I think everyone should, at least once in a while, harvest their own food. Even if you don’t grow it yourself, it’s worth getting out there in a field or an orchard somewhere and harvesting what you’ll eat. Ideally, you should do enough of it to get a little tired, and a little bit wishing [...]
Also tagged berries, dessertsThis is what happens when I take my own advice. It could be what happens when you take my advice too, if you’re so inclined. Have some greens along with it. We had steamed gai lan. Fantastic.
Also tagged chicken, wednesday's supperOh, I took photos. But would they really express the satisfaction, a long day of writing behind me, an evening’s worth still to go, of spending a half an hour in the kitchen with the cool crispness of bok choy and cucumbers and scallions? Would they convey the sizzle of the tofu hitting the hot [...]
Also tagged black beans, bok choy, cucumber, garlic, leafy greens, soup, stir-fry, tofu, wednesday's supperSome of this weekend’s greens haul, a nice smallish head of napa cabbage, was cut into ribbons, sauteed with onions and garlic, and used as a base for a fava bean and ham hock broth. Some of the scraps of ham perch on top, for extra juju. Especially with a starchy broth like a [...]
Also tagged beans, cabbage, leafy greens, monday's supper, porkI feel very fortunate today, for I have had the great good luck to become friends with the kind of people who will greet me with the phrase “I’ve got way too much produce on my hands, I need to get it out of here, take as much as you want.” And who will then [...]
Also tagged greens, leafy greensI’m dining alone tonight, my Belovedary down at Camden Yards watching the Orioles lose. It’s a nice night for it. Dining alone can be a challenge. Even I sometimes get tempted not to bother cooking if it’s just me, especially when I am, as I am tonight, working late on a deadline. I try, though, [...]
Also tagged eating alone, Eggs, Friday's supper, garlic, squashPazi dolmasi is Turkish stuffed chard. Normally you’d make it with very large chard leaves, and stuff them with a meat or rice filling much as you would if you were making stuffed grape leaves. Then they’d be baked, probably with a bit of tomatoey or lemony sauce to keep things moist. The chard leaves [...]
Also tagged bison, chard, Garden, leafy greens, monday's supperI fervently believe that someday researchers will discover that brassica-family vegetables are a natural antidepressant. They work for me, anyway. Vegan “beef” (pressed, salted tofu) and broccoli with garlic “oyster” sauce (mushroom-based) for dinner tonight as a saving throw against a day made of grumpy. Coupled with sesame cabbage, using up the last of a [...]
Also tagged broccoli, cabbage, tofu, vegan, wednesday's supperI’m a mostly improvisational cook. I read cookbooks like other people read novels, as a leisure activity, but rarely refer to them while I’m cooking. Now and then I cook someone else’s recipe precisely as written, but I mostly use other folks’ ideas and methods as platforms upon which to build. For years I was [...]
Also tagged bread, cake, desserts, fruit