AWEsome Cookery

  We all seek bliss.  We spend much of our lives looking for activities that have given it in the past, or new ones that we hope will produce those lovely waves of endorphins.  Out here the magic combination of bliss-ingredients is Awesome Fatigue, a plateful of Good Food, and Bed. Awesome Fatigue enhances any experience—and I am not in shape so this fatigue comes easily!  Nothing like that deep relaxation of tired muscles combined with a pile of enchiladas

    For a few months now I have now been hoarding my summer goodies that were processed and stored in the freezer.  Those tastes-of-sun treats—the green beans and strawberries and pesto—I keep thinking that I need to wait for that special moment to bring them out.  It’s a small freezer and I did no canning, so the bounty is not endless. But it’s time to stop the saving and begin the archeological dig into the frozen depths to see

    I’m so hungry! What can I make to eat? What’s in the Fridge? How many times do we ask this of ourselves each week…not having the brain power left to plan ahead, but desperately needing a quick meal because we forgot to eat breakfast?  Too many. Fortunately I have been cooking off the squash that is laying around from my fall binge at the farmer’s market. I roast a pile of it on one day and use it for

  Perhaps part of the purpose of a food blog is not just to give recipes that you have never tried before (which is getting more difficult to do), but to remind you of things you have not thought about in a while.  Maybe there is an unconscious appetite that we tap into, and the reason I was thinking of enchiladas is because you wanted them for dinner, but had not yet come to that realization. . . This is

  If there is a highway that links Gluttony and Hunger, and if on that highway there is a small cafe that occupies the space halfway between Gluttony and Hunger, then on their handwritten menu would be Fuul. As we journey out of the holiday season and the heavy eating that goes with it, the butter and cheese and paté and dips and stuffing and gravy…. not unlike the bacchanalia and feasting of Mardi Gras or Carnival and waking up

As the Frost-Season parties continue, we search for yet another surprising flavor to serve that causes people to freeze in their tracks, forget whatever they were blathering about, and relish the moment whilst savoring the symphony on their tongues.  That isn’t too much to ask, is it? . .. I have used this dip at countless parties and weddings, both winter and summer, and even the anti-curry-ites cannot stop themselves from eating more! This can be made with a pre-made

. Frost on the windows leaves a new masterpiece every night, and the chilly weather makes me want to eat. Poultry sounds good, but I have no specific plan!  The words Brothy and Hearty come to mind. This process of pondering what to cook raises the question “How is a dish created?“.   For me there are often three elements: 1) A memory or an idea 2) Assessment of my ingredient availability 3) Research. Then taste as I go. Sometimes

Pancakes aren’t just for potatoes anymore.   I love potatoes, don’t get me wrong…but there is something endearing about the Underdog.  The humble rutabaga, or ‘Swede’ as the Brits call it, it has become a forgotten vegetable in our culture, looking huge and weird in the produce section 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

Chewy tasty tidbits on a stick….everyone loves them!  Perhaps it harkens back to our cave days, we do seem to love the food-delivery system that is a skewer.   Especially when it is accompanied by a flavor bomb of a dip.  For many people, Thanksgiving marked the beginning of The Indoor Party Season.  Whether you’re hosting or just bringing a dish, it’s handy to have something that is exciting to taste, yet can be done in advance and sit patiently.

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 alive.   There are SO many versions of a small side dish of ground-up-somethings, eaten in small amounts, to either complement or contrast the main dishes.  Salsas, relishes, chutneys, sambals,

      That’s right, fruit. Here is 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 roast wedges of potato you can probably roast beets, yams, celery, carrots, rutabagas, brussel sprouts, or onions.  If you can roast a mushroom you can also roast tomatoes, pears, apples, persimmons, a pineapple, blueberries, eggplant, or fennel bulb.   This rule of thumb doesn’t always work, but

…or “How the North Got Its Own Balsamic Flavor” . . This is about those ideas, the little tidbits that you hear in passing, those half-overheard conversations on a bus, that can change your way of thinking.  A small suggestion riding the radio waves when you’re barely listening, lightly washes ashore, letting you see that it can become one of your mainstays, one of your staples.   Gotta love those sneaky little ideas.   I was driving home from work