Did you know that fennel is the Greek name for marathon? Not because eating fennel gives you stamina and endurance. Rather, the Greek beat the Persians in 490 B.C., in a fennel field that is exactly 26 miles and 385 yards from Athens. They sent a runner to bring the good news into town and ever since then, the length of a marathon race has remained the same as the distance between the fennel field and town. Luckily, you don’t have to go that far out of your way to get some fennel. Come and cook with us! Continue reading “A Fennel Marathon”
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A Simple Bowl of Chili
Whether we’re ready or not, here comes fall. Temperatures have clearly dropped in Northern California and even though I know that the few droplets of rain won’t last or make an ounce of difference to the drought, we have definitely turned the corner towards the colder part of the year. Which in my house means the bowls are coming out and a pot of chili is gently simmering on the stove. Come and cook with us!
We have written about the benefits of eating with the seasons. In addition to taking advantage of what is growing right now in your – or your farmer’s – backyard, the way we prepare food also matters. While we tend to eat steamed, quick-boiled and raw light dishes in the summer month, we are attracted and crave warmth and strength through eating slow-simmered, pressure-cooked or baked hearty dishes when it gets cold. Using the appropriate cooking method helps our bodies find balance. A lot of the basics in a macro-biotic diet are based on this concept that strives for the right Yin/Yang combination. It even describes what type of vegetables are best: light and more upward-growing foods in the summer (Yin) and more compact veggies and downward growing roots in winter (Yang).
But back to my pot of chili. Based on the frequency of chili cook-offs I read of and hear about, making the perfect pot of chili is clearly an art, but there are a few basics that will make any combination delicious. We like to make classic-style beef chili with plenty of good tomato sauce and kidney beans. Letting the meat brown to create the attractive umami flavor is key, as is the low-heat simmering that lets the flavors meld and keeps the tomatoes sweet. Truth be told, we go very light on the chili peppers, as one can always light the fire in the bowl once it is served. Give it a try and let us know what you think. Come and cook with us!
Back to School, Back to Reality…
Saying that the last few weeks were anything but a whirlwind would be understating the current state of affairs. There has been no time to sit down and think about much, let alone form a plan for my weekly posts. The good thing of all this business is that many of my projects include cooking. In fact, lots of cooking and also lots of cookbook reviewing along with many cooks that are much better than I am. And best of all, it’s for a good cause and gives me the chance to learn, and in turn share delicious recipes, great cookbook ideas and much more with all of you. Here is to a great fall together. Come and cook with us!
A group of excellent chefs – and mothers at my kids’ school – have been tasked to select cookbooks for sale at a school book fair. Honestly, I haven’t seen that many great cookbooks in a while. From grilling, vegan, vegetarian, Southern, chicken, citrus, genius, GF, baking, GF baking, Peruvian, Mexican and Lebanese. It’s enlightening to see how hard it is to differentiate yourself in such a busy market coming up with great dishes across the board. What is in it for my readers? After picking the books we like, we’ll select dishes, test them and I’ll pass them along if they are quick, easy, colorful and, most importantly, delicious! And they will all be from the latest crop of fabulous cookbooks! What’s there not to like.
In the meantime, get back on track. It’s time to think about falling back into a routine that works for you and your family. If you had great ideas over the summer, now is the time to try to implement a few new habits. Because no matter how busy I am, I and we all strive for balance. Whether planning and cooking ahead for a week of meals or rather throwing together a dish based on what’s in our pantry, it’s all about finding what is right for me, you and our families. New dishes, recipes, cooking approaches only work if they are aligned with what we want and need, so let’s think about what is important to us and then give it a try. For instance, for me fall means a new CSA subscription (Bloomfield Organics is my new favorite in the Bay Area). It fills me with anticipation and forces me to be creative and try something I haven’t done in a while. Yesterday’s box was packed with chards, kale, baby lettuces, potatoes, tomatoes, peppers and crunchy apples. In fact, I can see a chard gratin in my near future…
And above all, keep it fun and simple. Roasted new potatoes, colorful tomatoes with some burrata, a fresh pesto, roasted cauliflower or a greek salad. These are all easy choices that will add a punch of freshness and color to your table. It’s so well versed that it seems almost too obvious to state: shop what’s in season and it will help us find the balance on and off our dinner table. Or at least it will help us appreciate what mother nature is bringing us, every month, every season, every year. Come and cook with us!
Chia Seed Muffins Worth Baking
Let’s just say that there are days when I crave these muffins. They are not just plain old muffins. They are special. When we lived back in New York city, a particularly hard stretch would be rewarded with one of these Chia Seed Muffins from Le Pain Quotidien. They have that dense, flavorful chocolatey and not too sweet taste that is just right for me. After some research – and testing – I finally found what I think are the most divine muffins that there are. Come and cook with us!
I have to preface this week’s recipe with the fact that these delicious muffins are not gluten free. They use whole wheat pastry flour that has less gluten than bread or regular flour, but are still not gluten free. For a GF variety, a ready-to-use GF flour mix such as King Arthur GF Flour or Cup 4 Cup GF flour are all great alternatives that still make this muffins a total success.
Let me know what you think of these Chia Seed Muffins. Finally, I don’t have to bribe my husband to bring me a few whenever he is visiting a city that has a Le Pain Quotidien. Instead, I can bake my own. And now you can, too! Come and cook with us!
A New Take on Rice and Milk
A few years ago, Jessica gave me an Indian cooking class with Napa-based Indian chef and owner of The Bombay Cafe, Neela Paniz as a birthday gift. It seemed extravagant but I was intrigued as Indian cooking offered so much potential and was virtually unknown to me. In fact, Indian is a cuisine that grew slowly on me but that is so rich in tradition, flavors and techniques that I really benefitted from the class and, thus, loved every minute of it. Neela is an excellent teacher who shared her passion by showing us how to make dal, chapatis, raita, pakoras and also kheer, or Indian Rice Pudding. Everything we tasted was absolutely delicious but as I am totally defenseless against sweet milk-based dishes, it was the Indian Milk Pudding that made me go back to the recipes time and time again. Come and cook with us!
Making Indian Milk Pudding is easy enough but it takes time. We usually make a batch that is large enough to produce several servings for the kids at once. They eat them over the course of a few meals. Honestly, Indian Milk Pudding never lasts more than a day or two.
If you are open to the fragrances and flavors of the East and eat diary-based dishes, then give this Indian Milk Pudding a try. Served cold it is a refreshing way to finish a dinner. Come and cook with us!
Come and Cook with Us 