Busy Little Honeybee

Not only do honeybees pollenate our crops, bringing the next round of fruits and vegetables, but they also produce a smooth golden nectar (honey) that enhances much of our cooking.  Pretty amazing accomplishment for a small insect buzzing along happily.  Here’s one of the culinary superstars now, taking nourishment not too far from the kitchen:…

Persia Shall Flower Again

When it does, we’ll have more ingredients for today’s submissions.  The crocus grants saffron for Joojeh ba Sib (Saffron Butter-Basted Poussins with Apples), while dried rose petals adorn the Mast-o Khlar (Yogurt-and-Cucumber Salad).  Fitting, that summer’s exuberance is preserved to sustain us through the months ahead. Food & Wine included both recipes, among others, in…

Sweetness of Two Cultures

At last, a post celebrates two civilizations, Spanish and Moroccan (Moorish) that have inspired many creations.  Today’s attempts draw from a time, centuries ago, when the two societies were more closely intertwined and seemed to share a common destiny.  In fact, today we explore the culinary history of Al-Andalus, as medieval Moorish Spain was known…

The Gathering Harvest

Fall enrobes the land in a crisp vibrancy, the ultimate celebration of brightness that takes in the year’s final exuberance.  Amidst the fields and in the forests the land yields a summer’s bounty.  It is at just such a moment, when vines sag with plump grapes and the end of late summer’s peaches adorn the…

Sherry for Everyone!

Why not?  Today’s entry, Arroz con Perdiz, takes a generous cup of it, but it leaves plenty in the bottle to raise spirits.  So to speak.  The alcohol definitely makes the dish happy, the slightly sweet profile tantalizes and ties together the bird, rice and vegetables and sends them aloft. The Spanish term arroz con…

Street Scene, Lampang

Dusk.  Shadows stretch to the setting sun and are absorbed in the day’s last burst of brightness.  As night approaches, the streets surge with pedestrians and the market already is thronged.  A thousand sounds and conversations compete for your attention. Yet, above it all, a beguiling aroma drifts your way.  A mere hint at first,…

Barberries and Advieh

The vibrant colors above cover a beguiling range, from verdant greens to iridescent crimson, to the deepest yellow.  It’s a jewel box of colors; in fact, Persians call this zereshk polow, or jeweled rice.   The variety of shades represent the intensity of flavors that make Persian cuisine so memorable. Saffron dyes the rice a…

North African Staples

Planning to fill an evening in Marrakesh?  Dinner plans for Tangiers?  Better swing by the local market in town and pick up some supplies.  Chances are, you’ll return from your expedition laden with the culinary treasures North Africa offers, from pine nuts eked from the windy mountains to sweet and tart apricots, dried in the…

It Goes By Many Names…

Of course, but that’s at just a cursory glance.  Certainly, this journal has covered savory pies before, Steak and Ale Pie a few weeks ago, and starting late last year with Williamsburg’s chicken version.  While b’steeya, this week’s Moroccan entry, also is a poultry dish, things head in a completely different, unique direction this evening.…

Dine As a Detective

No less a detective, of course, than Rex Stout’s great Nero Wolfe, whose culinary tastes have inspired our explorations before.  Today it’s Squabs with Sauce Vénitienne, the latest attempt at a recipe found in The Nero Wolfe Cookbook. Accompanying the squab (or, in the dish pictured above, a Cornish hen halved lengthwise) are Roasted Brussels…