My Estonian grandmother planted a fruit tree for each of her grandchildren when they were born. Mine was the crab apple tree. When I was about seven years old, I asked my grandmother why my tree was the one with fruit that was so hard and sour. She told me that the crab apple tree…
Tag: magical
Baby Turnip Fairytale- Turnip and Chicken Tagine with Green Olives and Preserved Lemon
I pride myself on loving strong flavours. I like gamey meat, fishy fish, aged cheese, spice, all things fermented and pickled, bitterness and sourness in my sweetness. So, I really want to love turnips. But I just don’t. I love radishes and parsnips, but I find turnips very difficult to deal with. They are very…turnip…
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…
Wilted Dandelion Salad with Cured Meats
The mother of my childhood best friend used to make salad from dandelion greens that grew in her yard. She is one of the most elegant, magical, beautiful women I have ever known. She read us all of the children’s classics in her beautiful English accent. She’s an actress and it’s probably partly her fault…
Vegetable Soup with Goat Milk Broth and Dumplings (gluten-free or not)
I have been overcome with a craving for this soup ever since I figured out how to make good gluten-free dumplings a couple of months ago. Our Estonian grandmother used to make a soup with vegetables from her garden, and milk from her goats. Why, you might ask, would I want to try this weird…
Magical Macaroons in Two Flavours- Almond, Cardamom and Berry OR Ginger, Lemon and White Pepper (gluten-free)
So, I have been on a big lemon curd kick and this means that I have a lot of leftover egg whites…
Myrtle Berry Citrus Sauce
I am a lover of discovering new and bizarre produce. Part of it is my fascination with plants: the way they grow, the forms they take on. To me it is miraculous.
Ethiopian Bread (Gluten-Free and Blini-Like!!!!!)
Ethiopian food is served on a big flat, spongy, crepe-like bread made from a fermented batter called Injera. It is delicious and it is traditionally made with Teff flour, which is gluten-free. Yay! However, most restaurants in North America cut the Teff flour with Wheat flour (cheaper and not gluten-free). Boo! I tried the simplest…
In Search of Magical Estonian Apple Cake (Gluten-Free)
A couple of weeks ago, my husband went to the Adirondacks for a weekend and brought me back some Winesap apples. This is a man who knows how to keep me happy. Winesap apples are dark, dark burgundy colour. They are not shiny and they are frequently blemished because they are an old variety of…
Roasted Red Peppers
Chris and I used to go to Bulgaria in the fall. In little villages all of the old ladies would be roasting the last of their pepper harvest on outdoor fires so that they could store them for the winter. It is a very good smell. It makes me want to eat sausages, feta cheese,…
Big Sis Little Dish 