We made this simple salad to accompany soy-honey chicken drumsticks and jasmine rice. The recipe was simple, with a light hand at dressing: https://www.allrecipes.com/recipe/281305/simple-romaine-salad/ (July 2025)
Tag: condiments
Simple 3-ingredient icing
We made a boxed devil’s food cupcakes. We craved a simple vanilla icing, so we tried this recipe: https://mindovermunch.com/recipes/meals/dessert/powdered-sugar-icing/ (Jan. 2025)
Black bean puree with chipotle en adobo
We made this recipe, but with significant modifications: https://vanillaandbean.com/chipotle-black-bean-dip/ Our modifications: first, we omitted the cilantro from the puree, using it only as garnish. Second, instead of pureeing the raw ingredients, we first heated the black beans (no-salt canned, rinsed and drained), garlic, chipotle en adobo, cumin, and a sprinkle of salt (1/4 tsp) in…… Continue reading Black bean puree with chipotle en adobo
Pico de gallo
We made this recipe from Cookie and Kate: https://cookieandkate.com/classic-pico-de-gallo-recipe/ We prepared this condiment to season the bean filling for bean and cheese burritos: https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1022532-bean-and-cheese-burritos?smid=ck-recipe-iOS-share. We used 3 vine-ripened tomatoes (seeds and liquid removed, then finely diced) plus about 1/2 cup cherry tomatoes from our garden (finely diced). We reduced the cilantro to 1 Tbsp. At… Continue reading Pico de gallo
Small batch mixed berry and grape jam
We buy fresh fruit every week, mainly for breakfast and afternoon snacks. We ended up having 1 lb strawberries, 1/2 cup blueberries, and 1 cup black seedless grapes leftover, so we decided to try this recipe: https://kickassbaker.com/mixed-berry-jam/ Our modifications: first, we reduced sugar to 1/4 cup. Second, we found the jam was ready in about…… Continue reading Small batch mixed berry and grape jam
Chinese tangy soy dipping sauce
We enjoyed more homemade dumplings, and we tried this dipping sauce from Andrea Nguyen: https://www.splendidtable.org/story/2000/12/12/tangy-soy-dipping-sauce (Feb. 2024)
Middle Eastern 7-spice blend (baharat)
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)
Pico de gallo
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… Continue reading Pico de gallo
Simple powdered sugar icing
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… Continue reading Simple powdered sugar icing
Vietnamese bittersweet caramel sauce, version 2
We have made Andrea Nguyen's iconic bittersweet caramel sauce since the publication of her first cookbook, Into the Vietnamese Kitchen. We always store our homemade sauce in a beloved plum jelly jar. This time, we tried her latest version, which she recorded in a video: https://www.vietworldkitchen.com/blog/2020/04/vietnamese-caramel-sauce-recipe-video.html The method is similar. This version includes a touch… Continue reading Vietnamese bittersweet caramel sauce, version 2
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