Posts categorized as Food

My first experience with edamame was at a Japanese restaurant ages ago. Where, I don’t remember.  A bowl arrived at the table, steaming hot and sprinkled with coarse salt. I remember being instructed to pop the little green beans out of the pods. They were delicious and simple. What I didn’t know at the time was that edamame are young soybeans. Edamame has been enjoyed for centuries. The earliest written reference dates to 1275 Japan, when a Buddhist monk thanked a parishioner for a gift of the young green soybeans. […]

  My grandmother used to take us kids to Friendly’s on Hillside Avenue out on the Island. It was always a treat to go to lunch with Grandma Pauline. And we could order whatever we wanted! For some reason, I often went for the triple decker sandwich. Which is a classic club: three slices of toasted bread, crispy bacon, turkey, iceberg lettuce, tomato, cheddar cheese, and mayo, stacked sky-high and cut into fours, each corner pinned with a toothpick holding the whole overstuffed situation together. Something about those little toothpicks […]

Pupusa in the Uto-Aztecan Nawat language means “to stuff,” or “to puff up.” I just got back from Guatemala and El Salvador, feeling recharged and full of new food inspiration. El Salvador is a lovely, vibrant country. The trip was about surfing, sunshine, and slowing down. The waves were on the “smaller” side, around 3 feet. It’s a point break; they always go right, and I’m goofy, so it was a bit of a challenge. I learned some things, built up my paddling arms, and connected with the beautiful, warm […]

Turns out it’s super simple and worth making for a creamy, rich, sweet flavor and smooth texture. It’s way, way more delicious than the store-bought spray can or frozen container versions. There is one thing: some recipes say you can use whipping cream. Also sometimes called “heavy whipping cream.” I’ve always been so confused by the million different types of dairy, especially the ones in the tiny, cute milk cartons. And the others, whole milk, reduced-fat, low-fat, skim, no fat, cream, lactose-free, organic, raw, unpasteurized, not homogenized, oh my. The […]

When I’m cooking spinach, I think of my father. Strange? Well, I was a skinny kid and pale, with dark, long hair. My father called me Olive Oyl back then! You know, Popeye’s leading lady.  I guess the tall feature didn’t matter to Dad. My father was right about the resemblance. I remember looking in the bathroom mirror. I had to sit cross-legged on the fake-wood countertop to see myself. I’d hop on the toilet to get up there, and I’d stare, thinking the skin under my eyes was translucent. […]

Christmas Day at my grandparents’ house had an order. Antipasto galore followed by “Sauce” Supper. When that finally “ended,” the nuts and fanuk (fennel) were set in a basket, on my grandmother’s beautiful Christmas table. This was the official “break” period before dessert came out — a pause that still involved… eating. It gave the women time to disappear into the kitchen, clean up, and pull out the nice dishes for the grand finale, while the men lit cigars, broke out the cards, started gambling, and cracked the nuts with those silver […]

Tom introduced me to a new version of lentils: lentil stew. It has a totally different feel and taste from the lentil soup I’ve been making for as long as I can remember, my father’s recipe. And I love lentils—and since I’m vegetarian (hard to believe), two versions are welcome in my kitchen. This stew is thick and cozy, and the secret is using an immersion blender. I can’t fully explain the magic, but it gives the stew a “meaty” heartiness and pulls all the rich flavors together in the best way. This is […]

Every time I’m in CVS and see the endless wall of candy canes, I think of Jesus. It’s theology hanging right next to Snickers bars and cat toys. Be open to a whole spiritual moment in aisle 7 because candy canes represent a lot in Catholicism. The shape: turn a candy cane upside down, and it’s “J” for Jesus. Flip it the other way, and it becomes a shepherd’s staff. Jesus is the Good Shepherd who works to gather the one lost sheep. This passage is one of my favorites,  Luke […]

Martha Stewart is perfect, and so is her classic Thanksgiving stuffing recipe. Martha proclaims the stuffing is crisp and buttery-golden on the outside, moist and tender on the inside, and she’s right. The flavor comes from a generous amount of sauteed onion and celery, plus lots of fresh parsley and sage. She suggests adding toasted pecans and dried cherries for extra texture and a nutty–tangy moment – definitely include these ingredients. I couldn’t find the cherries and substituted them with cranberries; it worked nicely. I’ve adapted the recipe to a […]

With the Beach 91st Street Community Garden food drive wrapped up, I’ve been thinking a lot about what is important to me, how I want to use my time, and what matters big picture. The outpouring of support from friends and neighbors was truly overwhelming. And with Thanksgiving next week, I’ve been thinking about what I am grateful for in this year of my life. So here goes… I am grateful my mother is still alive. I haven’t written about this, and someday I will go deeper—but for now I’ll […]