Nuffingk. Nuffingk at all. Nor is adding five-spice powder. “What? What?” you ask. Yes, warm sticky pudding made with prunes and dates, especially if one runs out of dates but finds a nearly full bag of prunes, and especially with five-spice and ginger and cardamom — “Bwah! Madness!” you exclaim. Ah, but this pudding does […]
Tag Archives: recipe
Yemisir wat: Ethiopian lentil stew
Saturday, 19 March 2011
Yemisir wat (a.k.a., misir we’t, mesir wot, and so on, because I’m poorly transliterating it from another alphabet) is my go-to dish at any Ethiopian restaurant I visit. I’ve always wanted to make it at home, mainly to control the amount of fat that goes in, but most importantly, to consume it without having to […]
Lentil and kale soup
Monday, 7 March 2011
I love many mustard greens and other cruciferous vegetables, but have had a tricky time with kale. No matter how much we sautéed it, with lots of oil and garlic, it remained a bit too tough and a bit too bitter for me. The trick, I found, is to slowly cook it in a soup, […]
Pistachio tea cookies with orange blossom water and a hint of spice
Wednesday, 16 February 2011
The inspiration for these nutty-dusty-tender cookies come from Russian tea cakes I used to get many years ago in cafés. There are also called Mexican wedding cookies (or cakes). My version has a faintly Middle Eastern flavor, just to throw in another regional description. Though less sweet, uncoated cookies are still yummy.
Bread pudding with apples
Sunday, 6 February 2011
I had a bread disaster, using a starved sourdough starter for a Sally Lunn. The bread came out rubbery. In spite of that texture, it was filled with bubbles, so not a complete brick. Bread pudding ended up a great way to repurpose the failed Sally Lunn. I’ve always enjoyed the pudding from the Station […]
Brussels sprouts & cauliflower gratin topped with panko+nuts
Tuesday, 21 December 2010
Hellllooo, Winter! Brussels sprouts and cauliflower star in this cheesy, creamy seasonal dish. Mine is a somewhat lighter version of the Epicurious recipe, taking copious hints from comments mentioning how heavy the original felt. Already crisp panko breadcrumbs gave me a head-start, so I didn’t need to fry the topping. I also added cornstarch to […]
Upside down fruit tarts, er, improvised Tatin
Sunday, 19 December 2010
[Yipes, nearly three months since I’ve posted an entry! I’ve been busy with cooking and whatnot, just haven’t gotten to the writing bit for some time. Thank you for your patience.] Okay, so maybe not quite a tarte Tatin, since we serve these tarts with the crust topside, to reduce the sogginess factor. These are […]
Tart (or pie) crust recipe, made with vodka
Monday, 20 September 2010
I’ve always approached making tart crusts with some amount of trepidation. What are the right amounts of ingredients? How do I avoid overworking the dough so it doesn’t turn out like cardboard? I’m still a wimp about how to roll out and shape the dough. Simon has that skill down pat. But I have figured […]
Lemony-garlic mayonnaise
Saturday, 11 September 2010
I kept forgetting that we were running out of mayonnaise, until I was reminded by Sonya S. how easy it is make at home. It ended up taking me about five minutes to make this mayonnaise, but more time to clean up!
Lentil stew with eggplant & tomatoes
Tuesday, 17 August 2010
Unsurprisingly, I’ve been wanting to make more eggplant dishes, not to mention more lentil dishes. Elise Bauer’s Eggplant Lentil Stew with Pomegranate Molasses became a great inspiration for this rich (and vegetarian) stew. However, my rendition uses already cooked eggplants and onion, as well as additional Middle Eastern spices. Another bit of rationalizing: if I […]