AWEsome Cookery

    One-Dish-Wonders The Art of cooking with limited cookware; or having cookware but not a great way to wash it; or just wanting to keep it simple so you don’t spend precious ski time washing dishes.  Sometimes it’s a great combination of tasty individual items that becomes a hearty meal and does NOT turn to a mucky mush.  Or sometimes it does become a mucky mush…but if you’re hungry and it tastes good, much can be forgiven.   Just

  This is part one of a Love Story of Leeks.   I sometimes refer to my Helpers, my crew, the band of ingredients that are my secret weapons.  Friends I can turn to when something isn’t right—if a sauce is bland, or too bright, or if it has no base flavor—I consult my arsenal of Superheroes.  I have a page with the Helpers List but they need more explanation.  Just like the DC Comics making the movies of the individual

. The foggy night emerged into a sunny day and left behind a Winter Wonderland.  Fern-like crystals of hoar frost on every surface, I had a difficult time keeping my eyes on the road it was so breathtaking.  There is something incredible about the reflected whiteness of snow and frost that helps increase the light and raise our spirits during this season of chill.  We may live in a quieter part of the world, but we do occasionally have frozen

  . Again I bring you an idea that is not new but is always worth revisiting.  This is a great fall dish and could be an alternative side at the Thanksgiving table—sweet and savory, hearty and warming, I think you’ll enjoy it.   Wild rice, an aquatic-grass seed native to the Upper Midwest and Canada, sacred to our First Nations cousins, is only distantly related to Asian rice.  It’s high in protein, lysine, fiber, B vitamins and other minerals,

  Just thinking about my bubbling buddies in the next room makes the salivary glands in the back of my jaw squirt. . I realized this month, when trying unsuccessfully to figure out menus for events next summer, that I had become tired of food.  A crazy season of catering with every waking moment thinking about menus, figuring out amounts, ordering products, prepping food, storing food, serving food, cleaning up food, pricing food….that though I still loved all aspects of

  . I am thinking about sweet festive treats, and I’m also looking over at my massive pile of winter squash.  Hmm…. . Custards are a funny thing, some diners love them and some do not.   They say that people cannot change, but I say that occasionally they can.  Do you need a few adjectives to help you open up to new possibilities? Silky smooth, velvety, sensuous, satiny, luscious….do I have your attention yet?  Excuse me while I wipe the

  Time for a little celebration. Last week was the unveiling of the collaboration between Justin Vernon of the band Bon Iver, Bushmills Whiskey, and Gordy Bischoff of Bischoff Guitars.  What collaboration?  Four acoustic-electric guitars made from…you guessed it…whiskey barrels! . We’ll get to the guitar photos in a moment, but since this is a food blog I’ll show you the cake first—-a local pastry chef made a cake in the shape of the “1608” whiskey-barrel guitar for the Preview Party

  Here are a few bubbles to lighten your day. . Recently we visited friends in Minnesota who work with a large CSA and they graciously bestowed upon us piles and PILES of fresh rosemary—I felt like I had won the lottery!   I know people in North Carolina whose rosemary grows into giant shrubbery (small trees!) around their house…but it is rarely seen in that kind of abundance in these chilly wintered lands. My friend suggested making a rosemary sage pesto which made

  The title says it all, you don’t really need a recipe…but here I am writing anyway. This is about simplicity: quiet food that doesn’t take much thought or many ingredients but has a hint of unusual.  When I’m at home I often find myself cooking with minimal meddling—especially this time of year when the veggies are so flavorful and I don’t want to miss out by covering it up.   Last year I catered a meal in July for

  I love tangents, especially ones that involve geeking out. I spent last weekend with two of my sisters, indoors with the curtains drawn and snacks within easy reach as we ventured into a marathon of the watching Lord of the Rings trilogy (extended version of course).  We ate Hobbity food (bacon, squash, beer, sausage..) and our version of Elvish Lembas whey bread for sustenance during our long adventure. Friday morning we prepped, making the Lembas using Bob’s Red Mill

  . I give you more diversions with photos from the latest trip to Lincoln, NE. The Burkholder Project is an inspiring artist studio center and gallery started by Ann Burkholder—over 50 artists are involved with this building.  Wow!  More amazing art!  More amazing warehouses saved in the Haymarket District of Lincoln!   This is the mosaic sitting area in front of the Burkholder.   . One of our main goals was to visit the rock-inspired jewelry artist Pamela King and to

    Cards.  There is an inexplicable calm that comes over me when I see, hold and play with a deck of cards.  Any roadside stop that involves trinkets and whatnot…if there is a pile of decks on the shelf at the very least I have to stand for a moment and take a few breaths…I think yens would be the word.   In the 1997 movie ‘Conspiracy Theory’ (Julia Roberts and Mel Gibson) a secret government project ‘created’ assassins.

  Interesting combination  ¿que no?   This salad came from our fifth Edible Alien Theatre  (performance-art dinner fundraisers we call E.A.T.) production Shadow & Light. The evening’s show was entirely in shadow, the diners surrounded by seven scrims and we used overhead projectors to provide the light for our images, our selves, and shadow puppets. . . The inspiration for the show arrived from different places. Light, and Shadows.  The way light filtered through leaves outside my window, then filtered

. Lavender, a Wonder Plant of the herbal world. The name lavender is from the Latin word ‘lavare’ which means to wash—it was a common Roman practice to use lavender in public baths.  Lavender has been used in healing remedies for ages, but if you need a more Western confirmation of the properties the following is from the University of Maryland’s Medical Center: . “this herb has been used as a remedy for a range of ailments from insomnia and

. . Smoked tofu?!? Remember one of my rules of thumb…”If there is a technique that works for one thing, it might work on other things.”  If you can smoke salmon then you can smoke tofu, yes? Yes. The idea of smoking tofu was first introduced to me by my friend Jase (the cook at the South Pole), which we made indoors in a covered pan under a heavy-duty exhaust hood.  Then I began to learn more about smoking, and

  The simmering sun of summer is in full sweltering swing.  Unless, of course, you are my friend Jase who is cooking the winter stint at the South Pole, then sunlight is only a faded memory and you would be trying like hell to figure out amusing ways to stay sane while living inside the spaceship of a station. Go Jase!!  You can do it!  The sun is headed back your way!   As a tribute to that fiery ball

  This is a photo of my mother that depicts what we hope she experienced this week as she crossed over to the other side.  She would be sailing down a waterslide with a huge smile and her arms up in the air.   What an incredible process, this dying thing, I am in awe. . Here is another photo—she LOVED to laugh! . . Our family has been together a lot lately, and without fail the fall-back task to

  Lettuce wraps have given me such relief in the summer months—I can eat cold meals, gluten free. Lettuce is a vehicle, an edible cupping tool that gets the filling from the plate into my mouth, without bread.  I have also tried other fillings like tacos, tempeh, sesame beef, and sandwich-makings.  These buddies can be a little messier than bread since the lettuce does not absorb any liquid of the filling, but they work, and are especially great in the

  These are some photos of my journey home, wandering through old haunts and childhood byways.  VW Beetles are far too adorable to just drive by so I had to stop.  Later that day this sunset brightened my road as I drove northward. . . . . . Light, lemony and brothy, this Greek Lemon and Rice Soup is another lively addition to a spring menu….not to mention a great way to eat kale!  Note that there are still rain

  “What do you eat when your mother is dying?” That was a question my sister asked me, partly in jest because I am always looking for things to write about and partly because we were wondering what foods will help our bodies that are numb from processing the reality of our mother fading from this world. When I am stressed with the adrenaline of catering the only thing I am able to choke down is a banana, but the