Lemon Poppy Seed Meringues

I know,  it’s Valentine’s and I am supposed to be posting some sort of gooey chocolate dessert.  The truth is that I am just not always in the mood for chocolate.  Anyway meringues use cooking alchemy to make something special out of common ingredients which I find very romantic on  a symbolic level .  Also,…

Boxing Day Almond Spice Cookies (Gluten-Free)

Happy Boxing Day!  There are some conflicting ideas out there about what Boxing Day is, what the name means, and why it is a holiday.  My mum says that December 26th was the de facto Christmas for all of the people who had to work on Christmas Day.  For example, all of the servants who…

Cauliflower Almond Turmeric Soup

In the summer, I was contacted by an editor at The Guardian who wanted to use my recipe for Sticky Boozy Chocolate Plum Pudding Cake in their 10 Best Plum Recipes article.  I was very, very excited.  It took a couple of months for the article to come out, and while I was waiting I’ll…

Roasted, Spiced Carrots with Tahini Lemon Sauce and Pistachios

In the winter, I am a dedicated eater of various roasted root vegetables served with various sauces (Aloo Chat Inspired Oven Fries and Oven Yam Fries with Miso Gravy).  This kind of food is easy, satisfying, warming, nourishing and delicious.  It’s the kind of food I need to eat after braving the cold weather.  I…

Slow Roasted Salmon with Citrus, Fennel and Green Olives

I fell in love with a photo of this dish that I saw on Pinterest. The photo filled me with an instant and overwhelming salmon craving.  I made it once according to the directions in Bon Appétit .  I usually cook salmon quickly on high heat À la Ieva or Marinated in Spiced Yogurt with Rhubarb Chutney.  This…

Roasted Brussel Sprouts with Sweet Lime Sriracha Sauce

As I have mentioned before, I am not much of a deep fry cook.  I like deep-fried food, but I leave it to the experts.   The food that I deep fry ends up burnt on the outside and raw in the middle,  or it’s cooked through, but soggy with oil.  I know,  I am…

Simple Curried Quinoa with a Crunchy Kale and Coconut Topping

I tend to be skeptical about health food.  Spending my childhood in the Pacific Northwest and in Hawaii, I was always around glowingly healthy hippies who claimed that some ridiculously healthy thing they had taken to eating was “delicious”.  You can’t fool children, and there are only so many times you can feed them sprouts…