From Scratch

This is certainly the time for fruit salad, although it means different things to different people. Some use a simple syrup of sugar and water, others use ginger, lime juice, sour cream, gelatin and even — ugh — that chemical cocktail called non-dairy whipped topping.
To me, fruit salad means lots of fresh […]

For some reason, we Americans tend to think of scrambled eggs as a breakfast or brunch dish, not a main course for lunch or a light dinner. Many people in other countries have them for any meal of the day and they can be a perfect choice.
Since I’ve been trying to follow the Big Breakfast […]

This is a perfect, refreshing accompaniment to grilled poultry or pork. Its tropical flavors are welcome in hot weather and complement chicken, turkey or pork that’s been prepared with its companion recipe, a Caribbean spice rub. Both recipes are fine on their own but together, they are more.
I found this at Fine Cooking, in one of the […]

Think of this as a cousin to Spanish rice but with a kick, a high kick the Rockettes might envy. I love rice, I love hot stuff. Put ‘em together and I’m in heaven.
You can tone it down, of course. Most of the heat is from Tabasco sauce, not the jalapenos, which are mild. I […]

I’ve been cooking frequently with ginger the past few months. I love the depth it brings to a dish, even when used in small amounts. And I’m especially fond of Asian flavors, so when this recipe showed up in the Healthy Dinners widget, it went onto my “to try” list.
I made it in April with […]

I tried a recipe from last week’s Washington Post for a fast version of pork vindaloo – I’m posting it separately and the link is below. This mild paste was an alternative to jarred curry paste and I’m glad I tried it. It gave the dish a restaurant quality and would be wonderful with other […]

Cinco de Mayo is tomorrow but there’s plenty of time to make this classic. It only takes about five minutes, even less if you start with a can of tomatoes which, sometimes, is unavoidable.
Some people use the terms pico de gallo and salsa interchangeably but they are different. Salsa, the most popular condiment in America, […]

Do we eat enough fish? Consider this. The cod fillet in the photograph is more cod than the average American eats in an entire year. It was a 12-ounce fillet before cooking; Americans ate an average of just over half a pound each in 2006, the most recent year posted at All About Seafood.
In 2001, shrimp […]

I love Asian flavors. Love. A few months ago, somewhere in my travels by mouse click, I spotted an interesting recipe for roasted vegetables with sesame oil. I was sure I saved it but when the mood for such a thing struck, I couldn’t find it for the life of me.
Luckily, roasting veggies is not on a […]

It’s so easy to get into a rut, isn’t it? We have a few favorite recipes for certain foods and make them time and again until someone hollers uncle. Well, what to do with it this time?
A fabulous-looking recipe on my friend brightfeather’s blog reminded me I’m close to being in a rut with spinach, […]

What’s not debatable is how delicious this four-ingredient dip is. It was served Thursday night at a little gathering to watch the debate. I asked for the recipe faster than you can say “senator” and stopped on the way home for a bag of frozen cherries.
This dip is ideal for cherries because it has almond […]

Meatless meals are always welcome on my table, and because I observe Lent I have several mandatory meatless days ahead of me between now and Easter. A new recipe as quick and delicious as this one definitely makes life easier. It’s the kind of dish that you can make once and never have to look at […]

It’s not just the absense of ham hocks or other meat that makes this lentil soup a little different, it’s also the inclusion of lemon, adding another dimension to the broth. The end result is a colorful lentil soup that’s lighter than most and I welcome that right now.
I’ve been eating sparingly since the holidays; indulging […]

Anthony Bourdain says this soup is ridiculously easy and he’s right. It’s also delicious and was a perfect starter for Christmas dinner.
But don’t wait for a special meal to try this. It doesn’t have to be bone-chilling outdoors to enjoy soup and if, like me, you’re trying to atone for holiday indulging, it’s been shown that we tend to […]

If illustrator Norman Rockwell were still alive, I wonder if he’d do a vegetarian version of his iconic Freedom From Want? The painting, from his Four Freedoms, is seared onto our national consciousness as an idealized family Thanksgiving but for millions, a turkey on the table is neither ideal nor desirable.  
These days there are plenty of choices for […]