A fancy early-spring dessert The first edible plants that grow in the spring are stems – because stems are what plants grow first – like chives and celery. This is a simplified version of a New York Times recipe: a dessert made out of nothing much more than celery and sugar. It requires practically no …
Tag Archives: cheese
Beet salad
Pink Rice One summer, volunteering on a low-budget project to restore the castle of the Dukes of Guise in northern France, we had the worst food I have ever eaten in France. The French kids eventually rebelled, complaining that we were starving. The project director responded by mixing up a huge cauldron of white rice …
Twice baked potatoes
Cooking for Occupy Portland Last fall when I was cooking for Occupy Portland, we needed to make dinner for about a thousand people a night (no kidding!) with whatever jumble of ingredients people happened to have donated. One winner was these twice baked potatoes – they’re cheap, they’re easy to make, and they’re easy to …
Turnips au gratin
Why turnips and not potatoes? You could make this with potatoes, but turnips have much more flavor. And turnips have fewer calories, too. How to make turnips gratin: Preheat the oven to 350 F. Slice two large turnips very thin (about 1/8 inch thick). In a saucepan over medium heat, melt 1/4 stick of butter …
Mac and cheese
Poor people’s food? When my partner was about ten, his family was really poor for a few years following his parents’ divorce, while his mom got back on her feet again. They ate a lot of macaroni and cheese, and he’s always disliked it since as poor people’s food. But this version certainly doesn’t taste …
Grilled cheese
Working too many hours You know you’re too busy when you feel you always have to cook everything on the highest possible heat so it will go as fast as possible because dinner is always late. And a lot of things get burned because they just need medium heat and slower cooking. That was me …
Cornmeal crust pizza
Inspired by Dove Vivi Pizza in Portland Dove Vivi pizza near my house makes incredible gluten-free vegan cornmeal crust pizza. Naturally they don’t give out the recipe, but this seems to be a pretty good imitation, if you don’t live near Dove Vivi or just want to stay at home. It’s quick and easy, anyway. …
Cheese blintzes
First Cooking Memories When we visited my grandma in Brooklyn, she used to keep my parents up too late talking. But we kids woke up early. My grandma always let the other adults sleep, and took me and my younger brother downstairs to make cheese blintzes for everyone. Making blintzes for nine people took all …
Arancini – Cheesy Rice Balls
Arancini are usually food-cart street food, because they’re usually deep fried and most people don’t deep fry at home. But these are also good, and they’re just baked in the oven – no deep frying required, and you don’t have to go out to the food cart either! How to make arancini: This is a …