We tried amaranth porridge for breakfast yesterday. It didn’t go well. We embarked on this path a few days ago, when Arne sent me this article by Mark Bittman, a long-time champion of sensible eating, and David Katz, founding director of Yale’s Yale-Griffin Prevention Research Center. It didn’t contain much information we didn’t already know,…
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)…
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…
Quick and Simple Mussels with White Wine, Garlic, and Tomato
My love affair with mussels started in earnest when I went with Arne on a business trip to Europe. His business was in Luxembourg, so we took some time to travel the Benelux countries – Belgium, the Netherlands, and Luxembourg. We started in the Netherlands, visiting the canals of Amsterdam and the windmills of Zaanse…
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…
Quick Eats: Middle Eastern Grain Salad
This is less a recipe than an idea. A really tasty, simple, healthful idea. It came about from a half-cup of leftover bulgur, a fridge full of odds and ends with a vaguely Middle Eastern flair, and a need for lunch. I tried something similar with quinoa and with brown rice, also to good effect….
French Breakfast Radish Sandwich with Butter and Salt
For most of my life, I did not like radishes. I found them too harsh, almost acrid. I don’t know if my change of heart comes from grown-up taste buds or from access to better radishes, but I do know that it’s this simple recipe that changed my mind. A couple of years ago, I…
Quick Eats: Melon and Feta Salad
Apparently it’s not so uncommon nowadays, but I first heard of melon and feta together in Nigella Lawson’s book Forever Summer – recently re-released as Nigella Fresh. (A hardback copy of the original Forever Summer is listed on Amazon.com for the unlikely price of $7,607.21.) Nigella’s version is much more complex than mine – and,…
Chipotle Chicken Salad Tacos
I’ve been saving this recipe for you. It’s an old favorite that I’d forgotten about and hadn’t made it in a few years. Back in March, though, I found myself with a small head of Napa cabbage and half a rotisserie chicken, and my memory was jogged. “Those chipotle chicken salad tacos were awesome,” I…
Warm Scallop, Sweet Corn, and Avocado Salad
Welcome to the dog days of summer. It is HOT outside, and not too pleasant in the house at midday either. You know, midday, say 2:00 to 5:00 or so, the hottest, stickiest part of the day – and the time when you have to start planning dinner. I dreamed up this recipe on one…