Ah, spring in Albuquerque. Daffodils, irises, wild temperature shifts, sand blowing in your eyes… it’s not all perfect, for sure, but the lengthening days and the tiny seedlings poking their heads up from the garden soil make my heart light. Very little local produce is available yet, but we do have some beautiful local radishes…
Springtime Lemon Risotto with Asparagus
It is now officially spring. How do I know? There’s asparagus everywhere. Not just off-season, $9 a pound asparagus with dried-up ends, but the beautifully fresh stuff: short, chubby spears at Whole Foods, long skinny spears at Smith’s, medium ones at the Co-op, and yummy ones in my CSA box. (If you’ve heard that skinny…
Warm Kale Salad with Farro and Feta
I know, I promised you pictures and stories about my trip to La Paz. And you will get them. But first (and while I’m getting that image-heavy post ready), I want to share a delicious salad for when you’ve over-indulged. Maybe you’ve eaten too many cheeseburgers lately, or had a crazy night out on the…
Tofu and Vegetables in Peanut-Miso Velvet
I’m rescuing this recipe from the archives. A few nights ago I looked it up and cooked it for dinner, and I was surprised and dismayed to see that I had made some big errors. The kind of errors that make readers really annoyed with you. Most notably, I had failed to explain where to…
Green Peas in Indian Cream Sauce with bonus recipe – Golden Basmati Rice
I received an unexpected holiday gift this year. A friend of mine from work left a copy of Madhur Jaffrey’s Quick & Easy Indian Cooking on my desk. When I protested that he didn’t need to do that – we don’t exchange gifts at my workplace, except for the annual holiday party gift steal –…
Sweet Potato and Green Chile Quesadillas with bonus recipe: Spanish Brown Rice
I must give credit for this recipe, or at least for its outline and method, to my boss (and friend), Angela. It came up during the office lunch break a week or two ago. As so often happens in conjunction with eating, we were talking about food. I’m not sure how sweet potatoes came up….
French Cabbage Soup with Blue Cheese and Cream
Well, here they are: the January doldrums. It’s cold – at least, it’s been freezing in Albuquerque for the last couple of weeks. I need new gloves. Anyway, it’s cold outside. And while it’s no colder than usual in the refrigerator, winter bleakness has settled in there as well. What’s in the crisper? Cabbage. Carrots….
Pumpkins Stuffed with Everything Good
You probably don’t need to hear any more than the name to know that this would be a great vegetarian holiday entree. The “everything good” in the vegetarian version is bread, cream, cheese, garlic, and herbs. Not looking for a vegetarian option? By all means add a few slices of cooked bacon – not to…
Carrot Halwa: Sweet Indian Carrot Pudding
Diwali, the Indian Festival of Lights, was celebrated last month. Diwali is a five-day harvest festival that celebrates the victory of good over evil – the transcendent inner light overcoming the darkness of ignorance to bring joy and peace. And sweets. Arne and I are not Hindu, but I love harvest festivals and winter celebrations…
Curried Winter Vegetable Soup
This recipe wasn’t meant to be delicious. That was an accident. What it was meant to be was simple, speedy, and vegetarian. You see, it was Vegetarian Week. Arne and I had competing meetings that would prevent us from having dinner together, and my first thought was just to grab a bite out or eat…