I’ve been into brassicas lately. If you open my fridge on any regular week you may find some broccoli at least. I like broccoli but it’s not my favorite. And last week I went overboard with brassicas at my vegetable co-op: there are currently cabbages, Brussels sprouts, broccoli and a head of cauliflower in my […]

Seasoned food junkies like yours truly always find ways to enhance the recipe, spin it, bring up a different note every time.  This is a great way to keep things interesting in the kitchen, or renew one’s love for an old, seemingly ordinary staple number.  Don’t get me wrong, it’s a great way to ruin […]

We don’t cook pork in our house very often. When we do, it’s typically either a picnic shoulder rubbed with zillion of spices and herbs and slowly roasted or thick cut bone-in chops.  It has been a while since I made a good ‘ole pork stew.  In fact, I can’t even remember when I did […]

Can you think of a more comforting soup than chowder?  I personally prefer creamy chowders to the tomato based ones, but no matter what you like, they are at the top of the list when you are in the mood for something hearty and soothing. Today I am cooking a chowder of my own, which […]

My mom used to make this beautiful chicken meatball soup. It literally had nothing else but meatballs and broth.  Broth was light golden in color and clear as crystal, and meatballs were very soft, yet never falling apart. She used short grain rice to give meatballs extra body, and shredded carrots and onions for added […]

If cooking were a religion, the soupmaking would, no doubt, be one of its greatest sacred rites.  Soup is a quest for perfection, a mystical transformational and peacemaking ritual through which ingredients, different in color, texture, density and flavor are compelled to slowly reveal their essence, enrich one another, and enter the state of harmony.

End of work week dinners are tricky.  There aren’t that many things left in a fridge.  In addition, I feel particularly lazy on Friday nights, looking for any excuse to get out of laboring in the kitchen.  As a result, more often than not we end up waiting in line at some restaurant to get […]