This deliciously chocolate, finely crumbed cake is iced with a three-ingredient bourbon glaze. Recipe below.
I BAKED THIS CAKE THREE TIMES BEFORE I GOT IT RIGHT. Three times. Three. The problem was not the flavor—a lovely chocolate—or the texture—finely crumbed and pleasing and entirely too easy to eat. It was the pan. Continue reading “Third time’s the charm: Chocolate Bundt Cake with Bourbon Glaze”
Flavors from all over Asia (ginger, lemongrass, five-spice powder, garam masala, fish sauce…) spice up this delicious, aromatic, meaty stew. The Instant Pot speeds it up. Recipe below.
OUR FAMILY LOVES THIS DISH. Hearty, complex, aromatic, it’s a popular favorite over here. Now that we are not eating all that much red meat, this has become even more of a special occasion meal. When one of our daughters found herself able to visit us over the holidays, this was the dish she requested. This time, we made it in the Instant Pot to see how it would work out. Continue reading “Bò Kho (Vietnamese beef stew) gets an Instant Pot makeover”
Sweet white miso adds delicious umami, sunflower and pumpkin seeds a nice crunch, to this not-to-sweet spin on banana bread. Recipe below.
WE LOVE BANANA BREAD. Blue Kitchen already has three different banana bread recipes, and to be honest, I was surprised that there were only three. Now there are four. Continue reading “A classic dessert bread gets a nutty, umami twist: Miso Banana Bread”
Blueberries and sour cream are the basis of this modestly sweet cake a dessert, a breakfast treat, a mid-day pick-me-up. Recipe below.
WE ARE STILL BEING VERY CAUTIOUS THESE DAYS. We are not flying. We are not going into our offices. We are only going into shops and the library and other public places when they are relatively empty. We aren’t going to bars at all, which is so sad. But we are still seeing people, with great care, as we wait out what looks to be a multi-year pandemic. Meaning we still want to have some treats on hand, just in case. Thus this simple bundt cake. Continue reading “A not-too-sweet anytime treat: Blueberry Sour Cream Cake”
Green tomatoes, and some kind of pepper and onion are at the heart of this crisp, tart, easy-to-make traditional Burmese salad. Recipe below.
IT’S OCTOBER. THE DAYS ARE GETTING SHORTER, the nights crisp (well, sometimes). The bees are fewer in number and acting kind of drowsy. But the tomato plants, ever cheerful, are still optimistically generating loads of tomatoes. Continue reading “Simple, authentic, delicious: Burmese Green Tomato Salad (kayan chin thi thoke)”
Stone-ground grits are loaded with gruyere, butter and cream, and topped with roasted broccoli instead of shrimp. Recipe below.
I’VE BEEN ON A BROCCOLI TEAR LATELY, looking for new or at least newish ways to fix this old dependable. The other day, I happened to run across a recipe for pasta with a sauce loaded with gruyere, and with steamed broccoli mixed in at the last. As we say at our house, that was not without interest, but somehow the pasta side of this seemed overwhelming. That was when I opened the fridge door and saw the bag of Geechie Boy Mill white grits I’d ordered a little while back, just sitting on the door waiting patiently. Continue reading “A vegetarian spin on a Southern classic: Gruyere Grits with Roasted Broccoli”
Make a whole batch of these delicious buttermilk waffles and freeze some for homemade toaster waffles. Recipe below.
ON SATURDAY MORNINGS, IF WE ARE IN TOWN (and let’s face it, these days we still always are), we kind of laze out of bed whenever. We drift down to the kitchen and sit around the island and have boatloads of coffee (me) and tea (Terry). We look out the back door into the tiny backyard and comment on whatever birds are visiting the birdbath (lately, a pair of cardinals are bossing around all other comers). Eventually, one of us makes a late breakfast. Continue reading “A cozy breakfast for you and future you: Buttermilk Waffles”
You’ll want to add this hearty soup of red lentils, coconut and coconut milk, garam masala, spinach and tomatoes to your rotation. Recipe below.
BY MOST STANDARDS, WE COOK WITH LENTILS A LOT. But to us, every time we do, we lament that we don’t do so more often. Most recently, cooking this vegetarian soup with red lentils, coconut and coconut milk, spinach, and tomatoes had us thinking just that. Continue reading “Vegetarian (or vegan) and delicious: Red Lentil Soup”
A mix of baked and simmered potatoes gives this soup a satisfying texture and real baked potato flavor. Recipe below.
A LOT OF BAKED POTATO SOUP RECIPES DO NOT INVOLVE BAKED POTATOES. They are simply an excuse to load your regular potato soup with cheese, sour cream, bacon and whatever you personally would add to a loaded baked potato. Here, though, we wanted to go a little farther. We wanted to use actually baked potatoes. But we also wanted the smooth, healthy, satisfying foundation that you only get from simmered potatoes. Continue reading “Creamy and chunky, ready for whatever weather: Baked Potato Soup”
Lemon juice and zest in both the blondies and the glaze give these super easy treats an addictively bright flavor. Recipe below.
FEBRUARY IS NONSENSE. Outside, the 32 inches of snowfall around our house is melting in a depressing, half-assed way; our backyard and gangway are a hell of snow mounds and falling ice. But inside, we have this—this easy little jolt of sunshine. Continue reading “Simple, sunshiney Lemon Blondies”