One of the most exciting cookbooks I’ve come across this year is Asha Gomez’s My Two Souths. Gomez spent her childhood in Kerala, at the southern tip of India. She learned to cook with her family there, and was often called upon to hand-grind spice mixes, reveling in the scents of classic South Indian spices like black…
Spiced Apple Sour Cream Bundt Cake
Finally, finally, fall is truly here. We’ve turned on the heaters, we’ve put on our sweaters, and baked goods are emerging from the oven. Without a doubt, this apple cake is not only the best thing I’ve baked so far this fall, but one of the best things I’ve ever baked: big chunks of flavorful…
Juicing: Cucumbers and Chard and Kiwi, Oh My!
Clockwise from top left: Taboulleh Juice, Kiwi-Chard, Golden Rule, Cucumber Mojito, Heart Beet This has been a very difficult autumn. Actually, it was a pretty rough summer too. As you know if you read my mid-July post on congee, I’ve been having trouble swallowing all year. Much longer than that, actually, but this year it’s gotten…
Eating ABQ: Pop Fizz
Is it wishful thinking, or is there a whiff of fall in the air? There’s something in the sound of the wind, an autumnal rustling. If you look closely, a few trees are sporting clumps of yellow leaves. And green chile is starting to appear in CSA baskets and at the farmer’s market. Just one…
Fluffy Lemon-Blueberry Cottage Cheese Pancakes
I have never been a fan of blueberries. I know many people love them, but I almost always find them disappointing. Their color is so vivid, their shiny roundness so tempting, but then you bite into one and… meh. Most blueberries taste to me like they’ve been diluted. What flavor there is, is nice, but…
Sweet and Tangy Plum Frozen Yogurt with Lemon
Well, friends, there’s no denying it – summer is here. And though that means great things for my garden, I find it less friendly to me personally. I hate to be hot, I hate to sweat… so, let’s face it, I’m not a huge fan of summer. But the season has its upsides, and one…
Orange-Scented Strawberry-Rhubarb Crisp
The first time I tasted rhubarb, I hated it. I can’t remember exactly why. The dish was a Rhubarb Brown Betty. I can’t remember the flavor well enough to be sure why I disliked it so much – it’s entirely possible it was just the unfamiliarity of it. Or maybe it was really badly made….
Roast Chicken Thighs with Grapes and Olives
It’s fun to roast a whole chicken. There’s something elemental about it; like baking your own bread from scratch, it provides a sense of accomplishment that outstrips its actual difficulty. But roasting a whole chicken has pitfalls. For one thing, it needs to be in the oven for almost an hour. Also, it can be tricky…
Manzano Mountain Apple Orchard
Growing up in Urbana, Illinois, it was unthinkable to let autumn pass without at least one trip to Curtis Orchard in Champaign. I remember it being a fairly modest place when I was a child, but something new got added every year. By the time I moved away, Curtis Orchard had a huge store with…
Savory Fig and Shallot Jam with bonus recipe: Wilted Spinach Salad with Fig Dressing
Take a deep breath. Can you smell that first whiff of fall in the air? In Albuquerque, the scent of early fall is the rich, mouthwatering aroma of green chile tumbling in the spinning mesh barrels of propane-fired roasters. Take a trip up the mountain, as we did on Saturday, and you’ll be rewarded with…