This was another hearty soup from the deli days.  The cinnamon and clove really help build the layers of flavor, not to mention they smell heavenly while simmering.  The ingredients and flavors are of a Mexican móle or adobo with the cocoa, oregano and clove.  We used to call it a Mexican Black Bean Soup but I’ll change it to Adobo to be a little more specific.  The cumin-coriander dynamic duo mixes well with cloves and cinnamon, it’s that blurring of sweet

  Photos from the Mars Rover? Microscopic view of caterpillar skin? The inside of volcano Popocatépetl in Mexico? Satellite images of erosion in Death Valley? A Fire Lizard?         ….or extremely curious skin from my baked squash with light shining through it.     I’m not sure if enough time has passed since the ‘Pumpkin Everything’ phase but hopefully it’s safe to introduce yet another pumpkiny recipe.  I still have quite a few squash stored in a cool

  I was introduced to this dish by my friend Kristen years ago when she created it as a special for the deli.  She made it with peanut butter, served it room temperature and it was a favorite of the clientele. Dan Dan Mien, or ‘peddler’s noodles’, of course has many renditions and adaptations from its origins in the Sichuan region of China.  Sometimes it’s noodles in a hot spicy broth like a soup and sometimes it’s made with a tahini or peanut butter paste and

  Last week my friend Frances hosted an afternoon of German star-making at her studio in the country.   These crafty projects can be so relaxing and even addicting. You need to concentrate enough to follow the steps in the correct order, and this necessary focus means you cannot easily think about anything else.  There is no room in the brain for daily or worldly concerns.  If you start fretting about your to-do list or the car that needs repairs you’ll accidentally rotate the star clockwise

  Apple Cider Syrup was the first recipe posted on this site and it seemed like time to give it another round.   Last weekend I was one of the guest demo chefs for the local foods extravaganza “FEAST” in Rochester, Minnesota and the obvious item for me to demonstrate was cider syrup.  I’m only 1/4 extrovert so I had to really charge my ‘people’ side battery and fortunately all went well.  The most amazing part of the weekend was meeting and discovering more

  Is this not one of the most beautiful of Maple Syrup images?  Crystalline and glittery, maybe I could wear it as a necklace.  Bees would like me.  This crystal sat around for many weeks waiting for me to take a photo and it remained patiently sparkly.     As fall is quickly slipping away here is another beautiful image (above) from our friend David Cavagnaro of Pepperfield Project.  By now their squash would all be safely tucked away in cool storage areas

  Definitely one of the Star Trek outer space variety of vegetables. Tiny cabbage-like heads on stalks, these at the Farmers Market have had their giant leaves removed.  Usually Brussel sprouts are harvested after a frost which sweetens these cruciferous buddies.  Years when I have grown them I left them in the garden well into December and the snowy season, then would stomp out into the drifts to harvest the adorable little aliens for the holiday meals.     I made this dish for a wedding dinner

  Happy Birthday to this blog—4 years and post #200!! Thanks for participating in this experiment with me!  I am not one who is naturally drawn to measuring or documenting so this has been quite a practice of observation and attempts to translate foods into something others might enjoy or learn from.  A great journey and learning experience it has been and I hope you’ve discovered a few good nuggets along the way.     Last month we had the fortunate opportunity to attend a class by Pascale

.   My friend Annette made this up years ago, served it at a potluck, and little did she know that I would promptly take her idea and run with it for the next fifteen years.  It’s simple, delicious, and the perfect combination of sweet-spicy-tangy-creamy and has been successful in converting people and to discard their “I hate yams” stance. It could be an interesting twist on aThanksgiving favorite—still a little sweet from the natural sugars of the sweet potatoes, both creamy and

  There is something about the slow cook that sweetens everyone.  Roasted garlic becomes less sharp, deeper, sweeter, and in some ways more powerful of a flavor in dishes— a more enduring flavor.   Roasting is also a way you can preserve garlic to extend its life.  Maybe you grew some or scored an awesome deal on a pile of garlic from your Farmer’s Market but you’re not sure if it will keep long enough to use it—roasting and freezing is a great way