Another Christmas favorite for (and from) all the Scandihoovians around me.  I just finished catering a December wedding with a very Norwegian flair and Meatballs were the main attraction.  Actually I think the gravy was the main attraction…but isn’t it always?  It’s all about the gravy.  I didn’t measure anything when making the gravy for the wedding so below only the ingredients for it are listed, maybe later I’ll try to recreate that scrumptious magic.   Swedish meatballs (Köttbullar)

. Beginning in Sälen and ending in Mora, Sweden, the 90 kilometer Swedish Vasaloppet is one of the largest ski races in the world.  Tens of thousands of skiers pilgrimage to Sälen in mid-March to ski, enjoy the spectacle, and some to winter camp along the race course in a good spot to cheer on the racers.  During the week prior to the Vasaloppet between 50,000 and 80,000 people ski the course as a fun family event leading up to

  Pickled cauliflower would be great in the summer heat but I’ve been enjoying the brightness of this veggie alongside my denser fall foods like squash, stews, and slow cooked meats.  There are countless versions of marinated brassicas, though many of us don’t have access to a wide variety of southeast Asian spices so this adaptation is relatively simple.     Here is a little video with two ways to cut cauliflower into florets.  We’ve also been frying and roasting

  Are you in need of some simple meals during this season of heavy holiday feasting?  Rice and steamed vegetables with this sauce could be your dinner tonight.  Maybe add a little tofu or chicken for protein.  Then drink some tea, take a walk, breath good air.  Sleep well.  Get ready.     What a surprise to find local ginger at a Midwestern farmers market in November!  This is good news for locavores.  This bulb is fresh and uncured with beautifully thin skin, I

. I recently enjoyed a quick trip to the San Francisco Bay area, and where better to spend your birthday morning than wandering about Berkeley drinking great coffee and stumbling upon the Berkeley Farmer’s Market—incredible variety of vegetables, fruits, prepared foods, olives, crafts, characters, and great conversations. Weeks earlier when researching the location for my meeting I discovered that it was, oh yes, one small block away from Chez Panisse, so of course I had to make reservations for a

  Chermoula is one of my favorite flavor bombs of all times. To quote a comment from my friend Heather on my Chermoula post of years ago: “One word…MAGIC. This little gem creates magical alchemy with anything it touches. And I have been introducing it to everything I eat. It is indescribable on veggie tacos. As I was conjuring it, I thought ‘Oh, this doesn’t make very much.’ A mother of five, quantity is always lurking in my consciousness. Chermoula

  Another Autumn treat from 2011 that needs rediscovering…   Pancakes aren’t just for potatoes anymore.  I love potatoes, but there is something endearing about supporting the Underdog.  The humble rutabaga, or ‘Swede’ as the Brits call it, can look huge and weird in the produce section, often ignored like an ugly duckling. Rediscover those Roots, that’s what I say!  Taste the Tubers..     “…Prior to the introduction of the potato to the Old World, latkes were, and in some places still are, made

. . . .   It was a good day for a walk in the woods. This was how the world looked last week before I left for a trip to California: bright leaves, crisp smells, sun on the water.  I came back this week to the grayer and rainier side of Fall.  All good, but feeling cheer is so much easier with bright colors.  This second half of Fall needs the more intentional efforts to cultivate hygge: warm sweaters

  My sister puts the fun in cookies.  I remember when I was very young the production of Christmas cookies was an all-afternoon artistic blitz.  My older sisters would spend hours on their colorful sculptural creations…or at least the first dozen or two were works of art, then as everyone grew weary (and full of sugar) the remaining cookies became a little more of an assembly line of decoration.  But as a young’en I was always in awe.   These

  I’m seeing so many of these ingredients at the Farmer’s Market it seemed like a good time to re-post this little chutney treat from November of 2011.  Enjoy!    Chutneys-–pungent enough to raise your eyebrows, but sweet and savory enough that you close your eyes and let out an involuntary groan of pleasure.  Eaten alone it should be almost too much flavor, and eaten as a condiment to chicken or beans or rice…it should make you glad to be