It’s the end of summer, or so the autumn-lovers among us hope. Most days are still hot, but there are hints of fall: a brush of yellow in the trees, cooler mornings and evenings, the scent of roasting green chile in the air at the growers’ market. And, at the store, piles of ears of…
Spicy Penne with Broccoli and Garlic
I was in my hometown – Urbana, Illinois – talking to Inga, one of my oldest and dearest friends. We were discussing gardening and cooking, as we inevitably do, when she said something simple that brought me up short. Something like: “I grow a lot of broccoli, because we eat a lot of it, and…
Easy Creamy Chicken Curry Rice Bowl
This delicious recipe is one that I’ve been making so long (and that is so easy) I could almost do it in my sleep. It’s perfect weeknight fare: By far the most challenging part is picking the meat off the rotisserie chicken you grabbed at the store on the way home. Or maybe stopping at…
Smoked Trout and Strawberry Salad with Sweet Cream Dressing
The strawberries have been a surprise of the most delightful kind. As I’m sure I’ve mentioned before, I am a deeply lazy gardener. I never remember to water, so we set up an automatic system. I’m terrible about deadheading (as you can see in the photo below, with all that sprouted mustard in the top…
Easy Braised Greens with Creamy Polenta
There is nothing revolutionary about this dish. It’s just southern greens and pot likker served over cheese grits. I make it often, and have never shared it because it’s so simple. I’ve always figured if this is the kind of thing my readers want, there are a million recipes out there. The only thing is,…
Japanese Fried Rice Omelet (Omurice)
When I pulled out my copy of Lucky Peach’s 101 Asian Recipes the other night, I intended to make the Malaysian “Economy Noodles” as I said I would at the end of my cookbook review. However, I ran into a problem: My enormous tub of Asian noodles (I have a similar one of European-style pasta)…
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….
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…
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,…
Salmon Rice Bowl with Soy-Wasabi Sauce (Sake-Don)
My recent obsession with Kokoro Japanese Restaurant finally bled over into my own kitchen. I wanted more Japanese food, but I wanted it to be as quick and simple as it was delicious. Paging through my copy of Japanese Soul Cooking, I saw a gorgeous picture of a bowl of vibrant red tuna slices brushed…