Bengal Red Lentil Dal (to defeat seasonal allergies)

It’s spring time!  It’s BBQ time!  It’s allergy time!  Today we will be addressing the third and least glamourous aspect of the current season.  I will not go into the horrific details of my seasonal allergies.  Those of you who share this problem know all to well what it is like.  Last year, I posted…

Laying Hens and Herbal Teas

I am working at a farm this summer and fall! This is something I’ve been wanting to do for going on 10 years now, ever since I travelled down the west coast on a bike tour meeting farmers and other people who care about agriculture. Yep, so finally it’s happening. I just finished my first…

Cauliflower Gratin with Horseradish and Poppy Seeds

I just got off the phone with my best college girl friend, Rebecca.  We lived together when she was a Sophomore and I was a Junior.  We rented the furnished apartment of an old lady in Yonkers.  It had two bedrooms, two bathrooms and a great kitchen which flowed in a dining area and then…

Lemon Mochiko Cake

Mochi flour, also known as mochiko flour, sweet white rice flour or glutinous rice flour is used to make delicious sweet treats in Japan.  In Hawaii, where  spent the second half of my childhood, American style cakes made with mochiko flour are a very popular treat.  It has a springy texture that I love.  When…

Better Layered Blini Mushroom Casserole (gluten-free or not)

Last winter I made a Layered Wild  Mushroom and Blini Casserole in an attempt to recreate a gluten free version of my favourite dish from the long ago closed House of Blini on East 86th street in Manhattan.  For the full story about the inspirations click here.  The version last year used wild mushrooms and…

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…

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…

Braised Red Cabbage with Fruit and Fennel Seed

Last summer a dear friend of my parent’s let me go through his recipe note-book.  I have written about this family friend before because he has been a food hero of mine since my childhood.   For a story about the time that Keith served me quiche on his boat when I was little click…