Pajda is what to ask for in Krakow. Pajda means “thick slice” – of country bread, upon which is smeared lard, garlic, onions, and spicy sausage. Pajda goes well with hunger. Krakow was easily my favorite city in Eastern Europe. Great energy to the place, the bombs of WWII missed it, and there happened to […]
Category: Appetizer
Curry Garlic Fries because I Love You
Had the pleasure of spending the morning with poet Jimmy Santiago Baca. His memoir, A Place to Stand, is what I currently devour page by page when I get my nightstand appetite. This man learned to read and to write in prison, and over the years within those cells, he came to find writing as a way […]
Dim Sum Char Siu Bao and New Years Resolution Haiku
There is something paradoxically restful in the chaos of family visits over the holidays. The reassurance of roots, of home—the reminder of belonging. I made my Sourdough Surprises challenge early this month to take advantage of the New Year’s symbolism inherent in Chinese dumplings, the pork filling representing the prosperity and treasure tucked into every year, […]
Hoisin Roasted Cauliflower
Hoisin sauce, Chinese plum sauce, is good stuff. Here’s a quick dinner with cauliflower for those who need a recipe that involves one or two stirs, and then standing over the stove for twenty minutes in a dumb stupor of exhaustion, a mental state after a long week of work that I like to dress […]
Pumpkin Bread for a Graveyard Smash
Well, we finally had a graveyard smash at Fuchsia and Lime. Izzy really got into character as Beast when a long haired dachshund showed up unannounced as a guest’s costume accessory. KP, dashing in gold lamé, was the perfect Lumiere to welcome the masses…”Be our Guest, be our guest…” The winners of our costume contest […]
Tartine-Style Polenta Cornbread and Tomato Sauces
Mix it till it looks like quicksand, he’d say. Till it moves like a slow song sounds. Patricia Smith’s description of making cornbread with her father is perfect. Dough churning like a slow song sounds, smooth but with grit and fleck. I’ve made cornbread so many many ways. In waffles with chili, on a skillet […]
Charred Eggplant and Tahini Spread
If I were a vegetable, I would like to be an eggplant. This recipe is in fact included in my advanced directive. Charred Eggplant and Tahini Spread Adapted from Bon Appetit 2014 1 large eggplant, cut lengthwise into quarters ¼ cup olive oil, plus more for drizzling Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper […]
Mini Cauliflower Bites, or Plant Gout
Cauliflower, to me, looks like a plant with gout. Not hard to tell I’m back on the old medicine service! Meanwhile, major developments in the backyard garden—cauliflower ready to harvest—only took 75 days of staring at it to get it to bloom. I used to eat Pizza Bagel Mini Bites when I was in grade […]
Twice-Cooked Latkes with Shallot Cream
Karl-Peter has commanded a Belgian strike today in the kitchen. I woke up to make waffles, a choice KP discouraged because it was too Belgian. I have no such superstition. There is no way the universe sees my breakfast as a weight to tip the scales in the favor of Belgium over the US soccer team. […]
Oven-Fried Ginger Sourdough Onion Rings with Pam’s Pepper Jam
I’m at the giggle stage of deep fatigue here at the end of my last medicine clerkship. Anything could trigger an intractable fit. Several days ago, my husband KP accompanied me to a yoga class—admittedly more as a spotter than as a participant, in case I fell asleep in the middle of a headstand or […]