I love mushrooms. I love their unique flavor and texture, and even how they are grown. Recently, I discovered that my favorite Asian grocery store is carrying some amazing Japanese-variety mushrooms – King Trumpet (AKA King Oyster), white and brown beech (AKA Shimeji – pictured below), and Maitake mushrooms. And, I’ve been eating them like … Continued
Middle Eastern dips and sauces are some of the best in the world, in my opinion. Often thick, rich in flavor, and healthy for you, they are also easy to make – and to modify – if you know what goes into them. What is Muhammara? Muhammara, a red pepper and walnut dip from Aleppo … Continued
These days, Indian food is a significant part of our diet. So much so, that I buy spices in 8 oz and 16 oz quantities – not the average spice bottle. My cupboards are filled with large glass bottles (repurposed from other things) filled with cumin, coriander, garam masala, turmeric, curry powder, chile powder, and mustard seeds. This week, I put them to the test on another favorite of mine: pumpkin.
OK, by now, you’re probably thinking, “enough travel photos already, Stormy! Let’s get back to the food.” Well, I have a recipe for you. It’s not my own. But it is pretty delicious and inspired by the Sichuan peppers I ran across in China. Sichuan peppers, if you haven’t had them, are an interesting experience. … Continued
Visiting a foreign country, to me, is an opportunity to explore much more than what my eyes can see. It means listening to the sounds in the streets – the voices and unique rhythms of a place, enjoying local music, meeting people and sharing stories and perspectives, and tasting and smelling unusual and exotic foods. That’s … Continued
A year ago, my husband and I were invited to join some of our favorite traveling companions on a journey to Tibet. We planned, did some research, and prepared ourselves for a trip that would include both spiritual (Buddhist monasteries and culture) and adventurous (Mount Everest basecamp) experiences. Two weeks before we were scheduled to … Continued
The last place I expected to find a good recipe for Cochinita Pibil, was in the comments of an English-language website that recaps Spanish-language telenovelas. If you’re asking yourself how I wound up reading the comments on that site, I have both an easy and a more complicated answer for you. The easy answer is … Continued
My first recipe experiments were in a shared dorm hall kitchen during my freshman year of college. Unfortunately, those meals were mostly forgettable. What I do remember is that my neighbor, homesick for her native Korea, thought I made the perfect taste-tester. She would cook dishes that were unfamiliar and exotic to my rural Utah … Continued
Deconstruct: To break something down into its component parts. For a recipe, this means looking at the recipe and determining the essential ingredients – the ones that make the dish unique, satisfying, and flavorful. Deconstruction is one of my favorite ways to reinvent a dish when I want to experience its flavors AND tailor the … Continued
Every time I think about posting a recipe for hummus, I stop. It seems like it is one of those things that everyone covers just because it is so darned simple. And the core ingredients of lemon, cumin, garlic, and olive oil – and even the distinctive tahini sesame paste – can be mixed with … Continued
