We have a new grill! We have a new grill! My husband Ted and I have been grill-free since we left the log house, so we're beyond excited to be grilling in our little Boston back yard. First up, one of my favorite cuts of meat, boneless leg of lamb. For an overnight marinade, I combined the Middle Eastern spices I love so much on shish taouk (garlic chicken on skewers): lemon, allspice, and loads of garlic. I added a bit of cinnamon, too. On the day I made this to photograph, I overcooked the lamb a little bit (still getting used to the new grill), but the flavor was so good that it didn't slow us down at all. While the meat was cooling,... Read more →
Once you embark upon The Downsizing, you never really finish. A couple of weeks ago, I was combing through the small collection of cookbooks that remain on my shelf, trying to decide whether any should be donated or placed into my Little Free Library. Flipping through a Lebanese cookbook my husband Ted bought for me on one of our many visits to Ottawa, Canada, I came across this recipe. For sfuf. (Not a typo, I promise, although sometimes it's spelled sfouf.) I had to make it. Sfuf, a sweet cake, bright yellow thanks to turmeric, bakes in a casserole dish. It comes out of the oven glistening on the top, dotted with pine nuts, redolent with the aroma of orange. (I replaced the orange blossom... Read more →
Back in November 2006, I first shared this recipe for white fish seasoned with harissa, the fiery pepper paste of North African origin. In need of new photographs, the recipe also benefited from a bit of freshening up. I'd forgotten how easy it is to prepare, and how easily it fits into a low-calorie start to the year. Use any type of fish you like; white fish is typical, but salmon would be fine, too. Don't be afraid of the harissa; I promise that it mellows a bit in the cooking of this fish. Not like Donovan mellow, but mellow enough to leave only an interesting tingle in your mouth. Cut the amount of harissa in half, if you are concerned, but don't omit it... Read more →
When readers of my old soup blog asked me for bouktouf, I winced just a little bit. The recipe for this Algerian vegan soup calls for two bunches of cilantro, and I am one of those people to whom cilantro tastes like soap. It turns out that the bright orange color isn't the only surprising thing about this soup; the addition of a large amount of lemon juice tames the flavor of the cilantro, in a good way, and gives the soup a lovely freshness. Here's the original recipe from The Soup Peddler's Slow & Difficult Soups, word for word (because nobody could improve on it). I halved the recipe and ended up with five cups of soup, which I cooked in a Dutch oven.... Read more →
Many years ago, my husband Ted and I joined his sister and her friends for a Thanksgiving meal at a lakeside cottage in the Ontario (Canada) countryside. It was a bit of a potluck, and because we were from out of town, we were assigned celery and carrot sticks as our contribution. At first, I thought it wasn't much to ask of us, but when we arrived, we found that our little plate of celery sticks was the only green thing on the table. All brown --turkey, gravy, potatoes and more potatoes -- and orange (carrots and sweet potatoes), and a small bowl of red cranberry sauce. All the colors of the Fall foliage, replicated on the table top. There wasn't a salad or a... Read more →
Don't panic when vegans come for dinner; adapt a traditional West African stew in peanut sauce, with your choice of root vegetables. Rich and "creamy", without any cream! Read more →
West African chicken and peanut stew creates a world of flavor with everyday ingredients from your pantry. Read more →