It’s been almost two weeks since I posted, and I apologize. I was sick last week. It’s no fun to be sick on Thanksgiving! Sore throat, stuffy nose… trouble swallowing, reduced sense of taste… just not a blast on the great eat-a-thon of Turkey Day! But I’m back. And not just back, but back with…
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…
Crispy Vietnamese Rice-Flour Crepes with Nuoc Cham
I live near Albuquerque’s International District, which means there are probably 20 Vietnamese restaurants within two miles of my house. I have by no means tried them all, but of those I’ve tried I have three favorites: Banh Mi Coda, an addiction, which I reviewed rapturously here; Banh Mi’s big sister, Cafe Trang, with its…
Grill-Roasted Eggplant and Potato Curry with Tomatoes
I may have mentioned my love for eggplant once or twice. It’s in season now, so we’re luxuriating in it, eating it two or three times a week. One of my favorite methods is just to throw it on the grill, whole. The eggplant melts inside while the skin blackens and turns papery. I guess…
Japanese Curry Rice
I have hesitated for some time in putting this “recipe” on the blog, because it goes kind of like this: Follow the instructions on the box. But I finally decided to do it for three reasons: 1) Not many Americans know it exists; 2) It’s really delicious; and 3) It’s close to my heart. In…
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.)…
Quick Cucumber Kimchi
Without a doubt, kimchi is a love-it or hate-it food. I’m pretty fond of it. Arne is crazy for the stuff, but even he admits it’s a strange thing to love. Many foods are based on controlled spoilage – cheese and beer, for example. Like blue cheese with its veins of mold, though, traditional kimchi…
10-Minute Indian Cabbage
The other day I was throwing together a simple Indian dinner – Indian sour chickpeas (channa) with some brown and wild rice I’d cooked weeks before and stored in the freezer – and it needed one more element. One quick, simple element I could throw together in no time from what I had in the…
Chile-Lemon Roasted Brussels Sprouts
A year or so ago, Arne and I visited a very hip restaurant in Colorado Springs (or so it seemed to me, though I may not be the ultimate arbiter of coolness): Nosh. I was first attracted to it by the koi in its logo and the idea of small plates, which are my very favorite…
Indian Sour Chickpeas (Channa)
I’m starting to run out of foods I don’t like. Radishes? I like those now, especially when they’re young and fresh. Turnips? I love them – there’s nothing I’m happier to see in the CSA box. Winter squash… well, I’m softening there. And chickpeas. I used to really dislike chickpeas, except ground into unrecognizability in…