Rick Bayless again comes to the rescue providing interesting foods. He does pretty dang well at trying to give the real story of these foods, and the love of Mexico comes through in his writings. This provides good reading and happy thoughts on these chilly evenings.   Masa Harina and Fresh Masa Fresh masa is mashed or ground hominy—corn that has been soaked in lye (sodium hydroxide) or lime (calcium hydroxide) which dissolves the hull and releases calcium and niacin

  We made a version of this soup in the Deli but I seem to have misplaced the recipe so I’ve been trying to recreate it lately. I started with the basic ingredients of a classic peanut soup—peanut butter or ground nuts with sweet potato and tomato—then went from there. The recipe is based on soups common in western Africa, but interestingly those three ingredients originated in the Americas.   Peanuts probably originated in Brazil or Peru where there are

  It’s easy to spend hours reading books by Rick Bayless. Restauranteur author, educator, and host of PBS’s Mexico: One Plate at a Time….needless to say he’s a busy guy. Rick has lived and still spends time in Mexico, and does a respectful job at bringing traditional Mexican fare to the spotlight with a modern interpretation, not to mention the recipes with side notes are both incredible and accessible. His restaurants include the extensive Frontera family of sites, Topolobampo, Red O,

  My sister sent this link to me and it sounded delicious so I gave it a try at Thanksgiving. And whaddayaknow…it WAS DELICIOUS! These are great as a side dish, or skewered with adorable bamboo skewers on a holiday hors d’ oeuvres table. I go in phases of perusing others’ food ideas, whether it be blogs, books, or restaurants. Sometimes all we need is the one ingredient used in a new way to give inspiration or delight. This recipe

  This sounded so Scandinavian to me, but that’s because I live in a Norski kind of town. Skordalia is a Greek garlic-potato-nut mash that is so tasty and easy I have no idea why it isn’t made everywhere. It would be a great little addition to a Holiday party, or part of a hearty supper in the early darkness of these winter months. Naturally there are oodles of variations on this—some use dried bread instead of potato, some have

  Last spring I came across the recipe of a peach-leaf infused Crème Brûlée featured at Chez Panisse and I thought it sounded divine and vowed to try it sometime in the summer. In our region of the Upper Midwest few peach trees can survive but I had heard rumors of one or two that were tucked away in protected spaces and I had hopes of trimming a few leaves for this project. Alas, after asking around, I now think these

  So many veggies to fritter, so little time. Shred them up, add eggs, seasonings, and something floury, then fry or fry-and-bake. It’s a great way to eat veggies when you’re craving something decadent. The photo is from a breakfast at the Dug Road Inn last week, along with local greens with pea shoots and a frittata from hens living about 30 miles away.   I was in a parking lot in Iowa City a few days ago and the

  While perusing the NOPI cook book I noticed Burrata with Blood Oranges and Lavender Oil looked divine. I suppose that sparked the motivation to make this savory oil drizzled on a fruit—-sometimes we have to take inspiration wherever we can and utilize that which is around us. These pears are from the Farmers Market, they are the Gourmet variety which are hardy in cold regions and the window of opportunity for fresh fruit is only two or three weeks. You

  This book made me so happy. I’m involved in other activities so that I fall behind on the goings-on of the larger Food World, but perhaps that keeps me from becoming jaded and makes the discoveries that I do encounter even more magical and appreciated. So I am still elated when I come across works of art. Yotam Ottolenghi is a name you may recognize from his London restaurants and numerous cookbooks.  Jerusalem has been on my want-list— he

  There are innumerable pickling directions you can go, most regions of the world had either a fermentation process or made fermented liquids (like vinegar) to quick pickle and lightly preserve. I’ve been reading about Korean versions of pickled veggies and getting excited to try them, but for the Seed Savers Conference Dinner I wanted an Indian direction to the seasonings since it would be servedwith Smoked Lamb, Chickpea Masala, and Pilau.   The most surprising addition idea to me