We spent a week in Silicon Valley last month, caring for my little niece while my brother was on an anniversary trip. Arne and I kept both the baby and the dog alive the whole time, so I count it a win.
Ethiopian Huevos Rancheros (Firfir with Egg)
Dear readers, I have found the holy grail! I have often lamented – as regular readers may know – about the lack of a usable Ethiopian cookbook in English.
Berbere: Ethiopia’s Signature Spice
Earlier, I posted a suggested method for Ethiopian injera. (I’m still working on getting it consistent enough to post a real recipe.) Injera, both staple bread and eating utensil, is critical for an Ethiopian meal. Almost as critical is berbere, a lush and complex spice blend that flavors many Ethiopian dishes, including the iconic chicken…
Fresh Corn and Green Chile Fritters
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,…
Migas: Eggs Scrambled with Salsa and Tortilla Chips
Well, there you go. I gave you the recipe. It’s in the title. Scramble eggs with salsa and chips. Go to. What, you’re looking for more detail? Okay. I’ve been making migas for years, since our grad-school days when we spent four years in a tiny high-ceilinged apartment like a cracker box stood on end….
Changes Afoot at Talin Pop-Up Dumpling Shop!
If you’ve stopped by Talin’s wonderful Pop-Up Dumpling Shop on a Thursday in August, you probably left disappointed. And if you’ve wandered through the European area recently – where the dumpling shop has had a few small tables wedged in between the service counter, a glass case full of teaware, and shelves full of pasta…
Eating ABQ: Ajiaco Colombian Bistro
I don’t know who gave me my first recommendation for Ajiaco. My friend Carlos, who is originally from Colombia, was in the crowded church social hall after services when someone slipped a business card for the bistro into his hand. “I don’t even know who it was,” he laughed as I examined the mysterious card…
Super-Rich, Super-Easy Vegan Chocolate Mousse
This is one of the greatest bang-for-your buck recipes I have ever come across. It rests quietly in the pages of Mark Bittman’s How to Cook Everything under the unassuming name “Chocolate Tofu Pudding.” I don’t even remember why I first decided to try it- it must have been because he said it was the…
Homemade Thai Yellow Curry Paste, plus Chicken or Tofu in Yellow Curry
My friend Michelena makes incredible Mexican mole, from scratch. Friends beg her for jars of the thick, luscious sauce. (Well, I did, anyway.) The process takes her two days.
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,…