Vegetarian

      Yes. This is exactly as delicious as it looks, and as elegant, too. To be very honest, it is one of the best plum desserts that I’ve baked this season, and I’ve baked (and happily eaten) my share. The Austrians call this…

Egyptian pharaohs, European kings (and queens!) and Cornish miners all ate them. Beggars ate the crusts. Now, they are hot on the culinary scene again and they are delicious. Hand pies! Hand pies originated when some smart cook realized that there was a workaround for…

  Cue the pan flutes, or, better yet, throw on an Yma Sumac CD. (If you don’t have a Sumac CD, here is a link: Yma Sumac. Sumac was a 1950’s Peruvian vocal phenom with an amazing five octave vocal range and a legendary temper that befitted…

    Stop me if you have heard this one. A neighbor walks into his backyard. Innocently, he plants a generous row of zucchini seeds in his garden. Almost overnight, he has pretty green plants. Then, one morning, to his delight and amazement, there is…

  My friend Sarah said to put this recipe on Blue Cayenne. Believe me, when Sarah gets that insistent tone in her voice, Blue Cayenne listens. I’ve been making this gorgeous (and delicious!) soup for a very long time. This recipe was adapted from one…

Apricots evoke strong emotions. For poet John Ruskin, they conjured up a visual and tactile beauty. He described them as “shining in a sweet brightness of golden velvet.” For Chilean novelist Isabel Allende, theirs was a melancholy comfort. She wrote: “At the most difficult moments…

  Banana cake. Cream cheese frosting. Chopped pecans. This is a great banana cake. You may even want to eat the frosting by the spoonful. I did.   OK. That’s a fair criticism. I have posted a number of banana cake and bread recipes on…

  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…

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.…

  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)…