Posted in asian, chicken, favorites, gluten free, mushrooms, soup on Dec 6th, 2009
Cooking and eating, I think I manage to do ambitiously. I just really like food, and I want to enjoy it as much as absolutely possible. That means I need to eat whatever is offered to me with an open mind. My desire to try new foods is driven by curiosity, but my desire to [...]
Posted in bread, cheese, favorites, italian, pizza, vegetables on Nov 28th, 2009
When it comes to cooking, I definitely have weaknesses. I’ve never cooked a perfect roast chicken. I can’t cook a steak with any sort of precision in doneness; if it’s somewhere between ‘moo’ and black, I consider it a success. And grilling? I’ve really never done it. Clearly there are holes in my culinary knowledge. [...]
Posted in chocolate, cookies, dessert, favorites, freezer friendly, winter/holidays on Nov 26th, 2009
It’s Thanksgiving! And that means it’s officially Christmastime! Right? Oh, it means something about giving thanks? Hmm. That’s cool too. Still, once the feast is over, it’s all about Christmas. I used to try to hold off thinking about, hearing, and seeing anything Christmas-related until Thanksgiving, but you can imagine how successful that strategy was. [...]
Posted in casserole, cheese, favorites, freezer friendly, mushrooms, pasta on Nov 16th, 2009
This is, for me, perfect lasagna. You can’t go wrong with most combinations of pasta + sauce + cheese, but this one has just the right balance of light and rich, cheese and tomatoes, pasta and sauce, vegetables and…well, not meat, because there is none. But don’t worry, it isn’t vegetable lasagna. It’s vegetarian lasagna. [...]
Posted in cheese, favorites, gluten free, good as leftovers, healthy, vegetables, vegetarian, whole grains on Nov 11th, 2009
I’m really looking forward to moving to New Mexico. There’s absolutely nothing wrong with Philadelphia; any unhappiness I had here was my own deal and not a result of the location. But I am excited about having a fresh start somewhere. I am a little concerned about the grocery store situation. I have been majorly [...]
Posted in beans, favorites, gluten free, healthy, one pot meal, vegetables, vegetarian, whole grains on Oct 22nd, 2009
Of all the whole grains, brown rice has been the hardest for me to accept. I realize now that I’d been cooking it wrong for years. I just couldn’t seem to cook it through all the way, and I tried a bunch of different recipes, but it was always crunchy. Then sometime last year, Cooks [...]
Posted in beans, favorites, healthy, sandwiches, vegetables, vegetarian, weeknight meal, whole grains on Oct 15th, 2009
I believe that people are what they think they are, which is just a less fancy way of saying that you can do just about anything you think you can do. I remember in high school, I consistently got an 89% in my classes, and I always wondered why I hadn’t worked just a bit [...]
You must make this cake. I try not to say that. I know everyone has their own preferences. Not everyone likes to bake. There is no shortage of apple cake recipes. But – You must make this cake. It’s the essence of fall, all in one small unassuming square of cake. It will make your [...]
Posted in beans, breakfast, eggs, favorites, potatoes, vegetarian on Sep 21st, 2009
Do you have a food you love from your hometown that you can’t get anymore? For New Mexicans, that food will always be Hatch green chile. It’s ubiquitous in New Mexico, and you won’t just find it in enchiladas and chile rellenos and the like, but in more unexpected places, like eggs and burgers and [...]
Posted in cheese, favorites, one pot meal, pasta, summer, vegetables, vegetarian, weeknight meal on Aug 21st, 2009
I know I’ve been harping on my love of summer lately, and I did the same thing last year. Honestly, while summer is undoubtedly my favorite season, fall is a not-too-distant second, and really, there are aspects I like about every season. But summer doesn’t just have sunlight and warmth and lightning bugs and beach [...]
