As a non-Chinese, white American cook who cooks a lot of Chinese and Chinese-style food, I have taken a particular interest in what happens to American ingredients when they’re used in a Chinese idiom. There’s been a fair amount written about “American Chinese food,” which as some of you probably know is its own culinary [...]
I love chickpeas. I would love them even if they weren’t cheap, but as it stands, the fact that they are a good value is just one of their many virtues. A pound bag of high-quality dried chickpeas will set you back about $1.69 at my nearby Wegman’s. Often they’re cheaper if you buy them [...]
When my last history-of-sexuality title, Virgin, came out, I quickly learned there were some pretty standard questions that I was going to get from nearly every interviewer. “Why did you decide to write a book about virgins?” was one that I was asked with every interview, even though I had answered the question in the [...]
The last few days I have had a wonderful houseguest, visiting all the way from Melbourne, Australia. She’s vegetarian, and I had promised her vegan Chinese dumplings, so last night we made vegan wonton. There are a couple different ways you can roll with a vegan dumpling filling and still have it be pretty solidly [...]
I had nachos for the first time in about 6 years tonight. Maybe longer. I can’t remember. Why had it been so long? Well, I can’t eat milk and its derivatives. And nachos without cheese are just hot tortilla chips. Which are nice, don’t get me wrong, but as far as I’m concerned, not sufficiently [...]
In honor of the struggle of everyday Egyptians to win the right to try to build a just and fair government for themselves and their children, I hope you’ll join me in a plate or two of Egypt’s national dish, ful medames. There are probably thousands of ways to make this, as is true with [...]
I suppose it’s all connected to the whole New Years Resolution change-your-body-change-your-life thing so many people do at this time of year, but all month I have been hearing and overhearing conversations where people talk about what they’re giving up, food-wise, and what benefits they think they will realize by doing so. There are the [...]
Most people are terribly busy at this time of year. I am something of an exception to this, having decided some years ago that I was done with trying to travel between Hallowe’en and the New Year unless there were an unavoidable emergency. This has been a remarkably successful policy in terms of keeping my [...]
Once you’ve got your supply of shelled, washed, cooked beans, what next? There are so many options it’s honestly hard to know where to begin, but here are two of my favorites. For beans that will lend themselves readily to Tex-Mex, Cajun, and many Southeastern US style meals, stew your cooked beans with a large [...]
Tagged beans, Garden, garlic, sage, salsa, tomatoesLeftover salad is an unlovely thing. What was sprightly and crisp, distinct and resilient becomes soft and tired, limp and worn. If you have dressed the salad, especially, you can expect to find it the next morning in a swamp of its own juices, sodden and dispiriting. The temptation is to just compost the lot [...]
Tagged leftovers, salads, soup