My maternal grandparents lived in a white farm house with a red roof and a veranda that wrapped around two sides. I have a lot of affectionate for the trees and plants that grew directly around that house. These were the plants that my grandma and great grandma has chosen to encircle the house….a…
Tag: adaptable
Thai Shrimp Stir-fry with Garlic, Cilantro and Peppercorns
I love the simplicity of this dish. It is based on a seasoning paste that is common in Thai cuisine. Unlike curry pastes, which involve many ingredients, this paste consists just of garlic, peppercorns (preferably white) and cilantro roots. The hardest part of making it is finding a grocer that sells cilantro with the roots…
Naked and Imperfect Nettle and Wild Garlic Dumplings (Gluten-Free), Rocket and Radish Salad with Walnut Vinaigrette
I ate nettles for the first time when were traveling in Bulgaria eight years ago. There they are served sauteed with poached eggs, rolled with farmers cheese in balls studded with walnuts or made into soups and fritters. The food in Bulgaria was really excellent. This may have changed since they joined the European Union,…
Flower and Pheasant Egg Salad
My sister Silvi has been visiting me in New York City. Usually when she comes to visit, I work her to exhaustion helping me build puppets for some show or another and then tearfully beg her to extend her trip another month. This is the first time that she has come to see me just…
Curry Chicken Noodle Soup with Pickled Mustard (to sooth seasonal allergies)
I have been suffering from allergies due to our early gorgeous Spring. If you are in the same boat, I suggest making yourself this soup to sooth your scratchy throat. It is loosely based on Khao Soi which is from Chiang Mai in the Northern part of Thailand. Someday I would like to go there….
Red, Yellow and Green Thai Curry Pastes
For many years, I made very large quantities of green, yellow and red Thai curry paste at Christmas time to give as gifts (and also to stock my freezer). A few years ago my friend Kerthy helped me roast and grind all of the ingredients and half way through the process we could barely speak or…
Chili Cream and Swiss Chard Soup
So we steep chilies in cream at work to make delicious spicy cream. And there was a batch recently that got left to steep for a bit too long. My co-worker Jen was going to throw it out but I said, WAIT! That is delicious spicy cream! It is fatty and spicy and those are…
Green Vegetables in Yellow Bean Garlic Sauce
You may not realize that you have eaten yellow-bean garlic sauce, but if you have ordered long beans or water spinach at a Thai or Vietnamese restaurant in an attempt to counteract the quantity of coconut milk curry and fried spring roles that will be consuming…chances are you have had this sauce. It’s a very…
Sweet and Tangy Fruit Chutney
It was bound to happen. What with all the jam, curd and marmalade making, I was bound to start making chutney. I was perfectly content to use store bought mango chutney to top my Spicy Chickpea Pancakes, samosas or pakora….but now I have made my own sweet and tangy fruit chutney, and it kicks the teeth out…
Roasted Potatoes and Fennel with Za’atar
Every year around my birthday I go out for dinner at one of my favourite restaurants, The Kebab Cafe, in Astoria Queens. I don’t really eat out much, because it interferes with my desires to spend all of my time cooking in my own kitchen, but eating at the Kebab cafe is deeply satisfying to…
Big Sis Little Dish 