101 Cookbooks

Mushroom Casserole

2008-11-30T20:31:54-08:00

I had one favorite thing to eat when I was a kid. One dish I was loyal to above all else. I would request it when I was recovering from the flu, pneumonia, or strep throat. I would request it weeknights, weekends, and holidays. It was a simple dish, and one of four (maybe five) recipes my mom had in her entire culinary arsenal - we can get to some of the others in a future post. Above all, I favored her rice and mushroom casserole. As I remember it she combined rice, mushrooms (or creamy mushroom soup) and cheese in a casserole dish and baked it until it was creamy, melty, and golden at the edges. Easy enough. I made a healthier, from-scratch remix of this the other night using brown rice, sauteed mushrooms, garlic, and onions -all made creamy with a blend of cottage cheese and a bit of sour cream.

You can certainly use whatever cooked grains you like. I suspect this would be delicious with barley, wheat berries, quinoa, whole grain rices - or even a mix of grains. My mom used to hide all sorts of things in this casserole - I don't go the pork chop or chicken breast route any more (precooked!), but I can imagine pan-seared seitan strips being great. I can also imagine anything from chopped leafy greens, toasted nuts, sun-dried tomatoes, all as great as add-ins.

That being said, I love this simple version. The smell of it baking five minutes after I lifted the foil off the casserole took me right back to those times when I was a kid standing below the oven, high as I could get on my tip-toes, the heat from the oven door making my cheeks rosy, peering through the oven window at my favorite casserole. Mom, maybe it's my turn to make it for you?

Continue reading Mushroom Casserole...

Site Updates

2008-11-28T09:02:50-08:00

My guess is that many of you have experienced plenty of cooking and eating over the past few days. Another recipe is probably the last thing you need from me. So, instead of a recipe today, I'll call out a couple site updates you may (or may not have) noticed over the past couple of weeks.

- Print with photo: Many of you requested the ability to print recipes with the lead photo - in addition to the plain-old print w/o photo capability. Done. Now at the base of each recipe there is a print with photo link. It will take you to a page that looks like this, or this, or this.

- FAQ: This is looong overdue. But I've finally added a FAQ (frequently asked question) link to the main navigation.

- Build a Natural Foods Pantry: I added an ever-evolving reference section Building a Natural Foods Pantry. It focuses on how to gradually move toward more of a natural cooking palette by outlining which ingredients I like, and more importantly why I like them.

- Community: There is now a community link as part of the main/top navigation. I suspect this section will be ever evolving as well, but for now this section simply highlights a few of the ways you might use other sites and social networks to engage and participate with others in the 101 Cookbooks community. It shows how you might participate with other 101 Cookbooks readers/cooks on Flickr - if you use Flickr and happen to cook something from this site, simply tag it 101cookbooks. We've talked a lot about 101 Cookbooks as a Kiva lending team in the past (we've funded over $16,000 in loans so far). And lastly, I've set up a 101 Cookbooks page on Facebook - if you add yourself as a fan, you'll be able to keep track of events and/or announcements through that channel too.

Here's a question I have for you....

- Category lists: At the top of each post I used to list off every category a recipe was filed under. I've since removed this - to clean up the design more than anything. Are you missing it? I've thought about re-inserting this info back, but into the footer of each recipe. If you feel strongly either way, pop off an email and let me know.

That's it for now. Hope you all have a great weekend. -h

Continue reading Site Updates...

Thanksgiving Recipes

2008-11-25T08:52:15-08:00

I hope plenty of good food, family and friends are in the cards this year for those of you who celebrate Thanksgiving. I'm driving to my parents where I'll meet up with my sister, her husband, and a baby with the cutest cheeks I've ever seen. Hopefully a few friends will stop by as well. I picked a dozen of my favorite Thanksgiving recipes to highlight today - it seems to be the only thing you are searching for right now. Also, in case you missed it, I made a list of vegan Thanksgiving recipes and a slightly different list of vegetarian Thanksgiving recipes.

1. Roasted Pumpkin Salad, 2. Caramelized Tofu, 3. Vegetarian Gumbo, 4. Maple Grilled Tempeh

5. Vibrant Tasty Green Beans, 6. Golden-Crusted Brussels Sprouts, 7. Broccoli Crunch Recipe, 8. Shredded Brussels Sprouts & Apples

9. Nikki's Sweet Potatoes, 10. Spice-kissed Pumpkin Pie, 11. Kale and Olive Oil Mashed Potatoes, 12. Firecracker Cornbread

I'm going to try a few recipes this year, and if all goes well, I look forward to sharing them here with you next year!

Continue reading Thanksgiving Recipes...

Nikki's Sweet Potatoes

2008-11-23T08:40:38-08:00

Before we get into the double-baked, coconut and macadamia nut-crusted sweet potato recipe my friend Nikki shared with me, I wanted to mention that I've posted my favorite vegetarian Thanksgiving recipes as well as my favorite vegan Thanksgiving recipes last week. This recipe is going on both lists, but I can't take credit for it. Nikki sent it to me - the same Nikki who took my site by storm when I posted her Healthy Cookie recipe over the summer. The same Nikki I've been friends with since she showed up in my sixth grade class, fresh from L.A., wearing a Swatch watch and white Reebok hi-tops. Both things I'd never seen before. And now, even though we're on opposite sides of the country, I love exchanging emails about recent cooking ideas and adventures with her - it's one of my favorite reasons to check my emails. Nikki described these sweet potatoes to me as a sweet potato mash, but with a twist - they get creaminess from a generous splash of coconut milk, crunch from toasted coconut and macadamias, and a kick from freshly grated ginger.

I think she hit the nail on the head when she told me she paired it with lots of garlicky, sauteed greens. She served it with grilled chicken, but you could certainly go the marinated tofu or tempeh route which is what I did. Delicious.

Continue reading Nikki's Sweet Potatoes...

Spice-kissed Pumpkin Pie

2008-11-23T08:38:07-08:00

I just updated this recipe to include a quick pat-in-pan crust option. This pumpkin pie recipe was inspired by Kathy FitzHenry. Her name might not ring a bell with many of you, but few people have had a bigger impact on my cooking in the past year than Kathy. Kathy FitzHenry and her partner Bill Mc Gaughey toil away in the back of the Presidio's Officers' Club creating wonderful small-batch spice blends under the name The Occasional Gourmet (also known as Juliet Mae Spices). Kathy's dry harrisa stopped me in my tracks at the Fancy Food Show last year, and her rose petal cinnamon is my favorite secret baking ingredient. Kathy invited me to visit her at work where she showed me how she makes her vibrant, fragrant pumpkin pie spice blend. I then went on to use it in my favorite pumpkin pie made from a rich, roasted pumpkin and coconut milk base, and baked in a hazelnut-lined crust.

So, let's start at the beginning. Using good quality, freshly ground spices can transform culinary creations. The blend I made with Kathy certainly took my pumpkin pie to delicious new heights. Having command of the language of spices can give you endless ways to make your culinary creations "your own" - and that is something I'm always thinking about - how to evolve my culinary point of view. For example, it took some time but I eventually realized that I'm most excited about cooking with all those deliciously underutilized whole grains, a wide range of locally grown produce, big flavors, and plenty of texture and colors. I think spice blends are the next frontier for me and I'm curious about all the new and unexpected ways they might intersect my current cooking palette. I don't really know how it will play out yet, but that's why I bug Kathy. She has much to teach me, and she is generous with her knowledge.

What makes Kathy's spice blends different from many other spice blends you might encounter is that she makes them to order in small batches. This means she grinds her spices the same day she blends and seals them. When you grind spices to order you're preserving the essential oils in the spices - which is critical. Other producers grind in bulk and use those pre-ground spices over the coming days and weeks. No good. Think about all the countries where cooks shop daily for spices, there's good reason.

When you are doing your own spice blends at home be sure to seek out whole spices that aren't tired and stale - grind them just before using if possible. You can make the same pumpkin pie spice blend we made in your own kitchen using a small blade-coffee grinder with no problem, the spice ratio and recipe is down below. Kathy likes the Braun mini-grinder for spice grinding. Or you can let Kathy do the work for you - her spice blends come in tiny, air-tight, resealable mylar bags and are available through her site if you aren't local - she has also been kind enough to offer 101 Cookbooks readers 10% off any purchase you make on The Occasional Gourmet before 12/3/07 (thank you Kathy!)...

What Kathy knows about spice blends could fill volumes, but one thing in particular struck me as important. Kathy approaches blends the way a parfumeur might approach making a scent - by using bass notes, midnotes (like tumeric or coriander), and top notes (like rose petals). I was talking to her about how she goes about creating her blends and she mentioned that major spices tend to fall into five basic flavor groups:

Sweet: allspice, anise, cassia, cinnamon, nutmeg, vanilla

Pungent: ajowan, asafetida, caraway, cardamom, celery seed, cloves, cumin,
dill seed, fenugreek seed, galangal, ginger, juniper, licorice, mace, nigella, orris root, star anise

Tangy: amchur, barbery, black lime, caper, kokam, pomegranate, sumac, tamarind, zest

Hot: chile, horseradish, mustard, black/white pepper, wasabi

Unifying/Amalgamating: coriander seed, fennel seed, paprika, poppy seed, sesame, turmeric, fennel seed (and she notes: Who would think? But it is a wonderful bridge spice to orange)

A bit about today's pumpkin pie recipe. While many traditional pumpkin pie recipes use cream or half-and-half, I like to use coconut milk. Pumpkin and coconut milk - its perfect! And for you traditionalists who are worried about the coconut milk flavor - it isn't at all pronounced. I also make a toasted hazelnut paste and spread it across the bottom of my pie crust before baking - in addition to adding another layer of flavor, it also helps keep the crust from getting soggy. You can skip the hazelnut paste if you like. I typically use a simple pate brisee for my pie dough, but I use whole wheat pasty flour in place of all-purpose flour. I'm also going to include an alternate pat-in-pan graham cracker crust for those of you who want a quick and easy homemade crust for your pie but don't want to deal with a traditional crsut. For those of you pinched for time during the holidays - I'll note some time-saving tips in the head notes of the recipe as well. And of course, related to this post - use the best spices you can get your hands on. Thanks again Kathy and Bill for letting me spend the morning with you, I can't wait to come back and witness the curry powder coming together!

Continue reading Spice-kissed Pumpkin Pie...

Firecracker Cornbread

2008-11-19T21:38:02-08:00

If you think you might like a moist, tender buttermilk cornbread packed with corn kernels and flecked with red pepper flakes, this is the recipe to try. Last year I did yeast-raised cornbread for Thanksgiving, and I decided to head in the opposite direction this year. I was after a more traditional cornbread, but added a bit of a spicy twist. I infused a few tablespoons of butter with spicy red pepper flakes, heated them in the pan I would eventually bake the cornbread in, added the batter, baked it off, and ended up with a nice crusty, slightly sweet cornbread with the perfect amount of kick to it.

I actually started thinking about doing a firecracker cornbread around the time I was writing about fire oil in the context of this hummus recipe. Good in lots of things - hummus, muffins....breads. I made a note to self to try it in my next batch of cornbread. I also considered (alternately) doing a spicy simple syrup and using that within the context of the cornbread batter. I decided on the infused butter route because it would help give the cornbread a bit of a butter crust (because it isn't incorporated into the batter)...but think of all the fun thinkings you could do with a spicy simple syrup.

Continue reading Firecracker Cornbread...

Vibrant Tasty Green Beans

2008-11-16T20:37:24-08:00

This is one of my favorite ways to cook green beans - five ingredients, one skillet. I know some of you are married to your traditional way of cooking green beans but if you are in the market for a new version, one that doesn't involve cooking the green beans beyond recognition, give this recipe a go. It is easy enough that you could conceivably do a test run before Thanksgiving if you like. I cook green beans a couple times a week during certain seasons, and this version with its slightly quirky combination of ingredients is one I come back to over and over. It is light and bright, healthy and delicious. I simply cook a bunch of chopped leeks until they are golden and a bit crunchy, toss in some chopped dill, and then add the green beans. Do your best to not overcook them and you are all set.

While I've written this recipe as more of a side dish - you can easily bump it up to main dish status. I sometimes use the dilled green beans to fill omelettes (along with a bit of goat cheese). Alternately, you might toss some tofu, tempeh or seitan into the skillet (sauteed until nicely browned or golden ahead of time) along with the green beans. Or you could make a main dish salad by serving the beans over lightly dressed butter lettuce. Plenty of directions to take this one.

As I note in the head notes down below, this is best made to order, just before serving. I don't like hot green beans after they've been sitting around for long periods of time - they lose vibrancy, and the texture and taste changes as they sit overcooking themselves. You can make this recipe a day ahead of time by cooking the leeks and dill first and setting them aside. And instead of cooking the green beans in the skillet, blanch them in a pot of boiling, well-salted water for about a minute. Drain and dunk the beans in a large bowl of ice water to stop the cooking. Drain and set aside until ready to use. Combine the components before serving - you can do it at room temperature, or heated quickly in a skillet or pan before serving.

And I think this goes without saying, but do your best to seek out good green beans. I don't know what it is exactly, but I've been seeing some terrible looking green beans around. Good beans should be bright green and have a bit of snap when you bend them. Avoid leathery green beans - also avoid beans that are limp, mottled or outright mangy. I've seen the lot this year. :/

Continue reading Vibrant Tasty Green Beans...

Vegetarian Thanksgiving Recipes

2008-11-16T17:52:36-08:00

I thought it might be helpful if I posted a round up of a few of my favorite vegetarian Thanksgiving recipes, they tend to hide deep in the archives. Here they are - bumped up to the top here so they are easier to find, and I did my best to stick to my all-time favorites. I'll do a separate post for vegan Thanksgiving recipes and suggestions. Enjoy!

Roasted Pumpkin Salad - A roasted pumpkin salad made with wild rice, tiny, caramelized red onions drizzled with a simple, honey-kissed, creamy sunflower seed dressing.

Kale and Olive Oil Mashed Potatoes - A favorite mashed potato recipe and slight twist on a classic - creamy mashed potatoes flecked with finely chopped greens and garlic. Adding a green like kale, and golden threads of drizzled olive oil is a great way to add color and nutritional umph to America's favorite starch-packed side dish.

Vibrant Tasty Green Beans - A favorite green bean recipe - dill, green beans, leeks, salt and olive oil. That's it - five ingredients, one skillet - tasty green beans.

Firecracker Cornbread - A moist, tender buttermilk cornbread packed with corn kernels and flecked with red pepper flakes. Simple and delicious.

Vanilla Mashed Sweet Potatoes - Those of you who are long-time readers are likely tired of hearing out this one - but I love it. Plump vanilla beans, cream, orange zest, and butter are combined with sweet potatoes that have been roasted in the oven. A quick whirl in the food processor produces a smooth, creamy, subtly sweet puree haunted by the delicious vanilla and citrus undertones. The consistency is that of a thick frosting.

Hazelnut & Chard Ravioli Salad - I made this last year and it makes a great vegetarian main dish. Plump raviolis tossed with toasted hazelnuts, sauteed ribbons of chard, and caramelized onions are at the heart of this ravioli salad recipe. It's finished off with a dusting of cheese, snipped chives, and lemon zest. You can prepare most of the components ahead of time.

Spice-kissed Pumpkin Pie - Favorite, easy pumpkin pie recipe. Made from a rich, roasted pumpkin and coconut milk base, and baked in a hazelnut-lined crust - delicious!

Yeast-raised Cornbread - Not your typical cornbread recipe. This is a yeast-leavened corn bread recipe, heavily flecked with kernels of bright yellow corn and generously spiked with chives. Perfect for stuffing and soup-dunking.

Golden-Crusted Brussels Sprouts - A quick and easy brussels sprouts recipe that will convert the biggest skeptics. Vibrant green, tender brussels sprouts that become deeply golden and crusty where they touch the pan, dusted with cheese.

Shredded Brussels Sprouts & Apples - Another favorite way to cook brussels sprouts. Shredded brussels sprout ribbons, apples, garlic, pine nuts, and tofu in a skillet with a hint of maple syrup.

Thai-spiced Pumpkin Soup - This Thai-spiced Pumpkin Soup couldn't be easier to make - roasted winter squash, coconut milk, Thai red curry paste, and sea salt come together in a pot of vibrant, rich, flavorful soup. Total crowd pleaser.

Cornmeal Crunch - This is what happens when you cook a pot of cornmeal until it is thick and creamy. Add a bit off cheese, some deeply caramelized onions, spread it in a pan, drizzle generously with olive oil and bake until the bottom and sides are deeply golden and crunchy.

I'm going to leave the comments closed - with the idea that this is more of a reference post.

Continue reading Vegetarian Thanksgiving Recipes...

Vegan Thanksgiving Recipes

2008-11-16T17:43:37-08:00

Hi everyone, I thought it might be helpful if I posted a round up a handful of a few of my favorite vegan Thanksgiving recipes. There are a bunch on the site that are inherently vegan and many more that can easily be made vegan with a minor tweak or two (which I'll note in this list). I'll do a separate post for vegetarian Thanksgiving recipes and suggestions as well. Also, here is where you can find a full directory of the vegan recipes on 101 Cookbooks throughout the year. Vegan Thanksgiving recipes:

Maple Grilled Tempeh - A fantastic salty-sweet grilled tempeh recipe. The marinade is made from a simple (but effective) combination of maple syrup, soy sauce, garlic and ground chipotle pepper.

Shredded Brussels Sprouts & Apples - Another favorite way to cook brussels sprouts. Shredded brussels sprout ribbons, apples, garlic, pine nuts, and tofu in a skillet with a hint of maple syrup.

Vibrant Tasty Green Beans - A favorite green bean recipe - dill, green beans, leeks, salt and olive oil. That's it - five ingredients, one skillet - tasty green beans.

Caramelized Tofu - One of my favorite tofu recipes, caramelized strips of tofu served over sauteed shredded brussels sprouts. It come together quickly and uses just one pan.

Hazelnut & Chard Ravioli Salad - I made this last year and it makes a great vegetarian main dish, you can make it vegan by using a vegan ravioli and omitting the Parmesan cheese. Plump raviolis tossed with toasted hazelnuts, sauteed ribbons of chard, and caramelized onions. It's finished off with snipped chives, and lemon zest. You can prepare most of the components ahead of time.

Cornmeal Crunch - This is what happens when you cook a pot of cornmeal until it is thick and creamy. Add some deeply caramelized onions, leave the Parmesan out if you are vegan, spread it in a pan, drizzle generously with olive oil and bake until the bottom and sides are deeply golden and crunchy.

Broccoli Crunch - A great broccoli recipe, one of my favorites! Tiny green florets, crisp apples, crunchy shallots, candied nuts and slivered red onions are tossed in a barely sweet, creamy almond vinaigrette. Add baked tofu or pan-fried tempeh and you can easily turn this side into a main course.

Golden-Crusted Brussels Sprouts - A quick and easy brussels sprouts recipe that will convert the biggest skeptics. Vibrant green, tender brussels sprouts that become deeply golden and crusty where they touch the pan. Skip the Parmesan cheese finish to make it vegan.

Thai-spiced Pumpkin Soup - This Thai-spiced Pumpkin Soup couldn't be easier to make - roasted winter squash, coconut milk, Thai red curry paste, and sea salt come together in a pot of vibrant, rich, flavorful soup. Total crowd pleaser. Use coconut oil or olive oil in place of the butter in the beginning and it's vegan.

Roasted Pumpkin Salad - A roasted pumpkin salad made with wild rice, tiny, caramelized red onions drizzled with a simple, creamy sunflower seed dressing. Use agave nectar in place of the honey in the dressing to make it vegan.

I'm going to leave the comments closed - with the idea that this is more of a reference post.

Continue reading Vegan Thanksgiving Recipes...

Baby Lima Soup with Chipotle Broth

2008-11-13T22:49:47-08:00

I suspect that one of my favorite recipes from Super Natural Cooking is a tad bit neglected, overlooked. It lives unassumingly on page 144, has no seductive photograph flanking it, and has the word lima in the title. It was a recipe originally shared with me by my pal Amanda Berne, in the middle of the day, in a Mexican grocery store in San Francisco's Mission District. We were surrounded by beans and dried chiles, flanked by towers of steaming, freshly made tortillas. Amanda can mount a compelling argument for a recipe she is fond of, and I tend to listen to her. This soup quickly became a regular in my kitchen. Made from just five ingredients, it is a vibrant, chipotle-spiked, brothy soup that requires minimal babysitting. The dainty baby lima beans soften up in about an hour without any pre-soaking or fuss.

You can find chipotles in adobo sauce in the Mexican-foods section of most markets. They lend a spicy, smoky, assertive flair that's nicely balanced by the beans and regal reddish gold broth.

Those of you interested in my weekend trip to Portland, Oregon can read the details and see a few pics I uploaded.

Continue reading Baby Lima Soup with Chipotle Broth...

Weekend in Portland

2008-11-13T17:06:08-08:00

Last weekend Wayne and I popped up to Portland for a little get-away. I thought some of you might be interested in some of the things we did, so I pulled together some pictures and highlights.

Thursday: Checked into the Ace Hotel. Ate lunch at Clyde Common - it adjoins the Ace lobby. Had a macchiato from Stumptown Coffee Roasters - just off the lobby on the other side. Walked around the neighborhood a bit to get acclimated, spent a couple hours across the street in Powell's City of Books, and then popped into the Rogue Brewery later in the afternoon for a tasting flight. Went across the bridge to Ken's Artisan Pizza for dinner. Back to the hotel where we then walked to nearby Whole Foods Market to stock up on breakfast provisions and water (the Ace conveniently provided an empty refrigerator).

Me & Alyson (Unruly Things)

Friday: Walked from the hotel through the Pearl District to Sip & Kranz for coffee. Drove to Powell's Home & Garden, then over to Mississippi Avenue to visit my friend Mark at The Meadow - where I stocked up on an obscene amount of salt and chocolate. Walked up the block and ordered a tasty omelette lunch at Gravy - breakfast served all day. Got a run in at the 10th Avenue Athletic Club just a few blocks from the hotel ($5 guest fee). Drove to Nutshell for a delicious and thoughtfully prepared dinner (Ubuntu fans be sure give it a go the next time you find yourself in Portland).

Saturday: Bundled up with umbrellas in hand we ventured downstairs for coffee at Stumptown, and then walked to the stunning Farmers Market at Portland State University - overflowing with squash, apples, mushrooms, hazelnuts, and tons of greens. I ran into Kim Carlson from Culinate, and a few minutes later had a John Hodgman sighting in front of the hotel. We then hopped in the car and drove out to Blue Moon Camera, stopping off to say Hi to Ali and Evan at The Little Red Bike Cafe on the way - picked up some Courier Coffee Roaster beans there as well. Back to the hotel, put in a hour on the treadmill and eventually (after a shower) hopped the bus to Ron Ton for drinks with friends. Walked a block or two to The Farm Cafe for dinner.

Little Red Bike Cafe - Me & Ali

Sunday: Coffee, newspaper, and fun with the photo booth in the lobby of the Ace. Did a bit of shopping the the neighborhood, and on the way back in I serendipitously ran into Alyson (from Unruly Things) out in front of the hotel - I've been a fan of her site and Flickr stream for a long time, so it was great to unexpectedly run into her. Popped up the street and made salads for lunch at the Whole Foods salad bar. Walked up to the library and spent a couple hours there, before going back to the hotel to hang out with a new book. Walked across the street to the Living Room Theater to watch a movie - Man on Wire. Had a tasty tempeh bowl at The Blossoming Lotus a few blocks away for dinner.

For next time: There were so many places we didn't get to this time around - Toro Bravo, Park Kitchen, I wanted to check out the old schoolhouse that is now a hotel/brewery...I'm blanking on the name right now. Anyhow, we had a great time and I'd love to hear any other recommendations you might have for our next trip up to Portland.

Continue reading Weekend in Portland...

Matchstick Pasta

2008-11-11T08:37:45-08:00

I have an island in the middle of my kitchen, and unfortunately it isn't the kind with sand and surf. The island is a stopover point for groceries that haven't quite completed their journey to the appropriate drawer or cupboard. They like it here, in fact they tend to hang out for days on end. I mean what's not to like? It's a social place - the pecans mingle with pistachios, and the pasta plays with pumpkins, pomegranates and popcorn kernels. The light is good. A few of the residents have been over-staying their welcome and ended up in this island-inspired pasta. Whole grain linguine matchsticks now reside with barely cooked red kale, and a vibrant golden dressing made from a quick puree of toasted pistachios, olive oil, salt and garlic. The pomegranate provided ruby-colored accents and little pops of sweetness, playing nicely off the salt-tinged, garlic notes of the pistachio dressing.

I knew I wanted to make a pasta dish of some sort, and the pasta I had on hand was an organic sprouted whole grain linguine. As a side note, I'm a fan of the taste, texture, and nutritional profile of Food For Life Baking Company's Ezekial 4:9 cereals, and was curious about their pasta(s). Whole grain pasta needs just the right thing to go along with it, and I had a nice, big bunch of beautifully colored red kale on hand. It had big, voluminous leaves that maintained a bit of structure after a quick dunk in boiling water. This worked well - breaking up the flat pasta nicely.

You can certainly use another type of kale if you like, but try to choose a fresh, lively bunch with hearty, substantial leaves.

Continue reading Matchstick Pasta...

Cornmeal Crunch

2008-11-08T08:06:35-08:00

This is what happens when you cook a pot of cornmeal until it is thick and creamy. Add a bit off cheese, some deeply caramelized onions, spread it in a pan, drizzle generously with olive oil and bake until the bottom and sides are deeply golden and crunchy. The insides stay a tad bit melty and creamy, the caramelized onions on top add depth and sweetness.

We've been doing all sorts of things with the leftovers - dunking slabs in stews, slathering pieces with goat cheese, tossing smaller cubes into salads, and (my personal favorite) topping with sauteed spinach.

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Unfussy Apple Cake

2008-11-05T07:55:19-08:00

I love this apple cake - here's how it came into being. I accumulated seven different kinds of apples over the past ten days or so. Not really on purpose (election anxiety?), but it happened regardless. There are Rome Beauties in the crisper, Honeycrisps in the refrigerator, Fujis in a bowl on my kitchen island, Braeburns and Galas still in a grocery bag on the counter, and a mix of three tiny heirlooms that found their way into my purse. Time to make an apple cake. Nothing fancy, I used my standard buttermilk cake batter (which I love, and find endlessly adaptable), plenty of hot and spicy cinnamon, and the apples? I decided the sweet, juicy Fujis would take the stage as the signature ingredient. Their rosy skins ended up dotting the cake like confetti, and they bring a sweetness to the cake that allowed me to keep the sugar elsewhere in the batter to a minimum.

I used a vibrant, spicy Saigon cinnamon in my cake (also known as Vietnamese cinnamon). Have you tried it? It has fun notes of red-hot candy, and a more complex, less woody scent than the cinnamon many of you are used to. If you come across any from a good spice vendor, be sure to pick some up. Not to worry if you can't track it down, the cinnamon you typically use for baking will work here as well. I bought mine at the Farmers' Market (Marin) from Kathy and Bill - who some of you might remember I visited last year. Kathy showed me how to make her pumpkin pie spice blend, which I then used in last year's pumpkin pie recipe.

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Vegetarian Gumbo

2008-11-02T08:21:53-08:00

Good vegetarian gumbo exists. My neighbor Kim makes it for us, but only once a year. Kim is one of those 25th generation gumbo makers from the south, who (years ago) told me about a vegetarian gumbo her mom used to make during Lent, or during times when meat wasn't readily available or affordable. The gumbo was served over rice, and just before serving eggs were poached in the simmering gravy. I eventually asked Kim if she would teach me to make this type of gumbo, and Friday night (after multiple lessons, and plenty of phone calls) I made a big pot of it to share with our friends and neighbors who swing by on Halloween.

A bit of context - Wayne and I live on a street that dead-ends into a park. On Halloween hundreds of kids (and adults) parade by our front door as they trick-or-treat or make their way toward the Castro Halloween festivities. Neighbors on our block sit on the steps in front of their houses and give out candy, chat with each other, and people-watch. This has been going on for years. And every year, on our stretch of street, Kim would have a pot of gumbo bubbling away upstairs in her apartment. She'd offer up a bowl to any friends who stopped by. Now people stop by just to enjoy Kim's gumbo. Kim usually does a sausage gumbo, but an increasing number people who come over are vegetarian (this being San Francisco and all ;) - and she wanted to share with them as well. To make a long story short, Kim started making a separate pot of vegetarian gumbo and I loved it. Over the past year she taught me to make it, and put me on vegetarian gumbo duty this year for Halloween.

The recipe that follows is the gumbo I served on Halloween. Over the past few months Kim and I have tried a few variations to see what really makes veg gumbo great - I'll note some of our findings in the head note of the recipe, in case you are wondering about substitutions.

If you're after a "quick and easy" gumbo recipe this isn't it. While seemingly simple - you make the roux, then you make the gumbo - it takes the better part of a morning or afternoon. More importantly, it takes patience, and focus, and attention to little details. I suspect gumbo-making is one of those things where you get better with each notch on your wooden gumbo spoon. More than any other food I've cooked, it's all about watching, and smelling, listening, and tasting.

Continue reading Vegetarian Gumbo...