Inspirations from Detroit and Mexico: Beet Elote Salad

Based on two words from a restaurant menu and Mexican street food, Beet Elote Salad replaces corn with diced beets. Recipe below.

THE OTHER NIGHT I WAS POKING AROUND ON VARIOUS DETROIT WEBSITES and I thought to check out the website of Selden Standard. Several years ago, when we were spending most of our time in Detroit, Selden Standard became a place where I would go when I had a free evening and an appetite for a well-made, kind of rustic, kind of wonderful Midwestern-American dinner. Continue reading “Inspirations from Detroit and Mexico: Beet Elote Salad” →

What are you cooking for the 4th? 15 surprising recipe ideas

Tea-smoked Grilled Chicken with Star Anise & Orange

ANOTHER MAJOR FOOD HOLIDAY IS UPON US. Everywhere, magazines, emails, friends and online food sources are sharing recipes. Seemed like a good idea to us too. So good that when we checked our archives, we found we’d done a pretty bang up job a few years ago. Unexpected dishes, like this one, chicken tea-smoked with star anise and orange, then grilled. You’ll find this and 14 other surprising recipes, from grilling to appetizers, sides (including three potato salads) and desserts, right here. Have a great, delicious 4th.

Aptly named, make-it-again delicious: Weeknight Spicy Tofu Stir Fry

Lao Gan Ma Spicy Chili Crisp adds crunchy, garlicky spiciness to celery, bell peppers, garlic, ginger and extra firm tofu in this quick vegan stir fry. Recipe below.

IN RECENT DAYS, WE’VE SEEN A NUMBER OF ARTICLES in which food writers and chefs stuck at home and even regular folks talk about the extras they need to have in their kitchen—not the basic pantry items like beans or tinned fish or unbleached flour, but basics-plus—the things that bring a dish to life, that are the foundations of their palates and styles. Preserved lemons, black garlic, 5-year cheddar, harissa paste, Plugra butter, fish sauce, Tabasco, gochujang. Continue reading “Aptly named, make-it-again delicious: Weeknight Spicy Tofu Stir Fry” →

Hearty, flavorful, vegan: Indian-style Butter Beans

Fragrant and spicy (but hot overly hot), this vegan dish with canned butter beans is a quick, satisfying main course when served with rice, naan or roti. It can also be a flavorful side. Recipe below.

LIKE MOST EVERYONE, WE’RE COOKING AT HOME. A LOT. So we’re trying to mix things up as much as possible, keep things interesting. A recent grocery delivery included canned butter beans. We both love butter beans, and I primarily equate them with the American South. But when Marion was too busy to cook one evening, she nudged me toward dishes of the Indian subcontinent. Continue reading “Hearty, flavorful, vegan: Indian-style Butter Beans” →

Deconstructing a classic Polish dish: Unstuffed Cabbage

The hearty Polish dish Stuffed Cabbage is easier to make and just as delicious when you unstuff it. Recipe below.

SO HERE WE ALL ARE, STAYING IN, looking after each other by staying apart from each other. Hiding. Staying well, healing, hunkering down and making do with what we’ve got and just getting through it. Continue reading “Deconstructing a classic Polish dish: Unstuffed Cabbage” →

Simple comfort when we need it most: Tuscan Lentil and White Bean Soup

Tuscan Lentil and White Bean Soup is delicious, comforting, infinitely flexible—vegetarian, not vegetarian—and easy to make from what you have on hand. Recipe below.

SHELTER IN PLACE. Enough has been said about how we got to this strange time and place that I don’t need to add anything here. But suddenly, more of us are cooking at home than ever, oftentimes with what we have at hand. Partly, of course, it is by necessity. But many of us are taking comfort in cooking. Continue reading “Simple comfort when we need it most: Tuscan Lentil and White Bean Soup” →

A vegetarian Okra Stew offers balancing, restorative powers

This traditional, vegetarian Sudanese stew of okra, tomatoes, onion, garlic and cinnamon, topped with cinnamon-flavored couscous, is perfect for re-energizing—or just enjoying. Recipes below.

Alek Wek’s Balancing Okra Stew

[su_dropcap style=”flat” size=”3″]T[/su_dropcap]his refreshing, healthy recipe is by the model, author and Goodwill Ambassador to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, Alek Wek. A traditional Sudanese dish, it originally appeared in the New York Times in 2018, part of its occasional My Detox series. Continue reading “A vegetarian Okra Stew offers balancing, restorative powers” →

Step aside, tofurkey: Kasha Mushroom Cheese Casserole has vegetarian guests covered

Layers of kasha, mushroom-Parmesan sauce, spinach and cheeses bake into a delectable vegetarian main course for Thanksgiving—or for any wintry night. Recipe below.

Kasha Mushroom Cheese Casserole

[su_dropcap style=”flat”]W[/su_dropcap]e always seem to have at least one vegetarian at our Thanksgiving table. So we’re always looking for a delicious main course dish that doesn’t leave the vegetarians in our life feeling second best. And more specifically, that isn’t tofurkey. Continue reading “Step aside, tofurkey: Kasha Mushroom Cheese Casserole has vegetarian guests covered” →

The classic Sicilian dish named for an opera: Pasta alla Norma

Pasta alla Norma, a beloved traditional dish, gets its name from a Bellini opera—and an update with Japanese eggplant. Recipe below.

Pasta alla Norma

[su_dropcap style=”flat”]W[/su_dropcap]e’ve been doing a lot of harvesting and prepping of crops from our modest city yard. Last weekend, Terry brought in all the remaining basil and put up a bunch of pesto. I froze a flock of shishito peppers. We are drying herbs, and I am pondering whether to dry some tomatoes or just continue my usual policy of eating and eating and eating them out of hand while standing next to the tomato plants. Continue reading “The classic Sicilian dish named for an opera: Pasta alla Norma” →

Fresh fruit and an iconic Iowa blue cheese: Watermelon Mango Salad with Blue Cheese

Watermelon, mango, blue cheese and cayenne pepper create a sweet, savory spicy, colorful summer salad.

Watermelon Mango Salad with Blue Cheese

BLUE CHEESE—AND BLUE CHEESE DRESSING—HAVE BEEN STARRING IN MOST OF OUR SALADS LATELY. That got me thinking about one of our favorite blue cheeses, Maytag, made by heirs to the Maytag appliance makers on their farm in Newton, Iowa. And that got me thinking about this summery, tangy, spicy fruit salad we made after an Iowa road trip. Continue reading “Fresh fruit and an iconic Iowa blue cheese: Watermelon Mango Salad with Blue Cheese” →