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…

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…

Bittersweet Side Dish- Broccoli Rabe and Roasted Yams

I have been a little distracted by the storms hitting New York City lately.  However I wrote this post a while back and never got a round to publishing it.  Enjoy! I crave bittersweetness…..dark chocolate, chinotto soda, Seville Orange Marmalade, Italian aperitif, very strong black tea with milk and sugar.      It may all…

Tuna-Dill Tomato Sauce

I’m really happy with this sauce. I have consumed immense quantities of tomato sauce in my life but it’s not something that I’ve ever gotten into making. That just means I have opinions about the subject and know what the good stuff looks like when I see it. Cockiness aside, this is a really flexible…

Quinoa Tabbouleh

I am very pleased with this dish.  I like tabbouleh, but it is usually made with cous cous, which I cannot eat.  Quinoa agrees with me very well and it is a very successful substitution.  In addition to taking all kinds of seasonings very well, quinoa is really, really nutricious and probably the easiest grain…

Bresaola and Arugula Salad

When people have to give up gluten, they usually go through a lot of grieving over the loss of bread…good bread.  I have to admit that bread was not that hard for me to give up.  It had given me a tummy ache for my entire life, so I think even before giving up gluten…

Red Pepper Soup

Back in January, at my favourite school, I ran into the science teacher in the hallway.  She had a HUGE box of red peppers.  It was about half empty.  She also had a big mixing bowl of already chopped red peppers.  She had been making chili with her students for science class and was trying…

Hawaii Style Sushi in New York

I lived in Hawaii between the ages of 9 and 18.  Whenever this comes up in conversation here in New York City, people look at me with a pained expression and ask me how I ended up moving here.  It’s a long complicated story involving the realities of earning a living in paradise, my inability…

Red Remoulade and Some of Its Many Uses

Remoulade is a classic of New Orleans cuisine.  It is used to dress up cold boiled shrimp.  It is served as a dipping sauce for all manner of fried seafood.  It is dolloped on top of fried tomatoes.  It shows up in many different forms, ranging from a mildly savoury sauce based on homemade mayonnaise,…

A Cooling Salad with Radish, Fennel, Celery and Hazelnuts

I started eating this salad a few months ago and I have not been able to stop.   It is a terrific spring time salad because it uses all the  brave and tough little vegetable that you can find at the end of winter.  I have continued to enjoy it as a summer salad also,…