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A Cauliflower Bounty! Cauliflower Cutlets With Romesco Sauce
August 19, 2026

A Cauliflower Bounty! Cauliflower Cutlets With Romesco Sauce

I have three cauliflower heads in my refrigerator right now–a beautiful orange one, a pristine white one and a spectacularly purple-hued  one. The bins at my farmers market have been  full of beautiful multi-colored cauliflowers in recent weeks. Although I live alone, the temptation to…

Cauliflower, Main Dishes, Vegetables, Vegetarian
Chillin’ At Summer’s End With Vietnamese Coffee Ice Cream
August 8, 2026

Chillin’ At Summer’s End With Vietnamese Coffee Ice Cream

Who doesn’t need a little ice cream right now? This Vietnamese Coffee Ice Cream is pretty special. Creamy with a real coffee kick! Living here in Southern California, I’m near Little Saigon in Westminster, California–the largest Vietnamese community outside of Vietnam. That gives me entree…

Desserts, Ice Cream, Vegetarian
Hot Charred Tomatoes With Cold Yogurt
July 29, 2026

Hot Charred Tomatoes With Cold Yogurt

This has long been a “viral” hit among the many popular recipes in the Ottolenghi cookbook world. The Hot Charred Tomatoes With Cold Yogurt dish even graces the cover of one of Yotam Ottolenghi’s cookbooks, Ottolenghi Simple. 
You can buy the cookbook through your local bookstore or on Amazon here.

It is late summer here as I write this post. Tomato season is at its peak. This is the perfect time to enjoy this dish. It makes a beautiful presentation on your table, too.

Here is the recipe as I prepared it in my kitchen.

Hot Charred Tomatoes With Cold Yogurt

July 29, 2026
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Ingredients
  • 12 oz. cherry tomatoes
  • 3 T. olive oil
  • 3/4 t. cumin seeds
  • 1/2 t. light brown sugar
  • 3 garlic cloves (sliced thin)
  • 3 thyme sprigs
  • 6 oregano sprigs
  • 1 lemon (shaved into 3 strips and then finely grated for 1 t. zest)
  • Flaked sea salt
  • Black pepper
  • 1 2/3 C. Greek yogurt (very cold)
  • 1 t. crushed red pepper flakes (preferably urfa)
Directions
  • Step 1 Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.
  • Step 2 Combine tomatoes with olive oil, cumin, sugar, garlic, thyme, 3 oregano sprigs, lemon strips, 1/2 t. flaked salt and a generous grind of black pepper. Arrange tomato mixture on a baking sheet and roast (just about 2 inches under the broiler) for 20 minutes. You want to tomatoes to begin releasing their juices and to begin to blister.
  • Step 3 After the 20 minutes of roasting, turn the heat in your oven to broil and broil for a few minutes. Watch the tomatoes carefully. You want them to begin to blacken but you don’t want to over broil them.
  • Step 4 Combine yogurt and grated lemon zest and about 1/4-1/2 t. flaked salt. Mix and refrigerate. You want the yogurt to be very cold when you assemble your dish.
  • Step 5 This dish should be assembled just before serving to maintain the cold yogurt/hot tomato vibe of the dish. To assemble,, spread the yogurt on a flat serving dish. Spoon the hot tomatoes, herbs, and juices over the yogurt. Sprinkle oregano leaves and chile flakes on top of the dish. Serve immediately.

 

Main Dishes, Side Dishes, Tomatoes, Vegetables, Vegetarian
Oldies But Goodies…Pavlova!
July 28, 2026

Oldies But Goodies…Pavlova!

Every month Blue Cayenne features recipes from our archive of more than four hundred recipes. These recipes are our “Oldies But Goodies.” Today’s Oldies But Goodies recipe is for a classic dessert, Pavlova. Here is the link: Pavlova.. Want to dive deeper into our Pavlova.…

Desserts, Vegetarian
Corn and Miso Pasta Salad
July 21, 2026

Corn and Miso Pasta Salad

OK. Who put miso in the macaroni salad? And corn? Doesn’t corn clash with pasta?  It was Ham El-Waylily of the New York Times and it is a brilliant move.  And, no, corn works beautifully with this macaroni salad.  This is an adaptation of a…

Pasta, salad, Salad Dressings, Salads, Vegetables, Vegetarian
Cafe Sperl’s Plum Squares
July 15, 2026

Cafe Sperl’s Plum Squares

At my local farmers’ market, the stone fruits are winding down. The cherries are gone. The apricots are so ripe they’re squishy by the time you get them home. Peaches and plums, however, are still available in abundance. 

As you know if you read this blog, plums are my jam. So, I’m in a very good place right now. 

This recipe for Cafe Sperl’s Plum Squares  is from Diana Henry’s cookbook Roast Figs, Sugar Snow: Food to Warm the Soul. Cafe Sperl is a Viennese coffee house that dates back to the 19th Century when it catered to the likes of  archdukes, musicians and prominent military figures. 

You can order this cookbook through your local bookstore or on Amazon here. This cookbook was published in 2005 and was recently reissued. It is Diana Henry’s ode to cold weather cooking. So, if you are sweltering in this summer’s heat wave, perhaps this cold-weather recipe will help you escape into dreams of colder times and climes. 

Here is the recipe as I prepared it in my kitchen. This delicious recipe can be made with apricots as well as plums. 

Cafe Sperl's Plum Squares

July 15, 2026
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Ingredients
  • 15 T. unsalted stick butter (cubed)
  • 1 3/4 C. plus 1 T. all-purpose flour
  • 1. 3/4 C. almond flour
  • 2/3 C. superfine sugar
  • Pinch of sea salt
  • 1 large egg yolk
  • 1 t. vanilla extract (or almond extract)
  • 1/2 t. chilled water
  • 1. 1/2 pounds plums
  • 3 T. granulated sugar
  • 3/4 C. apricot jam or plum jelly
Directions
  • Step 1 Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
  • Step 2 Prepare a 12 inch x 8 inch baking pan by lining it with parchment paper. Cut the parchment a bit larger than the pan and let two of the sides hang over the edge of the pan. Use those long sides as handles to help you remove the squares from the pan after they’ve baked.
  • Step 3 Combine butter, all-purpose flour and almond flour in the bowl of your food processor. Process until the mixture looks like breadcrumbs. Add sugar and salt and process again. Add the egg yolk and extract (I used almond extract)and continue to process until you have a dough. If your mixture doesn’t begin to come together, add the chilled water. (You want to see the dough just beginning to form. You don’t want to overmix it and see it come together completely.) Remove the dough from the processor bowl to a lightly floured counter in your kitchen. Use your hands to knead the dough briefly and then press it evenly into the prepared baking pan. Put the pan with the dough into your refrigerator and chill for about 30 minutes. After the dough has chilled, bake it in your preheated oven for about 15 minutes. It should be a pale gold color.
  • Step 4 While the dough is baking, halve, pit and quarter your plums. When you remove the crust from the oven, layer the sliced plums on the surface of the hot dough. The plums should be placed skin side down on the hot crust and then should be pressed gently into the crust.
  • Step 5 Sprinkle the assembled squares with the granulated sugar and bake the squares for about 45 minutes. When the squares are done, they should look glossy and a bit scorched on the edges and the base of the squares should be baked through. Remove the squares to your counter and let them cool a bit.
  • Step 6 Mix the jam or jelly with 1 T. water to thin it. Brush the thinned jam across the top of the cooling squares.
  • Step 7 Once your squares are cooled, cut into squares.

 

Desserts, Plums, Vegetarian
Soup in July? Lemony White Bean Soup
July 10, 2026

Soup in July? Lemony White Bean Soup

Soup in July? Is that  even allowed?  This is highly rated soup from Melissa Clark’s Dinner In One cookbook. You can order the book through your local bookstore or on Amazon here. If, on the other hand, you are craving a cold soup to get you…

Beans, Soups, Vegetables, Vegetarian
A Dream Chocolate-Chocolate Poundcake
June 27, 2026

A Dream Chocolate-Chocolate Poundcake

If chocolate rocks your world, this is the cake for you.  It is decadently bittersweet with a poundcake texture. The frosting is to die for. For this recipe, I used  Callebaut Bittersweet Chocolate and Double Dutch Cocoa; both were purchased from King Arthur Baking.  This…

Cakes, Desserts, Vegetarian
A Gorgeous Grilled Sweetcorn Slaw
June 25, 2026

A Gorgeous Grilled Sweetcorn Slaw

It’s summer! Woo-hoo!

Right now, my favorite local farmers’ market is bursting with beautiful produce. What better way to showcase (and enjoy!) that bounty than by making a fresh salad? 

Make that a fresh crunchy coleslaw and I’m in heaven. Make it beautiful and just WOW.

How to get that beauty in a coleslaw, though? I confess to years of making dull greenish slaws with nothing more interesting than a bit of mayo and some caraway seeds. This Ottolenghi Grilled Sweetcorn Slaw recipe, with the usual creative brilliance of the Ottolenghi kitchen, changes all that. Grill some sweetcorn! Pickle some red onions! Sprinkle cilantro leaves and mint leaves liberally into the mix!

One of my favorite items at my local farmers’ market  is the intensely-colored carrots. When we used to travel in India, I fell in love with the bright red carrots that were often used in the wonderful carrot puddings. After years of looking, I’ve finally found them again at a small specialty stall at my farmers’ market. The vendor there specializes in all sorts of great stuff—tender carrots in multiple colors, pointy haspi cabbages and on and on. So, it was with pleasure that I featured those beautiful carrots in this salad. 

This recipe comes from the Ottolenghi online site. You can find the recipe here.

Here is the Grilled Sweetcorn Slaw recipe as I prepared it in my kitchen. 

Grilled Sweetcorn Slaw

June 25, 2026
Print This
Ingredients
  • For the Salad:
  • 1/3 C. white wine vinegar
  • 2/3 C. water
  • 1/4 medium green cabbage (shredded)
  • 3 carrots (julienned)
  • 1 small red onion (thin sliced)
  • 2 corn cobs (brushed with olive oil)
  • 2 red chiles (finely chopped)
  • 1/2 C. cilantro leaves
  • 1/2 C. fresh mint leaves
  • Olive oil
  • Salt and black pepper
  • For the Dressing:
  • 1/4 C. mayonnaise
  • 2 t. Dijon mustard
  • 1 1/2 t. neutral oil
  • 1 T. fresh lemon juice
  • 1 clove garlic (pressed)
Directions
  • Step 1 Combine white wine vinegar with water and 1 . salt in a small saucepan. Bring the mixture to a boil and then remove from heat.
  • Step 2 Prepare the cabbage and carrots. Pour about 2/3 of the warm vinegar liquid over the cabbage. Leave the bowl on your counter for about 20 minutes.
  • Step 3 Pour the remaining 1/3 of the vinegar mixture over the sliced red onions. Set aside for about 20 minutes for the onions to pickle.
  • Step 4 After your cabbage, carrots and onions have pickled for about 20 minutes, drain the vinegar liquid off the vegetables and rinse them. Dry the vegetables and place them in a large bowl.
  • Step 5 Grill the oiled corn on the cob for a few minutes. (The original Ottolenghi recipe used 4 corn cobs, by the way.)You want some black grill color on the corn. When the corn has grilled, cut the corn kernels off the cob (preferably in chunks) and add them to the cabbage mixture in your salad bowl.
  • Step 6 Prepare your salad dressing by combining all the ingredients and mixing until you have a smooth dressing. Pour the dressing over your salad and toss to combine.
  • Step 7 Add the chiles, cilantro leaves and mint leaves to the salad. Add a generous coarse grind of black pepper and salt to your taste. Toss to combine.
  • Step 8 Serve in a pretty bowl.
  • Step 9 Cook’s Note: This is best served the same day it is made to enjoy the maximum coleslaw crunch!
salad, Salad Dressings, Salads, Vegetables, Vegetarian
Oldies But Goodies: Watermelon-Tomato Gazpacho
June 24, 2026

Oldies But Goodies: Watermelon-Tomato Gazpacho

Every month Blue Cayenne features recipes from our archive of more than four hundred recipes. These recipes are our “Oldies But Goodies.” Today’s Oldies But Goodies recipe is for Watermelon-Tomato Gazpacho. Here is the link: Watermelon-Tomato Gazpacho, Want to dive deeper into our recipe archive? Just…

Oldies But Goodies, Vegetables, Vegetarian

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August 2026
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Featured Posts

The Best Things In Life Are…Well …Simple: James Beard’s Macaroni and Cheese
October 2, 2019

The Best Things In Life Are…Well …Simple: James Beard’s Macaroni and Cheese

  “Our life is frittered away by detail… simplify, simplify.” Henry David Thoreau     This very simple James Beard recipe for macaroni and cheese caught my eye on a day when I was craving the quintessential American dish. Sometimes a simple recipe reminds us…

Cheese, Pasta, Vegetarian
Let’s Do Blueberry Brunch Cake
June 30, 2021

Let’s Do Blueberry Brunch Cake

Brunch. It’s a portmanteau– a made up word joining two words and two meanings. You know, a blend. List and article: Listicle. Smoke and fog: Smog. Breakfast and lunch: Brunch.  Actually, Blue Cayenne’s sweet Chief Quality Officer (CQO)  Juliet is probably a portmanteau, too. Juliet…

Cakes, Desserts, Fruit, Fruits, Vegetarian
Ratatouille
January 17, 2018

Ratatouille

  Today’s plat du jour on my table is ratatouille, a classic French vegetable stew that is a specialty of cooks in Provence and Nice. Apparently, a lot of other Mediterranean countries claim some version of this dish, too, so you may have encountered ratatouille under…

Main Dishes, Side Dishes, Vegetables, Vegetarian

All Time Favorites

Soup in July? Lemony White Bean Soup

Soup in July? Lemony White Bean Soup

Soup in July? Is that  even allowed?  This is highly rated soup from Melissa Clark’s Dinner In One cookbook. You can order the book through your local bookstore or on Amazon here. If, on the other hand, you are craving a cold soup to get you…

Beans, Soups, Vegetables, Vegetarian
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July 10, 2026
Oldies But Goodies: Turkish White Beans

Oldies But Goodies: Turkish White Beans

Beans! Glorious beans! This is an enthusiastic repeat recipe for Blue Cayenne. We originally featured the recipe back in May of 2024. Here is the link and the recipe: Turkish White Beans. This recipe is from Yasmin Khan’s cookbook, Ripe Figs: Recipes and Stories From Turkey,…

Beans, Vegetables, Vegetarian
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March 18, 2026
A New Look at Marcus Samuelsson’s Ethiopian Beans: White Beans With Coconut Milk and Berbere

A New Look at Marcus Samuelsson’s Ethiopian Beans: White Beans With Coconut Milk and Berbere

Jose Andreas. Marcella Hazan. Jacques Pepin.  Elena Zalayeta Masaharu Morimoto Marcus Samuelsson. And on and on and on…and on. These women and men have enriched the American culinary world.  Immigrants all.  So here, in the spirit of recognizing  and celebrating the creativity, drive and good…

Beans, Main Dishes, Stews, Vegetables, Vegetarian
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January 18, 2026
White Beans With Spinach and Parmesan

White Beans With Spinach and Parmesan

It’s October already and time to start thinking of cold weather comfort foods.  Nothing fits that bill quite like beans. This recipe combines Rancho Gordo alubia blanca beans with generous quantities of parmaesan cheese and chile crisp for a stewed bean dish perfect for those…

Beans, Main Dishes, Vegetables, Vegetarian
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October 19, 2025
Good Memories: Bean Salad

Good Memories: Bean Salad

This recipe brings back fond memories of parties in my home. On my buffet table, a three bean salad was always a reliable dish–easy to put together, flexible, and interesting. Recently, my local Farmer’s Market has been offering beautiful yellow was beans that reminded me…

Beans, salad, Salad Dressings, Salads, Vegetables, Vegetarian
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July 23, 2025
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