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…
My jaw dropped when my sister Sheryl reported that on a trip to the cottage last fall, she and her grown sons Kyle and Michael went foraging for wild mushrooms. “Weren’t you worried about accidentally picking a poison mushroom and dying?” I asked casually. The image in The Story of Babar of the old King of the Elephants eating a toxic mushroom, turning a sickly shade of green, and perishing,…
In this week’s Torah portion, Parshat Beshalach, Pharaoh has second thoughts about the Jewish people leaving Egypt and accompanied by an elite army, he chases them into the Red Sea. As the Jews cross the Sea on dry land, the pursuing Egyptians become mired in mud and drown in the returning waves. To commemorate this miracle, we are making Pharaoh farro with mushrooms, a rich and earthy, savory dish made…
As I read the headline, “French fry fire leaves up to 50 people homeless”, I shuddered. Having witnessed one or two French fry fires growing up, (no Mom, I have no idea why there is soot covering the front of the kitchen cabinets over the stove), I swore off making deep-fried potatoes long ago. Oven fries were a completely different matter. But finding a recipe that produced crisp potatoes with…
In line at the buffet table at our local kosher Chinese restaurant (OBM, sigh), my eyes fixated on the pan of glazed sweet potatoes. Blanketed in a glossy, dark, sweet, and umami-flavored teriyaki sauce, they beckoned invitingly. For many years I tried to duplicate this dish at home without success. With the publication of this recipe for three-cup vegetables by Ali Slagle in the New York Times, I was intrigued.…
I watched as my grandsons’ faces lit up when I brought a platter of hush puppy deli roll pinwheels to the table. Distinguished by the nutritional triumvirate of salt, fat and potatoes, dear to the heart of every teenage boy, this dish disappeared in seconds. It’s been a while since our grandsons have graced our table but it doesn’t mean that this recipe is sitting around gathering dust. Surprise, it…
My father was the latke chef in our family. Inhaling those crispy potato pancakes, with their meltingly soft interiors, was one of the highlights of any Chanukah gathering. For my father, grating the potatoes by hand was the only way to make them. A food processor couldn’t replicate the perfect texture he obtained with his little metal box grater. His skinned knuckles were a badge of honor, a sign of…
I’m a late joiner to the “I ❤ eggplant” club. Having grown up with a French mother, I was no stranger to vegetables of all types, including Brussels sprouts and cauliflower hearts, but eggplant was never on the menu. That all changed when I sampled a friend’s baba ghanoush dip. This smoky spread, creamy and light with a mild citrus tang, is the perfect accompaniment when eaten with fresh challah,…