April 2012
1 post
Mostly Not Potato Salad
I can’t believe it’s been…almost 9 months since I posted a recipe? Really? I could have gestated a baby in that time (I did not). I’ve been in a bit of a cooking rut over the winter, and have found myself preparing the same meals over and over again. With the recent warm weather, though, I’ve gotten inspired to shake things up and make dinners exciting again. ...
October 2011
2 posts
WatchOne more non-recipe post, but this one is worth it. Thanks to Alison Doherty for the link.
July 2011
2 posts
Tofu Panna Cotta
I made up this recipe because I love tofu, need more protein, and wanted a cool, no-cook summer dessert. You could call it tofu cheesecake or custard, but panna cotta has a nice ring to it. Tofu is versatile by nature, and this recipe lends itself to a variety of flavors. I’ve been excited about a lemon-vanilla version but I imagine a batch with liqueur, fruit, or a shot of espresso would be...
pickled carrots
An ideal summer recipe: these are easy, travel well, and are super healthy. Make them on Sunday and snack on them by Wednesday, or leave them in the fridge for weeks at a time: they last very well. These blow baby carrots out of the water: crunchy, a little sweet, a little spicy, a little sour. I went to Maine this weekend and brought them; they were gone by the time we arrived. Also, feel...
June 2011
1 post
New York Times' Chocolate Chip Cookies
Finally, a camera! And to celebrate, a slightly modified version of the New York Times’ chocolate cookie recipe.
Their recipe is delicious. It has several easy-to-execute modifications of the traditional Tollhouse recipe which elevate these cookies to the truly ethereal. The principle differences are that you let the dough sit overnight before baking, giving the flour a chance to hydrate;...
May 2011
1 post
Balsamic Glazed Tomatoes
I’ve been putting off posting because a camera is in the works and it seemed a shame to give you a recipe without the photographic evidence of its deliciousness, because who makes a recipe from the internet without being seduced by a picture? This one is too delicious, easy, healthy and attractive to wait, though, so you’ll just have to trust me.
adapted from Deborah Madison’s always...
April 2011
3 posts
Cilantro-lime wheatberry salad
photo taken from Oh She Glows, because I still don’t have a camera.
You know how sometimes you just need someone else to take care of you? Not because you’re physically incapable of caring for yourself, but because you’re too tired and hungry and overworked and all the decisions you would make are bad ones. Like, yes, I would love to eat that whole chocolate cake and wash it down with a...
Chia Pudding
Are you a fan of tapioca pudding? If not, this recipe will do nothing for you. If you love the stuff, however, let me tell you about the chia seed. A tiny black seed native to central and southern Mexico and Guatamala, chia is a nutritional powerhouse. A single 1-tablespoon serving provides 150% of your daily requirement for omega-3 fatty acids (those nutrients you need for brain function, and...
Carrot Apple Salad
I am so sad that I didn’t take a photo of this. It’s probably the most attractive thing I’ve eaten in weeks. The camera I had been using for the last few posts was on loan from my father, though, and I gave it back a couple weeks ago. This salad has more going for it then just looks, though. It’s easy (especially if you use a food processor to grate the carrots and the apples), healthy,...
March 2011
6 posts
Cheesy Broccoli
My new favorite way to eat broccoli, this preparation would also suit any number of other green vegetables: thinly sliced zucchini, halved brussel sprouts, or chopped kale would all taste great. Thanks to Virginia Newton for the recipe.
Serves 1-2 2 cups broccoli florets, sliced with a big chunk of stem still attached 1-2 tablespoons yogurt, sour cream, or crème fraiche 1-2 tablespoons grated...
Caesar Dressings
I have had the good fortune of growing up with friends whose families travel, and whose parents have invited me to accompany them on various adventures. When I was in middle school my best friend Grace spent summers in a rented house in rural Vermont, and for a number of years I spent a week visiting and swimming, playing cards, and making up games with her and her brother. Grace’s mother,...
Flour Bakery's Corn Muffins
Flour is one of my very favorite bakeries in Boston and the owner just came out with a cookbook. These muffins were the first recipe I tried and they blew my mind: delicate and not-too sweet, somewhere between cakey and crumbly. I didn’t put the raspberry jam in the center like she suggests because I was in a rush, but I wish I had. The ingredients may sound extravagant but the results are...
Grapefruit Curd
I love grapefruit. In college I would get a 15-pound bag at Costco whenever I went home for break, then hide it in my room and not share any of them. I think the bags usually lasted about two weeks. I also love lemon curd, and so when I had some extra egg yolks around the house I put two and two together and decided to try making a grapefruit curd. Heavenly. I imagine that this is the nectar...
Cauliflower Soup
I’m a big fan of soup. It’s great to make ahead of time and have around the house, because it often gets better as it sits and because it makes an instant meal when you are just too tired to cook (or chew, for that matter). With the addition of salad and toast you can even use it as a guest dinner. This soup is my newest favorite, born of necessity but now with a permanent space on the stew...
Tofu Scramble
I have been eating an absurd amount of tofu scramble recently, but when I told my sister that I was working on a post about it she turned her nose up in disdain. I think that part of the problem is that scrambled tofu is often presented as an alternative to or imitation of scrambled eggs, instead of as a dish in its own right. I’ve found that if I look at it more as a veggie sauté with some tofu...
February 2011
10 posts
Tahini Cookies: with photos!
Apparently my hand-drawn diagram was not sufficient to explain how to make these cookies, so my friend Kristine came over and took some photos while I made a batch. I hope that her pictures make the recipe easier to follow!
makes 12-16 large cookies
4 cups flour 1 teaspoon yeast 1/2 teaspoon salt 1 tablespoon olive oil 1/4 cup sugar 1 egg plus enough warm water to equal 1½ cups (break...
Garlicky Kale
Kale is a nutritional powerhouse, but people avoid cooking it because it seems so laborious. Au contraire! This recipe takes 5 minutes, max, and is so delicious. I like serving garlicky kale as a side dish to round out vegetable-deficient meals, or as an accompaniment to soup or beans. Any leftovers are beyond delicious warmed up and topped with a fried egg and hot sauce for breakfast. In fact,...
Tahini Rolls
When I was in high school, my friend Cameron’s dad Roy used to make these giant tahini cookies and we would eat them in the afternoons while drinking tea and (theoretically) doing homework. They’re amazing: flaky and rich, sweet but a little bitter from the tahini, crispy in some places and soft in others. Her parents have since moved to France and I’m on my own to satisfy my cookie cravings....
Tassajara Whole Wheat Bread
I discovered the Tassajara Bread Book when I was living in Hopkins during my last year at Smith and baking bread all the time, and it changed everything. The recipes always come out well, and the tone of the book is encouraging enough to make even the most nervous baker feel confident. As another bonus, a number of Tassajara breads contain 100 percent whole-wheat flour, tend to last for a number...
Oatmeal Walnut Chocolate Chip Cookies
I like my cookies large, thin, and crunchy. These fit the bill: studded with chocolate chips and walnut bits, the oatmeal nearly disappearing into the dough, these are ideal. Add a little extra salt to the dough and eat them the same day, before they start to go soft. But who keeps cookies more than a day, anyways? Recipe adapted from Judy Rosenberg’s Chocolate-Packed Jam-Filled Butter-Rich...
Vegetable Soup
This is one of those recipes that turns out something much more than the sum of its parts. I know, a pureed vegetable soup, so boring, right? Wrong. This dish is rich, homey, complex, and comforting. The recipe makes a ton (it filled my big Le Creuset) but it lasts well. If you’re so inclined, I’ve also always found that friends appreciate homemade soup gifts. The recipe comes from Mireille...
Lentil Soup
I forgot how much I liked this soup until I made it again today. Lentils are great, but this preparation is especially good because of the two extra ingredients added at the end: a big spoonful of mustard and a splash of vinegar. Those two additions lend a depth of flavor sometimes lacking in vegetarian soups, especially broth-y ones. Other reasons to love this soup? It cooks fast, is super...
Hottie Beans & Greens
I still can’t get over Appetite for Reduction, Isa Chandra Moskowitz’s new vegan cookbook. Everything in that book is delicious. This is a (slight) riff on her Hottie Black-Eyed Peas & Greens recipe: I switched out pinto beans for the black eyed peas, doubled the greens, and added some vinegar. The secret is the liquid smoke: a slightly weird ingredient, but it makes all the difference and...
Spoonbread
Spoonbread is a southern classic whose roots can be traced back to the civil war era or earlier: the recipe is likely the descendent of a combination of Yorkshire pudding and the native American corn custard dish called suppone or suppawn. The recipe I use comes from the Fannie Farmer Cookbook, published in 1906 by Fannie Merritt Farmer (who has an interesting history of her own). A cozy, mushy...
Roasted Grapes
We roast apples and pears, grill pineapples, and sauté bananas, but for some reason you very rarely see cooked grapes. I’m not sure why that is because roasted grapes are delicious and so simple. You can eat these straight or use them to gussy up something like ice cream or yogurt. We had roasted grapes with tiny cornmeal shortbread cookies and a dollop of mascarpone for dessert at a recent...
January 2011
16 posts
Ginger-ACV drink
A few years ago my mom started drinking vinegar water. So gross. I made fun of her and refused to share her tainted water bottles. I’m a big fan of healthy eating, but that seemed to be taking it a little too far. Then I tasted Bragg’s Ginger Spice Apple Cider Vinegar Drink and changed my tune. The bottled commercial version is served chilled but I like to make it hot, too. It’s a nice mix...
Flourless Chocolate-Walnut cookies
These cookies have a number of things to recommend them: they have an unusual, chewy texture akin to the corner brownies; they are super chocolatey; and they’re gluten-free and low-fat (if either of those are an issue for you). The recipe was bumping around the internet a bunch last year, but the one I used can be found here.
Makes 2 dozen large cookies
2 3/4 cups walnut halves 3 cups...
Drop Biscuits
I went through a phase a couple summers ago where I was making biscuits every weekend, and this was my favorite recipe. Its innovation is that instead of asking you to cut in the butter (like you do for most scone and biscuit recipes), here you melt it and then pour it into cold buttermilk. The chilled liquid solidifies the fat into tiny chunks without the hassle or mess of using two knives or a...
Ginger Mashed Sweet Potatoes and Apples
Do you know about Isa Chandra Moskowitz? She’s the super-hip author of a number of rad vegan cooking books, including Vegan with a Vengeance and Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World. Her newest book, Appetite for Reduction, focuses on lighter recipes based on whole foods (no weirdo meat substitutes). I just got it from the library and am loving it. I made this recipe for dinner tonight and it’s...
Banana Ice Cream
Have you tried this yet? It’s miraculous. The tiny amount of fat in bananas means that when you freeze and blend them, inside of being icy (like strawberries, for example) they become creamy. This recipe was popping up all over the internet a few months ago. It is truly the simplest, most decadent snack around. Makes 1 serving 1-2 large, overripe bananas sweetener (optional; try maple syrup,...
Black Bean Dip
I probably consume 35% of my calories, if not more, between meals. High protein snacks keep me energized and focused, not to mention they prevent me from snacking on fish sticks at work. This dip is simple, cheap, and very fast. Kudos to my mom for finding the recipe. Serves about 8 15-oz can black beans, drained and rinsed ½ cup greek yogurt ½ cup prepared salsa 1 teaspoon ground cumin ¼...
Blueberries and Soy
I’m sorry to post another non-recipe recipe, but this is delicious. Simple, healthy, crave-inducing. Mock me before you try it, praise me afterwards. I think I might get out of bed and go make this right now. Makes 1 serving 1 cup frozen blueberries ½ cup vanilla soymilk cinnamon granulated sweetener, to taste Mix together the frozen blueberries with a few tablespoons of sweetener, sprinkle...
Carrots with Hijiki or Arame
Sea vegetables are a nutritional powerhouse (dietary fiber, iron, calcium, magnesium) and a great thing to incorporate into your diet, but I never had success cooking with them at home until I found this recipe. Try it when you’re feeling down—the ginger will warm you up, the seaweed will boost your immune system, the cooking will entertain you. Everything will be okay. The recipe is from...
Oatmeal
More of an idea than a recipe: my sister came up with this combination of spices after having the cream of wheat at a local breakfast place, and we think it’s great. I eat hot cereal like this a few times a week and they keep me filled up all morning long. Even the 5-year-olds at work gobbled their oatmeal up when I made it for them this way, and they don’t like anything. Makes 1 large serving...
Honey Wheat Quick Bread
Sweet and rich enough to feel decadent but healthy enough to have for breakfast. The recipe comes from Jane Brody’s Good Food Book, a great resource which came into my life a few years ago when a dear friend snatched a copy from the trash and gave it to me. A true Cantabrigian. Don’t let the suspect origins of the recipe dissuade you from trying it out: this bread is a keeper.
...
Granola
I’ve made this recipe in giant quantities when I was living in the co-op and tiny quantities when I was living alone. Delicious, and everybody loves it. Adapted from this recipe, which was adapted from a set of directions published in the September 1994 issue of Cook’s Illustrated. 5 parts rolled oats 1 part seed(s) (try pumpkin, sesame, sunflower, uncooked quinoa*) 1 part coconut, shredded...
Jamaican Lentil Stew
An ugly but delicious soup. I found the original recipe here and changed a few things around. Cheap, hearty, scrumptious.
makes about 8 1-cup servings
1 medium onion, minced 2 garlic cloves, minced 1 inch piece ginger, grated vegetable oil 2 teaspoons ground coriander 2 teaspoons ground cumin 1 13-ounce can coconut milk 4 cups water (plus a bouillon cube if you have one) 4 ounces...
2 tags
Ginger-soy dressing
Latest go-to salad dressing. Yum.
makes 5 3-tablespoon servings
2 medium cloves garlic 2 tablespoons fresh ginger (basically a big knob) 4 ounces tofu 6 tablespoons soy sauce (I use low-sodium) 3 tablespoons vinegar (ideally rice wine, but white will do) 1 tablespoon sugar 1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil Blend all ingredients until very smooth. If too thick, thin with a tablespoon or so of...
Peanut energy bites
A great thing to have in the freezer for a mid-morning snack. The (nearly) 8 grams of protein keep you filled up, and they’re cheaper and healthier than all those weird energy bars.
to make a big batch, serving 12: 150 grams peanut flour 100 grams uncooked rolled oats 70 grams agave (or maple syrup, honey, molasses…) 1 teaspoon salt
to make a single-serve batch: 5 teaspoons Trader...
2 tags
Tofu pumpkin custard
More delicious than it sounds, I promise. I’ve served this to tons of people and nobody has been able to guess that tofu is the secret ingredient. It gives the custard tons of protein, keeps it dairy-free, and makes it extra moist, I think. We’ve been eating it almost every night…
16 ounces tofu (I use Trader Joe’s brand because it’s the cheapest) 14 ounce can...
2 tags
Indian Spiced Carrot Soup
The simplicity of this soup belies its deliciousness. I thought I wasn’t a fan of carrot soups, but it turns out I was just a bit bored: this spicy, zesty version is cheap, easy, and impressive.
Makes 8 1-cup servings
2 teaspoons coriander seeds (or ground coriander) 1 teaspoon mustard seeds (or ground mustard) 1 teaspoon curry powder 2 tablespoons fresh ginger, minced 2 cups...
