Vegetarian

Baked Red Bean Nian Gao (Mochi Cake)

Baked Red Bean Nian Gao (Mochi Cake)

I’ve had this recipe in my burgeoning to-do file for some time. The original recipe is from The New York Times and the reviews are pretty strong.  A reader named  Isabel, for example, wrote that this cake may be one of the best things she’s…

Gotta Love Fritters: Spanakopita Fritters

Gotta Love Fritters: Spanakopita Fritters

Just about every food culture has a fritter–a fried and battered morsel of vegetables, fruits or meats. There are Indian bhajias, Japanese tempura, American apple fritters, and on and on.  The love of a fried morsel is all but universal.  This fritter has a Greek…

Light Those Candles!  It’s Birthday Banana Cake

Light Those Candles! It’s Birthday Banana Cake

So, where did the idea of celebrating birthdays with cakes come from?  It was the Greeks!!!, as my Greek friend Michelle would be quick to say. (Michelle proudly maintains that most good things originated with the Greeks. ) Michelle may have a point. According to…

It’s a Ten on the WOW Scale: Tahini Cake

It’s a Ten on the WOW Scale: Tahini Cake

Just WOW! This is such a good cake and a relatively unique cake flavor to place on your table to entertain your guests. I have to confess, though, that I’m not having a party and this cake is quickly disappearing off my counter! This is…

Oldies But Goodies:  Tomato Galette

Oldies But Goodies: Tomato Galette

Every month Blue Cayenne features recipes from our archive of more than four hundred recipes. These recipes are our “Oldies But Goodies.” Today’s Oldie But Goodie recipe is for a beautiful Tomato Galette. You can find the recipe here. Want to dive deeper into our recipe…

Cairo Breakfast Memories: Arabic Baked Beans

Cairo Breakfast Memories: Arabic Baked Beans

I can remember sitting in a hotel restaurant in Cairo back in the 1980s furiously looking for something Egyptian on the breakfast menu. There were all the usual western breakfast items–eggs, pastries, oatmeal. It was pretty much  the breakfast menu you would find in any…

Leek and Pear Soup

Leek and Pear Soup

Shirley Temple, remember her? In 1935 she made the song Animal Crackers In My Soup insanely popular, performing the song in her movie Curly Top. Here are the lyrics if you want to sing along: Curly Top/Animal Crackers in my Soup. Curly Top takes you on…

Almendrados: Spanish Almond-Lemon Macaroons

Almendrados: Spanish Almond-Lemon Macaroons

Wishing you a happy spring.  Here in Southern California, the birds are singing and gardens are waking up. How good is that? Here is a recipe for a wonderful cookie to celebrate spring, the Spanish Almendrado, sometimes described as an almond-lemon macaroon. It is a…

Oldies But Goodies: Sweet and Sour Tofu With Corn

Oldies But Goodies: Sweet and Sour Tofu With Corn

Every month Blue Cayenne features recipes from our archive of more than four hundred recipes. These recipes are our “Oldies But Goodies.” Today’s Oldie But Goodie recipe is for Sweet and Sour Tofu With Corn. You can find the recipe here. Want to dive deeper into…

They’re Huge: Garlicky Alfredo Beans

They’re Huge: Garlicky Alfredo Beans

For anyone out there who loves a good Alfredo sauce (you know who you are), this use of the classic sauce with beans is a revelation.   That’s right. Beans. Who woulda thought?   I made my dish with the giant Royal Corona beans made…