I scanned the kosher Chinese food menu that appeared in my inbox. Sweet and sour flavor combinations with just-cooked stir fried vegetables added to the mix were all very tempting but when I saw the listed price for Asian fried rice, I pressed delete. Chinese fried rice is the ultimate comfort food. A bowl of steaming white rice cooked to just the right consistency, filled with bits of meat and…
“Do you still have your waffle maker”, I asked my sister. “I’m not sure”, she replied thoughtfully. Since Japanese organizing consultant Marie Kondo’s book The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up: The Japanese Art of Decluttering and Organizing hit book store shelves in 2014, decluttering has reached amateur sport levels in North American homes. Decluttering with the KonMari method means only keeping objects in your home that “spark joy.” Objects that…
My father was a very intuitive gardener and his home-grown vegetables were prize-winners. By early August, an abundance of plump, red tomatoes filled baskets that we handed out to relatives and friends. We ate lots of tomato salad and ratatouille, but sometimes we just sliced a sun-kissed, ripe tomato, seasoned it with salt and ate it sandwiched between two slices of fresh white bread slathered with Hellmann’s® mayo. No matter…
This morning when I stepped out of the house at 7:00 a.m. for my morning walk, there was a slight nip in the air. It isn’t sweater weather yet, but that thick, warm air that enveloped me every morning in the month of August has dissipated. The summer is shifting into fall mode. Purple plums and dusky concord grapes are peaking out from their baskets in the supermarket and I…
I’m not a coconut enthusiast and give most recipes that include coconut a quick pass. So how did I wind up with 4 cans of coconut milk in my pantry? I’m not really sure. However this recipe for coconut rice published by Tejal Rao in the New York Times makes milky, white, fluffy rice with just a hint of sweetness and no discernible coconut flavor. It’s as easy to make…
Tucked up safely in our warm beds, we were lulled to sleep by the nightly ululations of … coyotes. Living south of the 49th parallel, my previous encounters with wildlife included squirrels, chipmunks, raccoons and the occasional skunk, but no coyotes, unless you count Wile E. Coyote. Nourished by a steady diet of delectable leftovers from neighborhood organic bins, rodents and an occasional puppy, the coyotes took ownership of the…
I was recalled to work two weeks ago after being away because of Covid closures for just over a year. Delighted to be back at the library and using my cataloging smarts again, my new schedule did require some meal prep scheduling adjustments. When I saw this recipe for sheet pan chow mein by Hetty McKinnon, published in her latest cookbook, To Asia with Love, featured on Deb Perelman’s incomparable…
When my sister-in-law called me and asked if I had my mother’s recipe for Spanish rice, regrettably, I had to answer in the negative. Spanish rice holds very fond memories for our family. Consisting of long grain rice sautéed with onions, celery, and peppers and cooked with tomato sauce, this often requested side dish made regular appearances at Friday night dinners and other special occasion gatherings. I’m quite certain that…
My mother was way ahead of her time when it came to vegetables. Sitting on a chair in the kitchen, watching her clean and trim a head of cauliflower, I knew that if I waited patiently I would be offered a treat: a freshly sliced chunk of the core of the cauliflower, also known as the heart. Nutty and mildly sweet tasting with a satisfying crunch, the fact that it…
Have you noticed that the days are starting to get a little longer and the quality of light is just a little bit brighter? I’m feeling the imminent departure of winter, not that you’d know it from the temperature outside. This week I was very pleasantly surprised to find a kabocha squash, my favorite winter squash, at my local supermarket, despite the lateness of the season. I pounced on it…