last month Arne and I spent a week in Oregon to celebrate our 20th wedding anniversary… as well as my ability to eat again. (Sorry, OR friends and family… this was a gooey romantic trip, and we made no room for anyone else.) We had a wonderful time and, of course, ate as much as…
Spam Ramen, or Rescuing a Terrible Recipe
Cooking has been my passion since college. For more than twenty years I’ve spent a huge amount of my time reading cookbooks, trying recipes, learning methods, combining ingredients. I’ve gotten good at tasting “in my head,” having a pretty good idea of what a recipe will taste like before I try it. Usually I can…
Eating ABQ: Fan Tang
I have no idea why it’s taken me so long to post about Fan Tang. I kind of feel like I’ve failed this favorite restaurant of ours, because I didn’t post about it when it was young and struggling. It’s finally becoming popular – if not as popular as it deserves – and now I…