Vegetarian

You’re Invited For Trader Joe’s  Dip

You’re Invited For Trader Joe’s Dip

  You know the feeling. There is casual remark among your group of friends and some knowing laughter. Gradually, it dawns on you. There was a party. You weren’t invited. That’s the way I felt with this recipe. Apparently a whole lot of people know…

Gorgonzola-Baked Fennel and Cannellini Bean Salad

Gorgonzola-Baked Fennel and Cannellini Bean Salad

It takes a neighborhood and sometimes a bicycle! This salad recipe is adapted from Hetty McKinnon’s salad cookbook Neighborhood. McKinnon is an Australian cook who currently lives in the Carroll Gardens neighborhood of Brooklyn but has hung her hat in the Mediterranean, Asia and France.…

A simple Strawberry Tart for a lazy summer day

A simple Strawberry Tart for a lazy summer day

  Brilliant red strawberries picked at the peak of their ripeness floating on a bed of creamy mascarpone and suspended over a crisp rye flour crust… You need this tart. We are on the cusp of strawberry season here in California and this easy-peasy (and indulgent)…

Dear Meghan. It shoulda been banana cake.

Dear Meghan. It shoulda been banana cake.

  Dear Meghan. You are one lucky girl. Movie star good looks. Handsome prince. Loaded grandmother-in-law. But why didn’t you put that elegant little foot down and insist on a real cake for your wedding? What was it with that frou-frou elderflower cake anyhow? I know.,…

Asparagus Soup with Fennel and Pernod

Asparagus Soup with Fennel and Pernod

I love adore soup!  All soup. Well…maybe not all soup. I was once on a school district committee where one of the elementary school reps reported on her school’s “soup day.”  Seems they had an activity where each student was asked to bring a can of Campbell’s…

Flan: How do I love thee? Let me count the ways.

Flan: How do I love thee? Let me count the ways.

  I gave a birthday party recently for two of my friends, one of whom had mentioned that she particularly enjoyed flan. So, there was no question that flan would be our party dessert. The history of flan is interesting. Flan has been enjoyed for…

Banana Bread?—Nononono!  It’s Banana Banana Bread

Banana Bread?—Nononono! It’s Banana Banana Bread

    I was reminded of Paul Simon’s iconic hit as I was making banana bread the other day. I’m quickly finding that there are at least fifty ways to make the sweet treat. (If you want to relive a bit of Paul Simon’s performance…

Pass the poha…

Pass the poha…

    On a long-ago idyll in India, I discovered unimagined rice delights. There were soft puffy rice cakes called idli commonly eaten in the morning. Pilaf-like biryanis. Sweet pongals. Here is a take on a rice dish you probably have never imagined, a poha.…

Tortuga Rum Cake

Tortuga Rum Cake

  Your friends and neighbors who arrive home from idylls in the Caribbean usually bring back tans, lame pirate jokes, and rum cakes. Rum, of course, is ubiquitous in the Caribbean and entrepreneurs long ago learned to add rum to cakes to expand rum’s culinary…

Hmmm…Exercise or Bake Pastry?:   Almond Puff Loaf

Hmmm…Exercise or Bake Pastry?: Almond Puff Loaf

  I was lying in bed the other night when my iWatch tapped me on the wrist. (The watch has a haptic function that allows it to tap you lightly on the wrist with a vibration to deliver reminders, alert you to the end of…