May 21, 2012
Sometimes texture can be just as important to a dish as flavor. It’s harder to enjoy something that’s just a bowl of mush. Ok, aside from perhaps enjoying a whole dinner of say, mashed potatoes with copious amounts of butter or oodles of macaroni and cheese. I have those days, too. But sometimes there are some things that need a little crunch.
Enter this delicious and surprising garnish for a ho-hum dinner in need of some oomph. Consider moderating the spices based on your dish. I think a curry granola or a chile scented granola would be equally tasty. And if you’re local to Columbus, stop by North Market Spices to pick up one of their many spice blends (which are amazing) to use.
Savory Cumin Granola
1 c rolled oats
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Posted in Recipes, Music, Spices, North Market Spices, Vegetarian, Garnish, Granola |
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May 6, 2012
This weekend’s weather made me gear back up in the garden, get back in the kitchen and get my groove back. Warm weather is all about ease: barely putting a pot on the stove, most things cooked over the grill. Who needs a mess when the back garden begs you to come and play? A quick ten minutes of chopping and a quick simmer is all it takes to throw this big-enough-to-serve-a-crowd slaw together.
Summer Picnic Slaw for Friends, serves 6
1/2 c rice wine vinegar
1 T whole cumin seeds
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Posted in Recipes, Music, Quick, Family, Vegetarian, Salad, Cabbage, Carrots, Coriander, Vinegar |
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March 28, 2012
I returned home after a lengthy trip to Texas to find spring had sprung: the daffodils were spent and the ferns unfurling. Nestled amongst said ferns on the shady side of the porch were dandelions, just emerged, with slender leaves and nary a flower in sight.
Which of course meant they are at their peak for eating.
Tonight’s dinner involved a return to cooking with a risotto. Included were the fruits of my garden weeding – young dandelion leaves – and broad beans, another early spring arrival.
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Posted in Columbus, Cooking Tips, Foraging, Music, Ohio, Recipes, Rice, Risotto, Seasonal, Spring, Vegetarian |
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March 20, 2012
Even a cocktail can be local and seasonal. Especially if it has lovely ruby red grapefruit juice in it along with a super smooth locally distilled vodka, in this case Savvy, out of Austin. The recipe: grapefruit juice and vodka in a two to one ratio. A splash of grenadine. Stir. Pour over ice. Superb.
Playlist included Look at Miss Ohio, covered by Miranda Lambert.
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Posted in Alcohol, Citrus, Cocktails, Drink Local, Drinks Cabinet, Grapefruit, Music, Recipes, San Antonio, Savvy Vodka, Seasonal |
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March 18, 2012
We all get stuck in a weeknight routine, I know. I’ve heard the complaints — “I don’t know what to make and I don’t have the time to make it anyway.”
Maybe all you need is to take something familiar and give it a little tweak.
Enter pork jowls. In Italian it’s guanciale, and it’s sliced and cured in a manner similar to bacon. But it’s a deeper, richer almost gamey flavor that brings something different to your weeknight plate. Fry them up, toss them with some familiar ingredients and you’ll have a pasta that’s delicious on its own. Add some slices of easily-prepared monkfish and you can serve your loved ones something wonderfully unexpected.
Just be sure to maintain the mystery: don’t tell them how easy it was.
Pork Jowl Pasta with Roasted Monkfish
For the pasta sauce:
1/3 lbs. of sliced pork jowl
Pinch of red pepper flakes
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Posted in Fish, Kale, Monkfish, Music, Pasta, Pork, Quick, Recipes |
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March 10, 2012
This is the most marvelous thing to put on top of pasta, fish, crispy duck breasts, wild rice. Oh goodness. It’s good on anything. I’m planning on putting it on top of some eggs and cream cheese and bagels from The Bagel Tree tomorrow morning.
It is many times like this that I feel very much like Nigella Lawson in the final few shots of her television program, greedily going through the fridge, late at night, slathering spicy spreads on whatever it is that she cooked that day. But you know, the woman really knows how to cobble together a bite.
And I do, too, if I do say so myself.
This little spread will work wonderfully on lots of things. And it comes together with just a few ingredients and a fast whiz in the food processor. Moments, really.
Walnut Aillade, makes enough to sauce a dinner for three or four, plus a bit for late night slathering of snacks
1/2 c walnuts
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Posted in Garlic, Garnish, Music, Ohio, Olive Oil, Olive Orchard, Parsley, Quick, Recipes, Vegetarian, Walnuts |
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March 8, 2012
I’ll admit it: I am already greedily longing for spring and summer, despite the blissfully mild central Ohio winter we have had.
Forgive me. I grew up in Texas. And I’m almost certain tomatoes are already in season. OK, that’s being dramatic.
But this daikon slaw somehow reminds me of summer. And grilling outdoors. And warm weather. And love.
It’s simple to pull together from what has kept well during the still – quite seriously – dark days of winter. Its Asian flavors make it interesting for topping a hot dog or snuggling up to a nice piece of pan-roasted fish. It’s as fancy or homey as you want it to be. Flexibility with flair.
And that tastes great any season of the year.
Pickled Daikon Radish Slaw
1 very large daikon radish, peeled and shredded
1 carrot, peeled and shredded
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Posted in Carrots, Cauliflower, Coriander, Daikon, Music, Recipes, Salad, Vegetarian |
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