I think that it might be exactly the right time of year to have this recipe in the refrigerator. You can make this recipe over the weekend, and then have it ready to eat on the days between the endless holiday parties, celebrations, after-work stopovers, and other seasonal social events. It’s incredibly flavorful, it’ll give your mind and belly a well-deserved rest, and you’ll be glad not to have to think too much about what to make for dinner. Or lunch. Continue reading
Tag Archives: garlic
Planning Ahead for the Holidays
This is a very good time of year to begin thinking about what you’d like to make for the upcoming holidays. Especially if you are planning to host vegetarians and/or vegans, but not only. These recipes are amazing no matter what your style.
My kitchen counter is once again covered with pumpkins and onions, and here are two extraordinarily delicious and unusual recipes for your pumpkins and onions. If you have the time, try to get the onion recipe made the day before, because as good as they are, they taste even better the next day! These two recipes are keepers, and they are special enough for holiday celebrations, too, so keep them in mind for the weeks ahead. The pumpkin (in particular) makes a beautiful presentation, and slicing it at the table is a nice and memorable touch. Continue reading
Cooking With Heat, with a Recipe for Red Dal
I have learned, mostly over years of reading cookbooks and watching cooking shows with my dad (of blessed memory), that one way to make spices really bloom is to heat them briefly in some olive oil. Last month, I made shakshuka for my entire book group, and I did not skimp one bit on the spices called for in the recipe. A double recipe of this shakshuka meant 4 teaspoons of sweet paprika, 2 teaspoons of cumin, and 1/2 teaspoon of the Serrano chili powder I discovered the last time I was in Napa. I mixed together all the spices and, when it was time, I slid them into the frying pan along with five cloves worth of chopped garlic. Continue reading
YOUR HEALTHY PLATE: Garlic Makes the World Go ‘Round
Many years ago I was introduced to two special recipes, both of which owe their magic to garlic. The first is a pureed vegetable soup, pure de verduras, Continue reading
YOUR HEALTHY PLATE: Garlic Scape Pesto
So before I share this recipe, which I found literally years ago, I need to tell you where I’m sitting. Well it’s not actually the where that matters, and it’s not the view either, oddly enough. It’s the smell. OMG!
Like many of my stories having to do with food, this one starts with my dad, Chef Ira. Pretty much anyone who knew him could tell you that Chef Ira was in the habit of buying enormous quantities of supplies for the farm. The grandchildren took particular delight in this habit of his; my mother not so much. But be they foodstuffs, baked goods (I’m looking at you Marie, Amy, Jimmy, and everybody my dad loved at the Italian Bakery in Flemington, NJ!), meats, paper goods, party supplies, kitchen appliances (think: apple spiralizer), or feed for the animals, he liked it big and he liked plenty of it. Continue reading
YOUR HEALTHY PLATE: Parsley Pesto
I am a diehard waste-not-want-not kind of girl from way back. In the past, I tended to make a lot of surprises from whatever was left in the kitchen, and they could either be great or they could turn out as what my kids used to call “refrigerator soup.”
But every once in a while, I hit the jackpot. Continue reading
YOUR HEALTHY PLATE: Cashew Cream
This very easy recipe takes food from simple to spectacular. Put cashew cream on your grain bowl or veggie bowl, and you’ll take it from everyday to amazing, good to great, ordinary to extraordinary, standard to spectacular. You can use any kinds of veggies, whether steamed (broccoli, cauliflower), roasted (carrots, asparagus, onions), stir-fried (snap peas, mushrooms, sprouts), or even raw (tomatoes, cucumbers). And it’s also perfect for grains like brown rice, bulgur wheat, or even quinoa (which I know is not technically a grain). We eat a lot of vegetables in my house, and the leftovers usually get eaten. Recipes like this one are a big part of the reason why. Continue reading
Garlic Scapes
Since I’ve been hanging out in Jerusalem with my kids, I’ve had a chance to enjoy the huge CSA (community supported agriculture) boxes that arrive regularly to their front door. This past week they received what Israelis call “green garlic,” and they enjoyed using it in salads like they use green onions, but otherwise weren’t sure what it was or where it came from. So I thought it might be nice to talk about green garlic, also known as “garlic scapes.” Garlic and the entire family of Allium relatives (leeks, chives, scallions, onions) begin their underground lives as soft bulbs. As the bulbs begin to harden, a shoot rises up, breaks through the soil to the air, and curls above ground. This shoot, or flower stalk, is called the scape, and it supposedly appears on only the finest hardneck varieties of garlic. Continue reading
YOUR HEALTHY PLATE: Rustic Zucchini & Tomatoes
A very long time ago, I spent an exhilarating and exhausting day working up an appetite climbing inside the Giza Pyramids in Egypt. Later that night, I ate a dish just like this in a busy restaurant in Cairo. My memories of that meal are layered through with the sounds of noisy waiters running between the kitchen and the small round tables, clanging pots, joyful patrons, and the smart smack of pottery plates, all while dozens of cats walking silently above us on the beams of the restaurant’s ceiling. If you’ve been gardening this summer, or if you’re friends with someone else who has, there’s a good chance that you already have what you need to make this recipe. Continue reading
YOUR HEALTHY PLATE: Green Herb Sauce
Here’s something you can make that will elevate absolutely everything from just good enough to supremely good enough. Spoon it onto your eggs (whether fried, scrambled, poached, or boiled), spread it around on toast, or drizzle some on your salad, pasta, cheese, tofu, chicken or salmon. Or you can eat it straight from the spoon. Basically, anything goes, and it will stay fresh in your refrigerator for a few days at least. If you don’t feel like grating a lemon, don’t worry about it. If you have a different kind of hot pepper, fine. It will still be delicious. I’m trying to keep this easy. Continue reading