Daily Loaf

What is it about ringing in a new year that makes everything seem so fresh, possible and…well, new? I mean, it’s not like the world just magically changed in the span of 24 short hours, at least not my world. All of the problems and issues in my life that existed on December 31 were still lurking there on January 1. Yet, when I woke up that morning, I felt different – lighter and “newer”. As I showered, it literally felt as though pounds of apathy and malaise were melting off of me. I emerged energized and motivated for what 2010 has in store for me.

It’s not that I’d been feeling particularly BAD. I just hadn’t been feeling particularly GOOD. And, when I don’t feel good, I just can’t be very creative, and that includes writing scintillating blog posts and taking droolworthy photographs. So, now that I’ve got my mojo back, I want to share one of my new favorite things with you. Read the rest of this entry »

In order to get my daughter to school on time, we need to leave the house by around 7:00 am. An ungodly hour, I know, but I don’t make the rules. I just follow them. Usually, things go along pretty smoothly. This morning, however, there was an unexpected glitch. The windows of my car were covered with sheets of ice. Ice?!?!

I couldn’t see a thing, so I had to crank up the front and rear defoggers, throw water on the windshield and try to scrape it off with a spatula. I froze my ass off! As I did this, without so much as even a cup of hot coffee to bolster me, my daughter sat snugly in the heated car and wrote herself a note for me to sign explaining why she was late for school. Ugh!

Later, as I thawed out with that aforementioned coffee, I read an article in the SHT that predicted a slight chance of snow for this weekend. Snow?!?! I mean, I like snow as much as the next guy, but in it’s proper context – like, say on the ski slopes in Aspen – or better yet, on a Christmas card from my relatives up north. I’m certainly not prepared to find it on my front lawn! Read the rest of this entry »

When I woke up this morning, it was 32 degrees outside. The wind chill factor made it feel like 27 degrees, or so said the Weather Channel. Yikes! I peeked out from under the covers, trying to muster up the courage to get out of bed and scurry over to turn up the heat. I failed. Luckily, my husband is braver than I am. As I waited for the temperature to rise a little, I tried to think of some good excuses for not leaving the house. Unfortunately, I failed there too. Damn!

I suited up in my insulated ski jacket (yes, I actually have one), my cashmere socks and gloves (I’m a Florida girl – don’t judge me!) and ventured out into the cold, cruel world to make a balm for the weather.

During my travels, I picked up the ingredients to make one of my favorite cold weather meals – Soupe au Pistou. Don’t let the fancy French name fool you. Soupe au Pistou is nothing more than good old vegetable soup topped with cheese and a little pesto. It’s hearty and delicious and will warm you up from the inside out. Read the rest of this entry »

Don’t you just love when you are craving something, then you throw it together and it works wonderfully?

I made this pumpkin bread a few months ago (you have no clue how behind I am on posting). It was perfect. Well, anything with a crumb topping is perfect, if you ask me.

This bread is super moist, sweet but not too sweet and ultra comforting. I took my banana bread recipe and mixed it up a bit. You could roast your own pumpkin and puree it, but back when I made this bread, it was not pumpkin season and there were no pumpkins to be had.

Enjoy,

The Hungry Housewife

PUMPKIN BREAD WITH CRUMB TOPPING Read the rest of this entry »

Today is one of a handful of winter days here in Florida, when it’s chilly enough to feel, if not like real winter, at least like winter lite.  In other words, I’m not wearing flip-flops.

I’m also looking for warming drinks. Here are a couple I like (shamelessly ripped from the pages of Organic, Shaken  and Stirred, my book about organic cocktails).

Tahitian Coffee
1 teaspoon organic orange blossom honey
1 teaspoon Tahitian Vanilla-Infused Organic Simple Syrup (recipe follows)
1 teaspoon organic butter
5 ounces brewed organic coffee
1 1/2 ounces rhum agricole
Pinch of freshly grated organic nutmeg
Organic orange twist
1 organic cinnamon stick Read the rest of this entry »

2009 was the year that CL recruited a host of talented and experienced home cooks and professional chefs to write recipes for us. The result was more than 200 recipes ranging from peanut butter cookies to braised rabbit, and almost everything in between. Here are our ten favorite sweet recipes of the year (find the top ten savory recipes here). Of course, if these don’t get your pots thumping and saliva flowing, check out the CL Cookbook, where you’ll find all the recipes from this year and CL’s past.

World Peace Cookies
By Susan Filson
The dough for these cookies is super easy to make. They’re icebox cookies, meaning that you can make the dough ahead of time and just keep it in the fridge or freezer, slicing off what you need as you desire. The finished product is nothing short of sublime! Who knows? If enough of us make these cookies, maybe we actually can get a little closer to world peace.

Individual Nectarine Pavlovas
By Colleen Sachs
Colleen Sachs had one goal: a tasty dessert that could be enjoyed by friends who can’t tolerate wheat products. That limitation turned into an advantage thanks to these pillowy meringues topped with ripe fruit fresh from the farmers’ market.

8 more tasty treats after the break: Read the rest of this entry »

2009 was the year that CL recruited a host of talented and experienced home cooks and professional chefs to write recipes for us. The result was more than 200 recipes ranging from peanut butter cookies to braised rabbit, and almost everything in between. Here are our ten favorite savory concoctions of the year (find the top ten sweet recipes here). Of course, if these don’t get your pots thumping and saliva flowing, check out the CL Cookbook, where you’ll find all the recipes from this year and CL’s past.

Chicken Enchiladas with Red Chile Sauce
By Sarah Howard
CL recipe blogger Sarah Howard has a habit of turning simple comfort food into something a little more elegant, without losing the homey feel. These enchiladas marry green and red chile flavor into one coherent, delicious whole.

Whole-Roasted Duck with Chorizo and Wild Mushroom Confit
By Louis Thornton
Louis Thornton wonders why duck gets such short shrift in television cooking shows and food magazines, when it is such a versatile and delicious protein. Then he proves his point with this incredible conflagration of spicy chorizo, earthy mushrooms and rich fowl.
8 more after the break: Read the rest of this entry »

Among our favorites vessels for scooping are my homemade pita chips. They are light, thin, delicate, impossibly crispy and definitely way better (and cheaper) than anything you can get out of a bag.  They’re also ridiculously simple to make, and keep well for days if kept locked up tight in zip lock bags!

Another great feature of homemade pita chips is that you can flavor them in so many different ways. I always make some plain with just a little sprinkling of sea salt, and then jazz the rest up with seasonings like smoked paprika, cumin, garam masala, Parmesan cheese, herbs de provence or even some cinnamon and sugar. The possibilities are deliciously endless! Read the rest of this entry »

The other day, I was frantically racing strolling down the baking aisle at Publix, when I saw these Peppermint Crunch Baking Chips by Andes. You know Andes, don’t you? They’re the ones that make those little Crème de Menthe chocolates that you get at many restaurants as a reward for paying your check. Anyway, I had never seen these chips before, but I thought they would help make some great holiday cookies. So, I bought a few bags. I wasn’t sure exactly what I was going to do with them, but I did know that it had to involve chocolate. After all, peppermint and chocolate are like the peanut butter and jelly of the Christmas season. Read the rest of this entry »

If you’re looking for a an elegant and sumptuous dish to impress your family and friends with this Holiday season, look no further. This Cauliflower Gratin is for you! The recipe is simple and straightforward. It can be made ahead and served either hot or at room temperature. And, it’s rich and amazingly delicious.

In French, “le gratin” means crust and the verb “gratiner” means to brown. Thus, a gratin is a sort of a French casserole in which ingredients are topped with a mixture of breadcrumbs, grated cheese and butter that are baked or broiled to form a golden crust on top. It is traditionally served right from the oven in its baking dish. Gotta love that!

The foundation of this gratin is, of course, the cauliflower. However, you can make a gratin – especially this gratin – with any vegetables you choose. Frankly, since whatever you use is going to be bathed in an incredibly creamy, rich, cheesy béchamel sauce, who really cares! Actually, I’m just kidding about that part, (um…not really). My point is that no matter what ingredients you decide to “gratin” using this recipe, the result will be fabulous!  Read the rest of this entry »

I happened onto this classic family recipe when a friend came over for a cookie baking project a couple of weeks ago. What I found was the yummiest ginger delicacy on the planet, with hints of spice and sweetness that balance perfectly. I’ll be making more for the holiday season- likely for work friends, and definitely with family later in the month. Not only are they festive and delicious, but very simple to assemble as well.

Note that you can really use light or dark brown sugar for these depending on your flavor preference. The molasses keeps them rich though, so I prefer light brown and find that it lets the cinnamon and ginger shine through in a big way. Be sure to mind the cooking time also to avoid overbaking, as they will firm up but stay chewy while they rest. The crisp exterior and moist middle are what make them so good days after they’re made!

Here’s the recipe: Read the rest of this entry »

‘Tis the season for many things, and I bet one of them is over-eating.

If you’re going to be a glutton, do it right – and get some food for thought while you’re at it.  Feast on some great food books.

Some are cookbooks and some are books about food. Stay tuned to the end of this column and you will get a recipe for a dish that will change the world as we know it. It is my holiday gift to you.

As a teacher, I get all kinds of excuses. My favorite one was “I couldn’t make it to class because a transmission fell on my head.” And it was true.

I thought I’d have to use the classic dog-ate-my-review-copy excuse when my pooch wolfed down most of the UPS parcel containing Love Soup (W.W. Norton, $22.95) by Anna Thomas.

ANNA THOMAS WITH ALANIS MORISSETTE

In vegetarian cookbook circles, Anna Thomas is the Shakespeare of the form.  Even Alanis Morissette, who once played God in a movie, hangs with Thomas. Here’s an online cooking experience courtesy of the Huffington Post.

But as an animal-flesh-eating swine, I didn’t see myself as the ideal person to review the book, since I’m not part of the target audience. So I gave the gnawed-up copy to my friend Angela, a vegetarian whose commitment is beyond reproach. The publisher kindly provided me with a non-chewed copy and I passed that on to Angela as well, so she could work on the recipes she missed because the dog ate them.

I have nothing but praise to report from the Bill’s Book Blog test kitchen. Angela is a tough, discriminating audience, but she thinks Love Soup is one of the best cookbooks she’s used. Angela is a gourmet and an engineer, so you know her endorsement means a lot. Weight Watchers Inc. has also given Love Soup its seal of approval.

As Dear Ol’ Mom used to say, “If you can read, you can cook.” Even those of you who are intuitive little-of-this-little-of-that cooks might enjoy trying something new.

Read the rest of this entry »

I remember when I was in high school, my mother once tried to convince me to go out with the dorky son of one of her bridge buddies. “What does he look like?” I asked. She replied, “Looks aren’t everything. He’s got such a great personality!” I knew I was doomed. Trust me. When words like that come out of your mother’s mouth, run for the hills!

Why am I bringing this up now? Because that is exactly what I would tell you if you asked me about these Cafe Volcano Cookies. They’re not much to look at, but they have lots of personality.

Cafe Volcano cookies are little brownish lumps of craggy, crispy, crunchy and nutty deliciousness. And, you can count the number of ingredients needed to make them on one hand. They’re a kind of meringue cookie, but there is no actual meringue involved. All you do is heat some toasted nuts, sugar, espresso powder and egg whites together in a pan, plop little spoonfuls of the mixture on a cookie sheet and bake. That’s it! No sifting, creaming, beating, whipping, whisking, folding or chilling necessary. It literally doesn’t get any easier than this, unless you just buy your cookies at the store. And even then, you’d have to take the time to drive there. Read the rest of this entry »

Tis the season of lots of scrambling around like a chicken with its head cut off! Holiday time is always stressful, no matter how much we may enjoy it. There’s decorating, shopping, wrapping, baking and of course, entertaining. I don’t know about you, but sometimes I feel like I can barely breathe! Wouldn’t it be nice to have a no-fuss, healthy, delicious and festive dish to serve at your next Holiday party, or even just to your family, that you can make ahead and forget about? Well, read on folks. I’ve got just the one for you – my Jewels of the Earth Quinoa Salad.  Read the rest of this entry »

Cheesecloth and enameled cast-iron are great gifts for your average home-cook, but what about the folks who like to have a fun in the kitchen while producing tasty treats for friends and family? For them, look to odd resources for clever and surprising gifts that will help them create food while delighting their playful sides. Here are a few options to get you started:

All-Edges Brownie and Lasagna Pan – Just like the Seinfeld-immortalized obsession with muffin tops, the chewy edges of a pan of brownies are — for many people — the very reason to bake the chocolatey goodness in the first place. With lasagna, those crusty sections of caramelized cheese around the outside provide beautiful contrast to the gooey interior. So why bother with middle pieces at all? These pans are crisscrossed with a maze of metal, doubling the corner sections and making every piece an edge. $34.95 (brownie pan), $49.95 (lasagna pan), bakersedge.com

Star Wars R2-D2 Peppermill – R2 always seemed to have the tools for the job, from a shocking electro-discharge to leg-mounted jets, but did you know he’s also an effective way to season your food? Fill up his internal reservoir with your personal mix of peppercorns, then just twist his noggin whenever you need a blast of spicy seasoning. $19.95, thinkgeek.com

Lightsaber Chopsticks, Space Invaders Cutting Board, and more, after the break: Read the rest of this entry »

It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas,
Ev’rywhere you go;
Take a look in the five-and-ten, glistening once again
With candy canes and silver lanes aglow.
It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas,
Toys in ev’ry store,
But the prettiest sight to see is the holly that will be
On your own front door.
It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas;
Soon the bells will start,
And the thing that will make them ring is the carol that you sing
Right within your heart.

- James Pierpont (1857)

The holiday decorations are up. The Muzak in all the stores has been tuned to the “Christmas Lite” channel. Santa has been hanging out at the mall. Even the check-out ladies at the supermarkets have donned their elf hats and little light up wreath brooches. Yes folks, it is definitely beginning to look a lot like Christmas on the Suncoast, minus the snow of course!  Read the rest of this entry »

If I were writing the ultimate fairy tale, one bite of these crunchy, buttery and intensely chocolatey morsels would magically cure all the ills of the world. The wars would end. Suffering, despair, sickness and violence would cease. Everyone would have what they need. The World, and all who inhabit it, would be finally, blissfully, at peace.

If only it were that simple. If only a delicious chocolate cookie could be the catalyst for peace.

If any cookie could, though, these just might be the ones. They’re the creation of the world-famous French pastry chef Pierre Herme. They are a butter-rich, sandy-textured, slice and bake member of the sable family. These little babies are made with silky, smooth cocoa powder and are chock full of deep, dark bittersweet chocolate chunks, with the merest hint of saltiness from a little sea salt. Oh, my! I think I need a moment……

Okay…all better now.

This recipe was first printed in Dorie Greenspan’s Paris Sweets and again in her baking bible, Baking: From My Home to Yours. Originally called Korova Cookies, they were dubbed “World Peace Cookies” by a neighbor of Dorie’s, who claimed that, “A daily dose of Pierre’s cookies is all that is needed to ensure planetary peace and happiness.”

The dough for these cookies is super easy to make. Read the rest of this entry »

(See the rest of our DIY Christmas advice and recipes.)

Scared of long recipes? Try these relaxing shorties on for size.

Bacon Candy Slice one pound of bacon into 1 inch strips and dredge in brown sugar. Bake at 350 degrees on a broiler pan for approximately 15 minutes, turning once if you want. Cool and store in an airtight container.

Brittle Cook 1 cup sugar, 1/2 cup corn syrup and 1/2 cup water in a pan over medium heat. Stir till it boils, then wait till it hits 290 degrees. Stir in 1 tablespoon butter, 1 teaspoon baking soda, 1/2 teaspoon salt and 2 teaspoons vanilla extract (plus 1 cup chopped nuts, if you’d like), then pour onto a Silpat or greased baking sheet. Cool, then break into pieces.

Read the rest of this entry »

(See the rest of our DIY Christmas advice and recipes.)

Simple, homey and classic, these caramels can be stacked in a box and nicely wrapped, or just kept on hand for last-minute visitors or impromptu host gifts.

Chocolate Caramels
(Adapted from How to Cook Everything by Mark Bittman)

2 tablespoons unsalted butter
4 ounces unsweetened chocolate, chopped (unless you’re using chips)
1½ cups heavy cream
2 cups sugar
1/2 cup light corn syrup
pinch of salt
1½ teaspoons vanilla extract

1. Line a 9-inch square baking pan with parchment paper, making sure the paper comes up all sides of the pan. Combine all ingredients except vanilla in a small saucepan and heat on medium-low. Stir constantly until the sugar is melted and the mixture is uniform, then insert candy thermometer and keep your spoon and hands off the candy. Watch the temp — you can increase the heat to medium if it seems like its taking a very long time — until the mixture hits 245 degrees.

Read the rest of this entry »

(See the rest of our DIY Christmas advice and recipes.)

The magic of turning yeast, flour and sugar into a gorgeous loaf still mystifies most people, which makes bread one of the most impressive gifts in the home cook’s repertoire. You don’t need to tell your friends and family how easy it actually is. Golden brown and coated in glistening cinnamon sugar, these loaves look great on their own. But the addition of a swirl of more sugar on the inside means an additional burst of surprise the first time your recipient slices into the present.

If you have extra loaf pans, you can turn this whole process into an assembly line by beginning another batch an hour after you started the first. In a leisurely day of baking you can make enough loaves to cover the kids’ teachers, your therapist and your hair stylist, with a few left over for your own consumption.

Cinnamon Raisin Swirl Bread
(adapted from The Bread Baker’s Apprentice by Peter Reinhart) Read the rest of this entry »

(This recipe was originally posted 1 year ago. See the rest of our DIY Christmas advice and recipes.)

While a LARGE amount of my money is funneled into Williams-Sonoma’s glorious pockets, it will not be going to the purchase of their ridiculously expensive Peppermint Bark. Yes it is heavenly, but come on — us food savvy people can make our own for a fraction of the price. Sure, we won’t be getting the cute Holiday Tin to go along with it, but who the hell cares? Yours will be made with love, people! All you need is love, all you need is love, love is all you need (can’t you hear me singing in my best John Lennon?)

Lets make some BARK! Read the rest of this entry »

(See the rest of our DIY Christmas advice and recipes.)

Nothing could be simpler, or cheaper, than candy-making. These lollipops cost a few cents per batch and come together in about 15 minutes, which means you can tailor batches for each person on your gift list. Experiment with flavor combinations that suit the recipient to make this an especially thoughtful and personal gift that has an impact far beyond the cost and time involved.

Homemade Lollipops

1 cup sugar
1/3 cup corn syrup
1/2 cup water
1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
Flavoring
Lollipop sticks (or wooden skewers cut to size)
Liquid food coloring (optional)
1 teaspoon citric acid (optional) Read the rest of this entry »

Let’s check your gift-giving list. Twice, even. There are your friends and loved ones, the people you really care about; buying holiday presents for those folks will likely take up most of your shopping effort, thanks to browsing online retailers or driving back and forth across town to accommodate all the disparate hobbies and interests they have. Then there’s the supporting cast of your life: kids’ teachers, hair dressers, psychotherapists, mail carriers, acquaintances, garbage collectors, co-workers, and party hosters. They’ll get a few bucks in an envelope, a bottle of wine or, if you’re feeling especially ambitious, a parade of practical Target gift cards and McDonald’s certificate books.

Feeling the joyous sense of giving that’s at the heart of the holiday season yet?

You can. Although the time of hand-painted ceramic ashtrays and knitted comb cozies is long gone, there is a simple solution to most of your holiday gift-giving needs that’s personal, fulfilling and — perhaps most importantly — dirt cheap to accomplish. Homemade food, with a special ingredient that goes a lot longer than a $5 Target gift card that will likely be spent on motor oil or shampoo. And, if you hadn’t guessed, that special ingredient is love. Read the rest of this entry »

A golden pauper’s sunrise.

Magnificent with stored caloric energy from an undying universe.

Infernos of heat, boiling over, in stovepots, on stovetops, without interference or grammatical conventions.

So sayeth the spoon-stirrer, as he watcheth a pan that never boils over, prepared warmly, and lovingly, just 4u.

EXTREME SOLAR THANKS 4 THE STUFFING RICE Read the rest of this entry »

(Check out Brian Ries’ story of hunting wild pig in the Florida badlands.)

After reading through Michael Ruhlman and Brian Polcyn’s Charcuterie a couple years back, I’ve ached to try the complicated task of stuffing meat, fat and seasonings into hog intestines. The book is not only a how-to guide, it’s a love poem to the simple and lost art of making sausage in the home. And Ruhlman’s text is so down-to-earth, it seemed like making my own would be a snap.

Maybe not. On one hand, it’s just a recipe that use meat and seasonings like anything else. But you also need tools, both soft and hard, and a sense of culinary exploration that goes way beyond preparing a typical Sunday night supper.

The Tools:

GRINDER If you have one of those old metal contraptions that clamps onto the counter, it’ll work. If not, you can buy one, but chances are if you’re the type of person who wants to dive into sausage making you likely have a standing mixer. Buy a grinding attachment for your mixer for about $60; it’ll make things a lot easier.

Read the rest of this entry »

(Check out Brian Ries’ story of hunting wild pig in the Florida badlands.)

SERVES 4

Wild hog country rib ragù

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
6 wild hog country ribs
1 medium yellow onion, diced
1 medium carrot, diced
1 rib celery, diced
4 cloves garlic, sliced paper-thin
1 tablespoon freshly chopped rosemary
2 teaspoons red pepper flakes (optional)
1 cup dry white wine
1½ cups canned whole peeled tomatoes, with juice
kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

1. Rinse ribs, pat them dry, then season well with salt and pepper.

2. Heat oil over medium-high heat in a large, heavy-bottomed enamel pot. Brown ribs Read the rest of this entry »

Still need a side dish for your mondo bird? Never made stuffing before? No worries, CL has your back thanks to our extensive online cookbook (bookmark it, baby). And instead of the same old casseroles and starch bombs, we’d like to acquaint you with a more interesting selection of Thanksgiving options. Start your own traditions!

(And check out the CL Cookbook for over 200 other recipes to try any day of the year.)

Drink Alternatives: Fresh Lemongrass Ginger Ale ~ Hooville Martini ~ Iced Coffee Granita

Side Alternatives: Cornbread, Apple and Sausage Stuffing ~ Roasted Butternut Squash Soup ~ Apple-Maple Acorn Squash Puree ~  Brussels Sprouts Saute With Bacon, Pecans and Grapes ~  Minestra Maritata (Italian Wedding Soup) ~ Caramelized Onion and Goat Cheese Tarts ~ Picadillo Turkey Stuffing ~ Rice Cooker Macaroni and Cheese.

Vegan/Vegetarian Options: Thanksgiving Kebabs ~ Stuffed Dates ~ Thumbprint Cookies ~ Vegetarian Thanksgiving Lasagna ~ Unintentionally Vegan Cake

Main Course Alternatives: Braised Rabbit ~ Whole Roasted Duck with Chorizo and Wild Mushroom Confit

Pie Alternatives: Amazing Apple Cake ~ Apple Pecan Crumb Cake ~ Bacon Peanut Brittle ~ Donut Bread Pudding

Everybody loves stuffing on Thanksgiving. Even though, most people rarely eat it on the other 364 days of the year, they’ve got to have it on Turkey Day. To many, the stuffing is even more important than the bird. It certainly is more versatile. If you do a Google search for stuffing recipes, you will be rewarded with almost 2,000,000 possibilities. Staggering, isn’t it?

There are cornbread, white bread and sourdough stuffings. There are meat- and seafood-based offerings, as well some great vegetarian versions. Some add fruits and nuts into the mix. They feature the seasonings and spices of various cultural and ethnic cuisines. I’ve even found some recipes using rice and potatoes. Yes, it appears that stuffing is a very personal thing, often reflecting the personality of the person who makes it.

I’ve also found that many stuffing makers are adamant in their belief that theirs is the one and only true Thanksgiving stuffing and nothing else will do – period! They also assume that everyone else feels the same way too, and if they are coming to your house for Thanksgiving dinner, they are going to damn well bring some with them. I won’t mention any names, but one of these people gave birth to me.  Read the rest of this entry »

In my family, Thanksgiving dinner always begins with the primi piatti, or first course. It’s the Italian way. Don’t even try to slap a turkey, stuffing and some sides on the table without first serving some type of soup, pasta or risotto dish! But, let’s face it: Who could possibly ingest, much less savor, turkey and all of the trimmings after scarfing down a plate full of homemade manicotti or porcini risotto?

Maybe that’s the reason why in Italian families, Thanksgiving dinner is usually an all day affair, with several “rest” periods between courses to enable diners to take short naps or walks around the block? That’s also why, if given the choice, I usually go for a soup.

When soup was on the holiday menu at our house, my mother usually made a big pot of Minestra Maritata, or Italian Wedding Soup. It’s a light, flavorful soup made with chicken stock, greens and little, tiny, light-as-air veal meatballs, and which by the way, has nothing to do with weddings. It was, and still is, a very popular dish, if not a predictable one. But, sometimes, I just want to stir things up and throw something unexpected into the mix. Here’s a dish that none of cooks in my Italian family would ever think of putting on their Thanksgiving table. None except me, that is. Read the rest of this entry »

(Check out Vegan Thanksgiving part 1 and part 2.)

Follow this link in a separate window and come right back:

Best. Cookies. Ever.

We need to talk about vegan almond-raspberry thumbprint cookies.

This is an amazing recipe. I found it two Thanksgivings ago, the first time I had to cook for myself as a vegan. I loved it so much, I decided to experiment with all kinds of vegan pastries and then give them out as Christmas presents (more about that next month, when I share some of my Starving Artist Tricks with you). Read the rest of this entry »

Check out Vegan Thanksgiving part 1 and part 3.)

Vegan desserts are perhaps the most daunting undertaking of any new- or non-vegan, inspiring such questions as…

What should I use to replace eggs/milk/butter?

Can I bake for the same amount of time?

How do I make cookies that don’t taste like cardboard?

How do I know if my sugar is vegan?

I hear that some flour has bone in it. Truth or fiction?

Well, dearies, I don’t presume to have all the answers, but as both the maker and eater of countless vegan treats, I do know that there are ways to get around many of these questions. Read the rest of this entry »

(Check out the Vegan Thanksgiving part 2 and part 3.)

I spent three Thanksgivings poring over homemade dishes at my Jewish grandma’s house, wondering if she understood entirely what I meant when I told her I was  vegan.

“Sarah, honey, you’ll eat the turkey, won’t you?” she would ask me.

“No, grandma, vegans don’t eat turkey.”

“But you’ll eat the green bean casserole.”

“No, grandma. It has milk in it. I don’t eat milk.”

“You’ll eat the sweet potatoes, then.”

“They’ve got marshmallows, grandma. I don’t eat marshmallows.”

This is where she became concerned. Because, you see, my grandma is old. She turned ninety this year. Thanksgiving is already tough for a woman her age. She’s got all this mixing and stirring and lifting to do—she doesn’t want any extra work, and to her, dreaming up vegan dishes is a challenge.

But it doesn’t have to be. Vegan Thanksgiving is no harder than carnivore Thanksgiving. You don’t even have to hunt down a Tofurky (even though they’re not that hard to find these days). You know what? I’ll be honest. Tofurky is kind of gross, anyway. And it’s a cop-out. Don’t buy a Tofurky.

“So, what should I do, then?” you ask. “My crazy vegan sister-in-law is coming over. I never know what to make for her!”

Shhhh, calm down. There’s no need to fret. Just make shish kebabs.

Shish kebabs? For Thanksgiving?

Oh, yeah. Shish kebabs have everything a good Thanksgiving meal needs. They have: Read the rest of this entry »

I’m not normally a huge fan of cookies. Not that I don’t enjoy a good a good cookie from time to time, because I do. I just don’t go crazy for them the way I do other sweets like, say…ice cream or eclairs. But when I do reach into the cookie jar, it’s a pretty safe bet that there’s oatmeal involved. And, a combination of dried fruits. And definitely, some toasted nuts too.   Truth be told, I usually don’t even bother with the cookie jar unless there’s a batch of these lovelies waiting in there for me. I can’t believe I’ve waited this long to tell you about my Scandalously Good Oatmeal cookies!

I call them Scandalously Good Oatmeal Cookies for good reason. They are scandalously good! In fact, they are the best oatmeal cookies ever, if I do say so myself! These little babies are everything a fabulous oatmeal cookie should be – shatteringly crispy around the edges, yet chewy and almost lacy on the inside. They’re made with real butter and brown sugar which makes them caramelize just the slightest bit when baked. And, they’re studded with an assortment of dried fruits and nuts. I found the original cookie recipe in an old issue of Cook’s Illustrated. I’ve played around with the ingredients and tweaked the recipe until I came up with what I think is the perfect oatmeal cookie.  Read the rest of this entry »

(It’s unofficial Apple Week here in CL’s Food Section! For more fall apple season ideas, check out Apple Pecan Crumb Cake, Buttermilk Cornmeal Pancakes with Caramel Apple Topping, Apple Fennel Salad, Apple Tartlet, Butternut Squash Apple Cinnamon Crumble, and Deb’s Mom’s Apple Cake.)

It’s hard to believe, but Thanksgiving is right around the corner. You might not even realize this as the malls and supermarkets are already breaking out their Christmas finery. For the last few years, retailers have just skipped right over the Thanksgiving season, jumping right into Santa, Rudolph and the Grinch! When did this trend happen – and better yet – why? Is Thanksgiving not worthy of a little pomp and circumstance? Or is it because Thanksgiving doesn’t inspire most folks to run around spending lots of money they don’t have on lots of things they don’t need? Maybe that’s it. Maybe the merchants believe that the earlier we start seeing those Holiday decorations and displays, the sooner we’ll all start shopping until we drop. Either way, it kind of offends me.

Thanksgiving may not be the flashiest holiday of the year, but in my humble opinion, it is one of the most significant. In its own understated way, Thanksgiving represents home and family and love. It’s a time for reflecting upon all that is good in our lives, giving thanks for all the blessings we have been given. I realize that during these harsh economic times, it may be difficult for many to focus on the good things in our lives, but they’re there. We may just have to dig a little deeper to find them.  Read the rest of this entry »

Yesterday, the temperature topped out around here at 86 degrees. The humidity was so high that when I stepped outside from my air conditioned digs, my sunglasses promptly fogged right up, forcing me to stumble my way to my car. That’s muggy, people!  Now I ask you – is that any way for autumn to behave? It’s November, for crying out loud!

I compensate by turning my a/c down really low and padding around the house in sweaters and big, woolly socks. Pathetic, isn’t it? Another way I console myself about this situation is to cook and bake warm, spicy things, using many of the fall fruits and vegetables I find at my local market. This lovely apple cake is one of them.  Read the rest of this entry »