I liked to cook when I was a kid. I found that I could convince my mother to let me eat much less healthy food if it was couched in enthusiasm about learning how to cook for myself. I remember making pineapple brown betty when I first moved to Hawaii when I was 9 years…
Wilted Collard Green Salad with Peanuts and Black Eyed Peas
This recipe caught my eye because it reminded me of the Palaver recipe that my sister posted long ago. That is a very good stew, but this salad is easier to carry to work for lunch. The classic African combination of peanuts, collards and black-eyed peas is so tasty and fortifying. This recipe makes enough for two…
Chocolate Pear Pudding Cake (gluten-free or not)
Happy Boxing day! This pudding cake is similar to the Friday Afternoon Pear and Hazelnut Pudding Cake I posted…hmmm…almost exactly one year ago! Appearently I crave pear pudding cake of one sort or another at this time of year. In the winter, it is very important to me to come home from school and have warm…
Aunt Claire’s Tourtière (with a gluten-free crust)
Last Christmas, my cousin Tanya gave me her mother’s recipe for tourtière. This recipe is neck and neck with my gluten-free butter tarts for the title of most Canadian post on this blog. It is a simple, delicious and it would work well with whatever meat is good in your region. I used…
Pumpkin Walnut Soup
I have been very attracted lately to soup recipes that are made rich by the addition of nuts rather than cream. Last winter I made two soups that were enriched with cashew cream (curried broccoli soup and cream of mushroom soup). I have plans to try a hazelnut mushroom soup and potato almond soup in…
Sourdough Blini (Gluten-Free)
I have not posted anything about my gluten-free sourdough starter for a little while. That is misleading. The sourdough starter has continued to demand a lot of attention and produce a lot of pancakes and Estonian style dark sourdough bread in my house. I have given away quite a lot of it. In fact, if…
Black Sesame Shortbread with Candied Ginger (Gluten-Free)/ Travels in Taiwan
In October, my husband and I went to Taiwan to teach some puppetry workshops. We ended up getting stuck there for four extra days because the big storm hit NYC the day we were supposed to get home. I haven’t mentioned the trip, because we have been pretty distracted by storm aftermath since returning. It…
Roasted Cauliflower with Hazelnuts and Pickled Celery
When I was about 9 years old I received as a gift a beautiful set of Nijinsky and Pavlova paper dolls which depicted all of their costumes from the Ballet Russe. I was so taken with these costumes that I did research about the life of Anna Pavlova at the library. I learned that she…
Whipped Pear and Parsnip Side Dish (better than pie)
This side dish was discovered while my friend Bethany and I were making a new pie recipe at Thanksgiving. It was a pear parsnip pie from The Nantucket Open-House Cookbook by Sarah Leah Chase. The pie was good. It was a more delicate cousin of a pumpkin pie. But Bethany and I both agreed that…
Carrot Ginger Cupcakes (Gluten-Free or Not/ Dairy-Free or Not)
This gluten free carrot cake recipe was inspired by the classic carrot cake recipe that I grew up eating in the late 70’s and early 80’s. My family favoured the super moist carrot cake topped with a not very sweet creme cheese icing (or no icing at all) from Susan Mendelson’s excellent cookbook Mama Never…
Big Sis Little Dish 