Seaweed Salad (with the stuff washed up on the shore)

It’s a ubiquitous side on the sushi restaurant menu, but “seaweed salad” is just weeds from the sea, tossed with dressing. Often, it’s made from dried and reconstituted seaweed sheets, shred into ribbons. You can get packages of the dried stuff at any Japanese grocery. Or, if you’re at the beach, you’ll come across it, fresh, for sure.

Garlicky Marinated Zucchini with Soy and Sesame

Growing up, a summertime party spread was never complete without these usual suspects: a bowl of cold sesame noodles, and a batch of marinated, peeled cucumbers that had been chilling with soy sauce, vinegar, tons of chopped garlic, and a dash of sesame oil. The latter had no name really, it was just my mom’s homestyle pickles, or quick-pickles. No fermentation, no cold-packing, just a long sit in the fridge was all that was needed to make them (although a … Read More

Soy-Sesame Soba Noodles with Vegetables & Egg

“Yes, but what do you eat every day?” people would ask. You can’t possibly be making something this elaborate and eye-catching if you’re cooking every day, the skeptics said, referring to photos on this blog. And no, for sure, I did have before me something that looked amazing, or that was even planned out before it came together on a plate, for most of the meals during my two years of eating in. So what did I eat most of … Read More

Asparagus, Portobello and Watercress Salad with Sesame Vinaigrette

Go East, young asparagus whore. That’s my motto for this salad, only the fourth or fifth dish this spring of what we should call the Asparagus Chronicles. I threw a dinner party last night, and this was one of the test salads I ultimately rejected for the night’s first course. That salad will probably end up in The Book, and the other unused salad was essentially the same as this one, only with olive oil and lemon juice instead of … Read More