i’ve been listening to the splendid table a lot lately, which is an awesome weekly radio show about cooking that you can download as a free podcast. in one of the episodes the host, lynne rossetto kasper, very quickly mentions making something like this for dinner that week. she commented on how easily it was and how buttery it tasted without actually having any butter in it.
and that is definitely the case. the veggies are sauteed up in nothing more than some olive oil, garlic and salt, but somehow they emerge with a creamy, buttery, melt-in-your mouth texture. you can make this dish with any root vegetables you’d like. i choose kohlrabi – though not a true root vegetable -because it has a subtle broccoli flavor, a hawaiian variety of purple yam, because it’s the sweetest vegetable i’ve ever tasted, and turnip because i find it neutral compliment to the other two.
the fried sage leaves are something i was trying for the first time, and they turned out awesome! they retain much of their earthy, herb quality while transforming into a light crunchy flake of seasoning that tastes wonderful sprinkled with a bit of salt. they crumble nicely into the creamy terrain of the vegetables.
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i used to be obsessed with chicken pot pies when i was younger, the small microwavable kind. now that i’m all grown up and can make them for myself, i prefer to enjoy a slice of a full-sized pie, piled high with tasty veggies in a savory gravy sauce, surrounded by a crispy homemade crust with spices baked right in. i packed this dish with lots of rich, deep, savory flavors – from cumin, black pepper, liquid aminos and a bit of red wine – as well a little protein from quinoa, so you won’t miss the meat at all.
use these basic techniques to make this veggie pot pie your own. substitute the carrot or sweet potatoes for different root vegetables, sub out the spinach for chard, kale, or collard greens! you can use white wine instead of red for a bit lighter flavor, or vinegar instead of lemon juice. swap out couscous, millet, brown rice or lentils for the quinoa. and experiment with different spices – like ground coriander, oregano, or fresh basil.
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the skies have been overcast most days here, which is LA’s version of winter i guess. on days like these only one thing comes to mind – soup. if it’s accompanying dinner or my stomach is a little upset, it’s nice to reach for something lighter. like this classic, which features a rich, flavorful broth stewed with fresh oregano and thyme, and made slightly thick by pureed potatoes.
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Posted in soup | Tagged leek, oregano, potatoes, thyme |
i saw the inspiration for this post on foodgawker a while back and the idea has since stuck in my head. i wanted to make the dish with my own twist so i chose chamomile tea instead of white, agar agar as a vegan alternative to gelatin, and a mix of seedless mandarin oranges with sweet oroblanco grapefruits, which are hardly tart at all.
if you struggle as i do with sweet cravings, this is a lovely little snack that helps satisfy. the flavors of the jelly are so subtle, but they hold together piles of sweet citrus that pop in your mouth.
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i recently visited my good friend rose in san francisco, who always inspires me when we share the kitchen. our first night in town, exhausted from traveling, she made us a delicious dinner which included something she called a winter salad. it involved wilted napa cabbage, warm apples and apple cider vinegar.
while this isn’t exactly rose’s recipe, she sure did inspire me to create a winter salad of my own. it still includes napa cabbage, along with crunchy bits of sugar snap peas and sweet morsels of red onion roasted with fresh rosemary and dill. the apple cider vinegar carries over as well, to help the flavors of the herbs pop.
great with a bowl of soup and a piece of toast on a gloomy winter day. enjoy!
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i love pizza in all it’s forms. sure it’s traditionally topped with red sauce and gooey strands of cheezy goodness, but also layered with pesto instead, or no sauce at all. with this recipe i had the idea that rather than worrying about not only making a sauce but also a cheese substitute, i could make a combination of the two.
the sauce is made creamy by a little coconut milk, while all the flavor explodes from the roasted garlic, which permeates the soft chewiness of the crust. complimented nicely by hints of tangy sweetness from sun dried tomatoes and little bursts of freshness added by thyme.
if you’ve never taken a crack at making your own pizza, what better time than now?
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this is one of those recipes that happened on accident, based on the limited contents of my fridge. thankfully, the lemon and cilantro’s bright flavors compliment the hardiness of the whole wheat and toasted almonds in all the right ways. at first i thought it might be a sort of pasta salad, served cold and perfect for a picnic or packed lunch. but as i couldn’t resist nibbling on it immediately, i realized it could also be served as a warm pasta dish with dinner.
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it’s probably too late for anyone to actually make these for valentine’s day but i thought i would share what i made for my valentine.
a few weeks past i exclaimed that it is the peak of orange season. i also mentioned that i used many of the seedless mandarin oranges i got from the farmer’s market to make orange spice and red wine marmalade for chirstmas – which is rich with flavor from a dash of red wine and spicy from ground cloves, cinnamon and ginger. i gave one jar to my boyfriend and he was quite smitten with the stuff, so when i found an extra jar in my fridge i decided to play with those same flavors in a new way. this recipe, while essentially a simple sugar cookie, features the flavors of the marmalade just perfectly.
it doesn’t matter if it’s too late to make these for your valentine, you can make them all year round and swap out different jams and preserves for endless possibilities!
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when i find a dish that works its way into my routine – popping up on my dinner plate at least once or twice a week – i feel obligated to share it here. partly because it’s a recipe i’ve tested mutliple times and know works, but also because it is usually pretty simple and always satisfying.
while i had previously been pretty bored by broccoli and cauliflower, expecting only to toss them in a puréed soup or stir fry, i had been hearing a lot of buzz about baked, or roasted, broccoli. when i googled the topic i found it pinned with the phrase “best broccoli of your life,” so i made it that night and both my boyfriend and i agreed. light years better than steamed or sautéed broccoli, i’m tempted to say i never want it any other way.
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sunchokes – also known as jerusalem artichokes – are the root vegetable of a plant similar to a sunflower. they look like and are often confused for fresh ginger root, but are more like a potato. they are probably associated with artichokes because of their earthy, subtle artichoke-like flavor and creamy, buttery texture.
i love to roast them in the oven slowly over moderate heat until they are melt in your mouth delicious. almost like juicy little baked potato bites with sweet and savory undertones. especially when they are tossed with the aromas of lightly flowery lavender and pungent garlic.
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