Oh, the end of summer. How I love the cooling days, the longer evenings, the patches of yellow leaves in the cottonwoods. And how I love the harvest. This is the most wonderful time of year to just go to the growers’ market, co-op, or grocery store, see what’s fresh and beautiful, take it home,…
Sichuan Hot-and-Numbing (Ma La) Chile Oil
Until the last decade, the classic Sichuan flavor combination ma la (numbing and hot) was hard to come by in the United States. Sichuan peppercorns, the only common source of the numbing, tingly sensation called ma in Chinese, were banned from import to the US because they could transmit a kind of citrus canker. Fortunately,…
The Crispy Chicken Chronicles: Spicy Korean Fried Chicken Chunks
As I discussed in the first installment of The Crispy Chicken Chronicles, I have been craving all kinds of crispy, crunchy, spicy, sticky chicken lately. But the one preparation that I keep coming across, that haunts me, that I just cannot keep out of my mind – that is KFC. No, not that KFC – I…
Burritos at Santa Fe’s El Parasol
Arne and I spent this 4th of July in Woodland Park, CO, with his parents. We try to get up there every summer. It was a lovely trip, with cool weather, beautiful thunderstorms, a trip to glorious Eleven Mile Canyon, and lots of hanging out. And a little bit of work. Arne’s parents own a…
Chicken with Beer BBQ Sauce over Creamy Calabacitas Salad
I had to figure this dinner out in a hurry. It was 5:30. A pot of Sticky, Spicy Beer BBQ Sauce was simmering on the stove, thickening to perfect glossiness… and I had just discovered that the racks of baby back ribs in the refrigerator would need several hours to cook to tenderness. I…
Three Bean, Three Chile Chili
When you move to New Mexico from the Midwest, things get confusing with the word “chili.” Suddenly a word that’s always had one simple meaning – a comforting, mildly spicy stew of ground beef, tomatoes, and beans – gains another spelling and several new meanings. “Chili” can be the aforementioned stew, or the spicier Texas…
Homemade Sriracha Sauce
It’s a ubiquitous sight in Asian restaurants around the country, that green-lidded squeeze bottle with the rooster on the front. The New York Times and NPR have run stories about it; Bon Appetit declared it “the new king of condiments” and suggested 25 ways to use it. (I think I need to try those shrimp soon.)…
Cincinatti Chili
A few weeks ago, my sweetie went to Cincinatti for work. Without me. Which means he got to eat Cincinatti chili. Without me. Obviously, something had to be done. I’ve only been to Cincinatti once, on a road trip. I don’t remember where we were going. But I remember stopping at Skyline Chili. I recall…
Kerala-Style Egg Curry
I love Indian food, and it leaped straight to mind when I decided to focus on vegetarian cooking. One of my favorite quick meals is a simple Indian chicken curry with tomatoes and yogurt, so it’s probably unsurprising that this recipe jumped out at me from the pages of Celia Brooks Brown’s “Party Food for…