Extra Schmaltz!

If your chive plant is anything like mine, you need to hack it back so it doesn't compete with the rest of the herb garden. Also, it's going to be months before we have an abundance of basil, so here's a yummy spring pesto! 1 large handful of chives 1 medium handful of parsley 1 small handful of oregano, mint, or other fresh herbs 4 cloves garlic 1/4 c. blanched almonds or pine nuts 1/4 c. olive oil 2 tsp. black pepper 2-3 tsp. Kosher salt 1/4 c. grated Pecorino Romano cheese Wash all herbs thoroughly and remove the thickest stems. Use kitchen scissors to cut them into manageable pieces. Lightly toast the nuts in a dry pan. Remove the nuts and then lightly toast the whole garlic cloves to remove some of their pungency. When the nuts are cool, add them to a food processor and pulse until coarsely chopped. Add the herbs a small handful at a time until well chopped. Add the black pepper and salt and pulse. With the food processor running, drizzle in the o...

If you want a delicious and comforting curry that will keep you full for hours or perhaps even days, this is the one for you. It uses ingredients that are easy to keep on hand, so it's good in a pinch. It's more sweet than spicy, so it's good for the spice-averse. There are many ways to make it, but this is how I learned. You can make it with chicken or beef, though if you use beef you may want to simmer the meat in the liquid a lot longer. 1 lb. boneless chicken, cut into 1" pieces 14 oz. can of coconut milk 4 oz. can of massaman curry paste 1 large onion, cut into 1" pieces 1 1/2 c. potato or white sweet potato in 1" pieces 1/2 c. carrots, in chunks (optional) 14 oz. water or chicken broth 1/2 c. raw peanuts or cashews 3 Tbsp. palm sugar or brown sugar 3 Tbsp. tamarind sauce (can be substituted with 1 tsp. lime juice) 2 Tbsp. fish sauce Salt to taste Begin by cooking the potato in a separate pan until almost fully cooked. In a deep saute pa...

I've developed a backlog of recipes that I haven't loaded up to the blog, but here's one I couldn't ignore. I've always loved muesli, but it's usually ~$5 for a tiny box that will only last for a few meals. I figured that it can't be hard to make and lo-and-behold, a little internet searching and I had a recipe. This is for a lightly sweetened, roasted version that needs overnight soaking for breakfast*. I think that if I chopped the finished product up in my food processor, I could make a fast-soaking version (I'll update this when I try it). The fun part about this recipe is that you can customize it any way you want. The following recipe makes 7-8 finished cups of muesli. If you eat it a lot you'll want to double the recipe. This is the un-soaked version. Imagine it pleasantly soggy the next day with the dried fruits plumped up and juicy. Preheat the oven to 300. 4 c. rolled oats (or other rolled grains) 3 Tbsp. vegetable oil 1/2 c. honey or mapl...

Announcing the first of the Thanksgiving recipes! I got this recipe from NPR during a show about cranberries. It's a very simple and easy pie (great if you need to make a last-minute dessert), which uses our favorite seasonal fruit. It can be served warm or cold and with or without whipped cream, though I argue it's best as-is. I didn't take this awesome picture--it's from the NPR website (Andrew Pockrose). Yes, it's as delicious as it looks. Preheat the oven to 350 and butter a 9" or 10" pie plate. Filling: 2 c. cranberries (fresh or frozen), coarsely chopped* 1/2 c. walnuts, coarsely chopped* 1/2 c. sugar Batter: 2 eggs 3/4 c. melted butter 1 c. sugar 1 c. flour 1 tsp. almond extract *(Retain some of the most attractive cranberries and walnuts for decoration) Toss together the chopped cranberries, walnuts, and sugar for the filling. Place this mixture in the buttered pie plate and pat it down gently. I chopped these using a food processor but you can ju...

Well, this recipe is totally out of season (much more of a winter thing) but I felt like cooking it, and I had all the ingredients. As with most of my recipes, it does consist of a bunch of stuff smooshed together, with rice on the side, but I do like a chronic state of lack of tupperware and fridgespace, so this is what I'm used to making. It would be good with some vegi item on the side, like steamed broccoli. Also, this is a very, very approximate recipe, and therefore I won't be providing quantities. Sweet Potatoes with Peanut Sauce 2# sweet potatoes, boiled and peeled 1 small onion, diced 1/2 large bell pepper, diced 1-2 jalapeno peppers, to taste, diced 3-4 cloves garlic, minced 3 medium shallots, minced 3 carrots, diced 4-5 tomatoes, diced (optional) tofu or chicken breast, diced 1/4 c. peanut butter 1 tsp. soy sauce 2 Tbls. cilantro 1 tsp fish sauce/Worcester sauce 1 Tbl. curry powder Juice of 1 lemon Chop sweet potatoes into large chunks, then bo...

Another Arabic recipe - Muhammara. This is a dip, much like hummus, and can be served in the same contexts - with bread, carrot sticks, etc. I've adapted it from this recipe with fairly insignificant alterations. Requires a food processor,but otherwise almost entirely brainless. 3 large roasted red peppers (it may be cheaper to buy a jar of roasted red peppers depending on the season). The original recipe recommends roasting them in a cast iron pan in the oven so you can preserve their liquid, which you'll need to keep things juicy. If using the jarred peppers, pour their liquid into the recipe when you add them. 1-1.5 cups walnuts 2 cloves garlic 1 cup bread crumbs 1/3 cup olive oil 1 teaspoon cumin or to taste 1 Tablespoon pomegranate molasses 1 teaspoon salt red chili flakes to taste (this is supposed to be spicy to some degree. This is the main reason we ordered it in Syria, since very little is spicy) Toast walnuts for a couple minutes on medium. During that ...

I've never been the Caucasus, but if I go, I intend to eat non-stop. So far all the recipes I've had from that region are a fantastic melding of East and West that highlight some of my favorite ingredients. Alex once made this dish, and I remember it taking him all day because he didn't use the food processor. I have one here, so I've been having fun with it. This recipe makes a mild-but-rich-and-flavorful chicken dip that's traditionally served as a mezze, but I served it as a side dish with Zingy Lentil and Bulghur Soup with Mint . These two recipes go well together because you need chicken broth for both. The chicken dish can be made ahead of time (which I recommend) and would be a great potluck offering. The walnuts make it very rich, so a little goes a long way. First, make a broth using chicken breasts. You can use other parts but these shred nicely. You can season it how you like, but this is how I do it (PS the onion skin makes the broth yellow). This is bes...