Soy-Simmered Turnips and Shiitake Mushrooms
12 Oct 2011

Soy-Simmered Turnips and Shiitake Mushrooms

by | posted in: Recipes, vegan, vegetarian | 9

This is a cozy comfort food for a fall-time side dish or snack. I’ve long felt that turnips were under-appreciated, probably because of their sharply bitter taste. But when you roast them, their natural sugars come to the surface and caramelize in brown, fudgey smears. When you boil them and mash them, they can be combined with cream and butter to soften their taste. Here’s one other way to tame the harsh flavor of turnips, and make it a welcome … Read More

Cauliflower Souffle (With Silken Tofu)
7 Oct 2011

Cauliflower Souffle (With Silken Tofu)

by | posted in: Recipes, vegan, vegetarian | 10

The way I see it, if you can make something healthier, why not try? And see how you like it — or not — afterwards? Does that mean that I’m a fat-phobe counting my calories and hoping to become stick-thin? No. Does it mean that I’m into the hippie scene and drink wheatgrass just to fit in? Nah. Does it mean that when I find a dish or technique that I like, try to improve upon it in little ways, … Read More

Creamy Celery Root Salad With Red Peppers and Mustard
2 Oct 2011

Creamy Celery Root Salad With Red Peppers and Mustard

by | posted in: Recipes, vegetarian | 2

Covered in grime, knobby as a goblin, and incredibly fibrous and tough, celery root deserves a place in the “Now who’d have thought to eat that first?” category of foods. But perhaps once one was sliced into, and its gruff shade gave way to a moon-like pallor, and a deliciously fresh scent was released; that may have been enough to compel one. And since then, many have done much to showcase the unlikely edible’s charms. Like slicing the root finely, … Read More

Savory Mushroom & Scallion Pancakes
29 Sep 2011

Savory Mushroom & Scallion Pancakes

by | posted in: Recipes, Sides & Salads, vegetarian | 4

Whisk, ladle, sizzle, and flip. These four steps epitomized the quick weeknight dinner for me during a certain time, when all I wanted to eat were Korean-style pancakes stuffed with fresh vegetables and anything-goes in the fridge. Those, and dunk — the sound of soy sauce soaking up the tip of one of them before it crunched in my mouth. It was certainly quicker to make than fried rice or noodles, another practical way to toss in any number of … Read More

Heirloom Beans with Roasted Eggplant, Tomato & Zucchini
19 Sep 2011

Heirloom Beans with Roasted Eggplant, Tomato & Zucchini

by | posted in: Beans, gluten-free, Recipes, Sides & Salads, vegan, vegetarian | 3

I had guests over for dinner last weekend and came up with a five-person entree on the fly. I’d zoomed through the Greenmarket, picking up a pint of multi-colored cherry tomatoes, a firm eggplant, and a couple small, pattypan squashes. These all went into a pasta with a hearty portion of Italian sausage from Flying Pigs Farm for the meat-eaters in the crowd. We all loved it. Loved how the dish was colorfully studded with well-sized chunks ‘o stuff. Loved … Read More

Grilled Vegetable Soup with Lobster Stock
13 Sep 2011

Grilled Vegetable Soup with Lobster Stock

by | posted in: Recipes, Seafood, Soups & Stews | 2

You can fault me for being lax about a lot of things in the kitchen, but when it comes to being resourceful, I am a regular stickler. Therefore, when my family had lobster on a recent trip to the shore, I kept the shells and boiled them down to a concentrated stock. And when we grilled shishkabob sticks and fresh corn on the hibachi, I saved the leftover, blackened sungold tomatoes and few discs of zucchini to puree with it. … Read More

Fresh Veggie Summer Rolls with Shiso and Thai Basil
7 Sep 2011

Fresh Veggie Summer Rolls with Shiso and Thai Basil

by | posted in: gluten-free, Recipes, Sides & Salads, vegan, vegetarian | 8

The most enjoyable aspects of Vietnamese summer rolls are their coolness, contrast of textures, and copious fresh herbs. This suits us most in mid-to-late summer, when herbs are taking over the garden, humidity reigns, and late-season rain and tropical storms can feel like a monsoon. So take it from the Vietnamese, and have something cold and refreshing to keep you awake.

Ceviche With Cucumber “Boats” & Nori “Sails” (San Francisco Chronicles Part 4)
28 Aug 2011

Ceviche With Cucumber “Boats” & Nori “Sails” (San Francisco Chronicles Part 4)

by | posted in: gluten-free, Recipes, Seafood | 7

For my last week in San Francisco, I went a little bit off the deep end, with food. I staged at two restaurants (Chez Panisse and Bar Tartine), took a cooking class, went to a supper club, volunteered at an Edible Schoolyard benefit called OPENEducation at the Berkeley Art Museum, and threw an epic dinner party on the boat. This was our first course: a tangy medley of fresh peppers, tomatoes, onions, grilled corn and fish piled inside a hollowed … Read More

Serious Salsas Win Big at SF Food Wars
24 Aug 2011

Serious Salsas Win Big at SF Food Wars

by | posted in: Cook-Offs, Events | 3

While stuffing tortilla chips into paper bags in preparation for the second-ever Salsa SF Food Wars last Sunday, a fellow volunteer wondered aloud whether many of the contestants would stick to making salsa, as the locals all know it. “Not pico de gallo,” she clarified. I had to squirm. As a New Yorker, I’m used to a chunky mixture of fresh tomatoes, onions, cilantro and peppers — pico de gallo — as the quintessential bowl of “salsa” at a barbecue. … Read More

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