My sister and I went to Estonia to last June to learn about the country where our grandparents grew up. Estonia has very delicious dark sourdough rye bread called Leib. Our grandmother used to make it, and although I have had other dark sourdough breads (Russian mostly) none of them ever tasted quite as…
Tag: vegan
Home-made cheap thrill sauce- Ajvar (or Ljutenica)
Ajvar (or Ljutenica) is one of my favourite store-bought condiments. It is a relish made from sweet red peppers, eggplant and tomatoes. Some brands are spicy and some are not. It is a beautiful bright orange-red color. It makes simple, cheap food taste thrillingly gourmet and it is astonishingly inexpensive, which is why I always refer…
Chia Seed Pudding with Figs and Blackberries
Chia seeds are weird. If you add nut milk to them and let them sit overnight, they make an amazing pudding that is a little bit like tapioca. They have almost no flavour, so you can add extracts or seasonings to make any kind of pudding that you fancy. They are supposed to be really,…
Crab Apples Pickled in Sherry Vinegar and Five Spice Powder
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…
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,…
Curried Avocado (Indian Guacamole)
We used to have a beautiful potted curry tree in our apartment. We had grown it from a little baby plant that had come from the curry tree that used to belong to my husband’s Indian grandma. The leaves had the most wonderful scent and it was so lovely to be able to use fresh…
For the Love of Sourness- Rhubarb Chutney
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…
Bhel-Poori, without the Poori (gluten-free)
Years ago, a good friend of mine went travelling for many months in India. I had not travelled there yet myself, and when this friend returned he thoughtfully brought me the perfect gift…a story about food. He spun a tale about being served this odd and exciting crunchy, tangy, spicy, fresh salad like thing…
Spicy Beet Salad with Horseradish
I used to go to the Anyway Cafe in the East Village. I liked to order shots of honey ginger infused vodka, wild mushroom pelmeni and their amazing beet salad. We are all familiar with the standard restaurant beet salad…roasted beets, goat cheese, some sort of toasted nut or another. I often make variations on…
Tahini Milkshake (Dairy-Free)
My sister Silvi is visiting me in New York AND I have Spring vacation right now! If you just want a recipe for a dairy free tahini milkshake and do not want to hear about our trip to Coney Island, scroll to the bottom. Silvi arrived really, really early on Tuesday. We napped, ate a…
Big Sis Little Dish 