Breathe Promise

Ah, springtime! Gilbert and Sullivan certainly shared the appreciation, thus The Mikado inspired not only the author’s pen name, but it includes also the following lyrics: The flowers that bloom in the spring, Tra-la, Breathe promise of merry sunshine – As we merrily dance and we sing Tra-la, We welcome the hope that they bring,…

Thyme Well Spent

See what just happened there? Thyme=Time. Clever, huh? However insipid, the sleight does make a larger point, namely, that when good cooking is given care and attention, it rewards the cook tenfold. Both in a delicious meal, and in dinner guests’ delight. In this endeavor, little is more satisfying than is risotto. A contentment Bon…

The First Word

When a recipe launches its title with “savory,” a warm, comfortable, velvety meal is sure to await those gathered around the dinner table. Then, when the rest of the title unfurls an equally captivating description, how can the evening resist immortality? Why would it when Savory Bread Pudding with Mushrooms & Leeks is finishing up…

Amidst the Pyramids

As the sun slips behind the great monuments and the autumn shadows between them lengthen, the coolness whispers soup’s enticing aroma. It may have been hot once in the departed brightness, but the shade which replaced it chills. Enough so, that thoughts of warmth comfort the soul. The Egyptian kitchen has just the thing for…

Yes, but Not Flapjacks

Going to do up some pancakes. Interested? Good. Do you remember where the skillet is? No, not those kind of pancakes, though, but scallion pancakes. You know, the ones featured on the menu at that neighborhood Cantonese place several blocks over. Light and crispy and just loaded with those beautifully fresh spring onions that announce…

First Up

On and on winter seemed to go, month following month, unrelieved. Just when the greys and the browns threatened permanence, and greenery faded to a memory which maybe never really was after all, the earth stirred. Weary at first, a subtle softening here, a brief thaw there. Maybe a sporadic glint of brightness. Then, one…

Veggies, All of It?

Yep, that’s right.  Today’s entry is completely vegetarian-friendly, from the first cilantro leaf to the last grain of rice.  Yet it’s warming and satisfying, due to hearty pieces of sweet potato and a lusciously rich peanut butter-tomato sauce.  Honestly, you won’t spend the whole time you’re eating fantasizing about other ingredients.  Mainly because you already…

Toast’s Higher Calling

Why settle for “mere” toast when greatness waits to join you at the next stop?  After the toaster pops, for a little more time than it would take to butter the bread, a preparation beckons that’s creamy, tangy, spicy, savory and a little sweet too.  Yes, it’s all that – every application that would supplement…

Another Chocolate, Herr Mozart?

Just in time for Mozart’s birthday, coming up Wednesday (it was the 26th of January, if you’re reading this in archive), here’s an Austrian confection, Mozartkugeln (“Mozart Truffles”).  While the composer was famously fond of sweets, Salzburg chocolatier Paul Fürst didn’t invent Mozartkugeln until a century or so after Wolfgang passed to the eternal in…

Mushrooms, Most Honorable

Indeed, not only do shitake mushrooms bring today’s entry much regard, they also glorify it with anticipation of a great meal.  The Japanese invented a word to describe the fifth element to engage the tongue, umami.  The term has gained wide acclaim lately, both in and out of food circles, and it signifies a delightfully…