carambola, or the joys of living in a starfruit universe

March 27, 2012

I never gave too much thought to starfruit, or carambola, as it is called elsewhere outside English speaking countries in the western world. I only got drawn to it after a trip Steven and I took to Brazil together several years ago. On a visit to the State of Espirito Santo our friend and host [...]

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Contigo, San Francisco

March 26, 2012

We’ve had the good fortune to dine at Contigo, a fun and stylish tapas and wine bar restaurant in Noe Valley, twice in the past few months, most recently with our lovely friends, Charles and Fernando. Since that last time, Hegui and I’ve been talking off-and-on about what makes Spanish tapas so appealing right now. [...]

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Brazilian style corn cake with Mexican nixtamalized corn flour

March 23, 2012

The white corn cake that Fer from the Brazilian blog chucrute com salsicha made the other day caught my eye because she uses an ingredient of which I have plenty in my pantry: harina de maiz nixtamalizada, or Mexican corn flour. It’s been sitting around since Steven prepared delicious vegetarian tamales awaiting the next tamale [...]

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ravioli filled with sun-dried tomato and red bell pepper tapenade and mozzarella

March 20, 2012

Until just this week when the rain finally hit with a vengeance, I’ve been feeling that light joyful mood that I always have in spring-like weather, you know: energetic, hopeful and hungry for something new. That, of course, has inspired me to continue my adventures in the kitchen. So here we are. I made a [...]

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roasted baby potatoes with fresh sorrel leaves

March 19, 2012

This is another simple tapas-inspired dish. Sort of a take on patatas bravas, which are potatoes baked in the oven with spices and then dredged with a spicy tomato/mayo based sauce. It is yummy and I could have just made the traditional recipe, but the thing is that sometimes a vegetable wants to speak for [...]

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Anna’s almost secret family recipe: chocolate cake with cooked frosting

March 16, 2012

I’ve been a fan of Anna’s blog, Keep It Luce, since shortly after she started publishing. Her Great Aunt Sue’s recipe for chocolate cake with cooked frosting really resonated with me. I’d neither had the cake before nor heard of “cooked frosting,” both of which made this intriguing. But it was the story of her [...]

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oven roasted red spring onions

March 15, 2012

I love the sweet flavor of spring onions (or for that matter any onion) when they are grilled or baked. Well, raw is delicious too, so maybe I should re-state my opening with the always appropriate, “I love onions!” Perhaps I should get a t-shirt printed? Onions are especially good in early spring, which is [...]

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quinoa tabouli

March 13, 2012

I made this dish for a “healthy-“themed potluck at the office the other day. Several areas of my company are on an inter-departmental contest for weight loss. I am impressed with the dedication of my colleagues and the number of pounds some people are dropping. Go marketing team! The recipe is a variation on tabouli [...]

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black-eyed peas with purple kale and polenta

March 12, 2012

This intensely flavorful recipe comes from the wonderful blog, Pescatarian Journal. We always feel a spiritual connection with Alaiyo’s food, which is land-animal free, often vegetarian and low fat, and using both familiar and unusual ingredients in exciting ways. Her black-eyed peas and polenta with minced collards really caught my eye. This then is my [...]

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The (new) White House Kitchen Garden, Washington, D.C.

March 8, 2012

I didn’t know about the new Presidential organic, sustainable vegetable garden project at the White House until we happened across the mansion on our holiday visit to the nation’s capital. While admiring the famous view, I spied a small sign indicating “White House Kitchen Garden.” How interesting! Subsequently, I’ve done some research. It seems that [...]

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