Welcome

  • I cook as a hobby, and I maintain this blog primarily to keep track of recipes that my family has enjoyed over the years. I started blogging back in 2015, in response to requests from friends for recipes they had seen me post on Facebook (but that I couldn’t easily catalog). My original blog was on another platform that became less user-friendly over time. I migrated my blog to WordPress earlier this year, and I’ve spent more time than expected reformatting the migrated posts.

    This blog is and always will be a work in progress. For example, I currently provide Tags for posts, but I have not coded for Categories. I also generally try to share the recipes themselves in my posts, but in cases where the recipe is not available online, I try to identify the source (e.g., the cookbook title and author) as needed. In some cases, such as where a family has shared their recipe with me but hasn’t authorized me to share it widely, I post a photo of the dish with that proviso.

    I recently added a Search widget to this blog. On the desktop version, the Search bar appears prominently on the left hand side. But for some reason, it is hidden on the mobile app. If you’re on your phone, tap on the SHOW tab at the top left of the home page. That will reveal another screen with the Search bar.

    I hope you enjoy exploring my blog and find some recipes to try.

  • We had a craving for lentil soup and were intrigued by this recipe: https://girlandthekitchen.com/persian-lentil-soup/

    Although we used chicken broth (4 cups unsalted, 4 cups Better Than Bouillon), this recipe easily could be vegetarian if made with vegetable broth. Although we try to use no-salt canned tomatoes, we used stewed tomatoes (which are seasoned and contain sodium) for this recipe. For the spice blend, we made our own baharat: https://piglettedc.wordpress.com/2023/10/01/middle-eastern-7-spice-blend-baharat/

    This was quite delicious, with great depth of flavor. The texture was a bit thin, though. (Oct. 2023)

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  • We couldn’t find baharat at our local supermarket, so we tried this recipe: https://www.food.com/recipe/baharat-spice-blend-224763 Interestingly, the most challenging part of this recipe was manually grinding black peppercorns (all of our other spices were already ground).

    We will use the baharat as an ingredient in a Persian lentil soup that we’ll post about separately. (Oct. 2023)

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  • We tried this recipe from Food Network Kitchens: https://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/pumpkin-bread-recipe-1957866

    Our modifications: first, instead of making two loaves, we poured the batter in a bundt pan (with extra batter for a mini-loaf), each of which we lightly coated with ghee and a dusting of flour. Second, we added 3/4 cup chopped walnuts (lightly coated in 1 tsp flour) to the batter. Third, because we planned to glaze the cake, we reduced the white sugar from 2 cups to 1.5 cups to manage overall flavor balance. We baked at 350 for less than an hour (although due to an oven timer malfunction, we don’t have a precise time), once our toothpick came out clean.

    After the cake cooled completely, we drizzled a vanilla bourbon icing from this other recipe (which we have used as icing before): https://www.preservesproject.com/pumpkin-walnut-bundt-cake-%EF%BB%BFwith-vanilla-bourbon-glaze/ In case the link does not work, whisk together: 3/4 cup powdered sugar, 2 tsp bourbon, 2 tsp vanilla extract, and 1 Tbsp milk. Drizzled over cooled cake. (Sept. 2023)

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  • We craved a plant-forward soup with beans and leafy greens, so we made this: https://www.feastingathome.com/ribollita-recipe/ We followed the recipe pretty closely, and this was very tasty. We omitted the bacon / pancetta, but we used chicken broth (4 cups unsalted, 2 cups Better Than Bouillon). For the white wine, we estimated a “splash” to be 1/4 cup, which we used to deglaze the pan before adding the cannellini beans (we used 30 oz canned, rinsed, and drained), diced tomatoes (15 oz canned, including juice), and one parmesan rind. For umami, we added 2 tsp black olive tapenade to the soup just before simmering (the next time, we may increase to 1 Tbsp).

    We also made the rosemary and lemon zest-infused olive oil in a Mason jar (pictured in background). Because we sometimes find rosemary overpowering, we used 1 rosemary twig and 2 sage leaves for the 1/2 cup of olive oil. (Sept. 2023)

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  • We are still at the beach with a limited pantry. We tried this simple recipe using 1/2 lb string beans, 1.5 Tbsp canola oil, 1/4 tsp kosher salt, and juice from 1/2 a lime. As the recipe notes, the key is maintaining medium-high heat and letting the string beans sit, untouched, for a few mins. This was a simple and tasty dish. (Aug. 2023)

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  • We had planned to make guacamole, but due to not-great avocados, we quickly had to switch gears. We don’t have cilantro in our beach pantry, so we made this cilantro-free version that uses ground cumin instead: https://poshplate.us/salsa-no-cilantro/

    Our modifications: first, we combined 2 cloves minced garlic, 1 finely minced small shallot, 1 finely minced jalapeño pepper (seeds removed), juice from 1 lime, and 1/4 tsp kosher salt and set aside for about 5 mins (this allows the aromatics to mellow and lightly pickle). Second, we diced 1 2/3 medium tomatoes (2/3 plum tomato, 1 vine-ripened tomato), placed in a medium bowl, and added 1/4 tsp cumin. Then after the aromatics sat, we added them to the tomatoes. This was a refreshing and flavorful pico de gallo. (Aug. 2023).

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  • We are still at the beach. A local olive oil merchant recommended this simple recipe: peel and cut cantaloupe and watermelon into bite-sized pieces, then drizzle with peach-infused white balsamic vinegar and basil-infused olive oil (in a 4:3 ratio). Lightly toss, then serve. This was refreshing and delicious. If we were home with our full pantry, we would toss in fresh julienned mint leaves. (Aug. 2023)

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  • We are at the beach, without access to our normal pantry or kitchen tools. We baked a boxed devil’s food cake, but we didn’t want to use prepared frosting.

    We tried this simple recipe for icing: https://www.culinaryhill.com/powdered-sugar-icing/ We used 2 cups powdered sugar, 1 tsp vanilla extract, 2.5 Tbsp half and half, and 1 Tbsp low-fat milk to achieve the right consistency for our needs. This icing was simple and delicious. (Aug. 2023)

    Note: For the boxed cake, we used Duncan Hines devil’s food cake, to which we added 1 tsp ground cinnamon before mixing in the wet ingredients. We lightly oiled a 3 quart rectangular baking dish before pouring in the batter.

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  • I am a huge fan of Ghanaian cuisine. We decided to try this intriguing recipe: https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1024548-kosua-ne-meko?smid=ck-recipe-iOS-share The dish is delicious, with layers of complex, briny, and refreshing flavors. It also is very simple to make, using humble ingredients. It would make a wonderful appetizer for a summer dinner party.

    Our modifications: first, because we didn’t have our mortar and pestle on hand, we used a mandolin to shred the garlic and ginger (fine grate) and the habanero (medium grate). We then mashed further with a tablespoon before adding the chopped, seeded plum tomato. We used a dinner fork to mash the tomato and aromatics together. In terms of proportions, we found 1/2 a shredded orange habanero, 4 baby garlic cloves (about 2 medium or 1.5 large), 1.5 tsp microplaned ginger, 1/4 tsp salt, 1 regular sized plum tomato, and 1 small, finely julienned shallot worked for the tomato relish.

    For the eggs, we followed this tried and true method: https://www.thekitchn.com/how-to-boil-eggs-perfectly-every-time-video-202415 We timed the eggs for 7 mins for a velvety but cooked yolk.

    Finally, we found that this amount of relish would be sufficient for 5 (possibly 6) eggs, but not nearly enough for a dozen eggs. (Aug. 2023)

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  • We tried a Madhur Jaffrey keema peas recipe using minced chicken (but we skipped the samosa): https://bigsislittledish.com/2011/01/03/turkey-or-chicken-keema-baked-samosas/ This turned out OK, but we prefer Shubhra Ramineni’s keema recipe (and there, we used minced turkey).

    Our modifications: we used 1 lb (not 1 1/4 lb) mince and increased the peas to 1 cup. We also removed all of the whole spices before serving. (Aug. 2023)

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