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Last week, while packing away a few cookbooks, an old newspaper clipping tucked between two books slipped off the shelf and swooped into my lap, opening as it landed to reveal a photograph of a mouth-watering spread: a bowl filled with herb-and-olive oil topped ricotta, a few slices of grilled bread, and a handful of halved black mission figs. A quick glance through the article led me to discover that this appetizer, described as “stupid simple” by the chef of A Voce at the time (2008) was the most popular appetizer on the menu....

There was a period over a decade ago now (yikes) when I was cooking almost exclusively from Sally Schneider’s A New Way to Cook , one of about five cookbooks I owned at the time, a departing gift from my mother when I moved away from home to Philadelphia. While my cookbook collection has since grown considerably, I still find myself returning to A New Way to Cook often to reference a technique or method, to see how Sally made it — the book, if you are unfamiliar, is nearly as comprehensive as the How to Cook Everything books....

My version of Roasted Tomato Basil Soup is rich, creamy, filling and flavor-packed. It perfectly hits the spot on a cold, snowy day. Besides being flavorful, it is kid-friendly too. This soup is kid’s approved by even the pickiest eaters. My kids love it, and I am sure it will soon become your family-favorite too. What makes up this Roasted Tomato Basil Soup? I have kept the recipe very simple – roasted tomato, carrots + a few basic spices....

Serve alongside the chutney of your choice and enjoy a delicious meal. Coming on to the gluten-free Sabudana vrat dosa, I’ve tried so many different versions and have finally settled for this one. Why? Because the batter is PERFECT! You are going to love this vrat ka dosa because it – Requires no fermentation, Is made up of simple pantry staples, Healthy and filling, Crispy, Crunchy, and So tasty and addictive!...

INCARNATIONS OF JAYA AND VIJAYA – As stated earlier in Varaha Avatar Jaya and Viajaya were the doorkeepers of Vaikunth, Vishu’s abode. One day Lord Brahma’s four sons came to meet Lord Vishnu at his abode and since Lord Vishnu was resting at that time, Jaya and Vijaya stopped them from entering. This annoyed Brahmaji’s son and they cursed them to be born on earth. Jaya and Vijaya pleaded Lord Vishnu to show mercy and find solution as they didn’t wanted to be separated from Lord Vishnu....

I am Greek. I did not, however, grow up in a family like the one portrayed in My Big Fat Greek Wedding. My mother did not pack me “mouss-ka-ka” for lunch. My aunt never chased me around with a roasted lamb’s eyeball. And I never felt pressure to marry a nice Greek boy nor to become a Greek baby-breeding machine. But I do have about 50 uncles named Nicky. And my aunt’s vegetarian chili does contain lamb....

It came together effortlessly, cooked quickly, and looked stunning, yielding an abundant and flavorful sauce, perfect for dunking crusty bread into. I served it as Dorie suggested, right out of the skillet, “for a very casual grab, dip, and dunk dinner.” With bread in hand, not a buttery clove of garlic, a melting sliver of shallot or a drip of sauce was spared. The beauty of this dish as Dorie notes is its adaptability: “If you fall in love with the technique,” she says, “you can put it in the rotation and fiddle with the flavors each time....

When summer veggies are at their peak, like right now, what do you do? You end up making these guilt-free sandwiches that are – summer veggie sandwiches with pesto super easy to make versatile full of flavor filling and made with just seven simple ingredients. Yes, you heard me right. 7-ingredients and about 20 minutes of your time are all you need to make this simple and incredibly yummy summer veggie sandwiches with pesto....

Once — just once — I made sushi. Twice — just last week — I made this sushi salad, and I foresee making it a lot because it’s so easy and good. It’s a mix of brown rice, edamame, spinach, avocado, and cucumbers all tossed with a miso dressing, then finished with slivered nori and sesame seeds. It satisfies all of my cravings for sushi without the hassle of making it....

Earlier this year I learned a salting-and-rinsing technique for cabbage from The Slanted Door cookbook that forever changed my slaw-making (and eating) experience. A brief salting softened the shreds of cabbage, allowing them to better absorb the dressing. The texture, too, improved, making the cabbage easier to eat. Over the long weekend, I learned a similar but different technique from Julia Turshen’s Small Victories. Read more about it here or skip straight to the recipe below....

Fingerling spicy and tangy tomato cilantro chutney. A great Tomato relish. Have some fresh tomatoes in refrigerator – prepare this easy chutney. Can be used in sandwiches, with rice, paranthas or as an accompaniment to Indian street food. A combination of cilantro along with spiciness of green chilies, and the tangy tomatoes adds full flavor to this chutney. Nothing fancy in this chutney just throw all the ingredients in the mixture, churn and there you have your chutney ready in minutes....

Looking for a healthy breakfast – try out this simple and nutritious Vermicelli Upma recipe for breakfast. Vermicelli is a very thin pasta broken into small strips. The beauty of this vermicelli is that it’s made out of wheat and it cooks up fast. A delicious breakfast that is enjoyed and relished in my house every weekend. Vermicelli can be substituted with angel hair pasta. Vermicelli needs to be toasted and placed in hot water before cooking....

“The main requirement for searing is a blazing-hot cooking surface,” Samin Nosrat writes in Salt Fat Acid Heat. In an effort to get a restaurant-quality sear on meats cooked at home using the weak, no-frills burners of her apartment stove, Samin developed a new technique: preheat a cast iron skillet in the oven for 20 minutes at 500ºF, then place it over high heat stovetop. The method allows meats to develop a beautiful deep brown crust without overcooking and works especially well with thinner cuts....

This post is sponsored by King Arthur Flour. Thank you for your support! A year ago, a friend and excellent baker mentioned she had stopped using all white flour in her bread recipes. It just felt wrong to her not to throw some whole wheat flour into the mix. I’m embarrassed to admit that before this conversation I had never thought twice about the many all-white flour loaves I turn out on a daily basis....

This is the no-cook meal I’ve been making often the past few weeks: CSA greens* + anything else from the farm share I can slice thinly and eat raw (radishes, turnips, scallions, herbs) + tuna (Toninno Tuna is particularly good—pricey, but good) + shallot vinaigrette + avocado (super not local, but so good). This salad comes together in no time—as the shallots macerate in the vinegar for the dressing, you can prep everything else: slice the radishes, turnips, scallions, etc....

In Indian cooking, there are so many ways to prepare/ cook eggplants, I will go through some of them- eggplant pakodas, bharwan baigan (stuffed eggplant), baghare baigan, Alu baigan ki sabzi (next on my list) and Tawa sabzi, just to name a few. Each recipe featured below has special ingredients and includes a certain style of preparation. For example, bharwan baingan and baghare baingan recipe may look similar but the cooking method is totally different....

Additionally, I must report my latest egg preparation: soft-boiled. Yum. The recipe I followed produced perfectly colored and textured soft-boiled eggs. I’m not sure I’m crazy about the method, however, which calls for submerging the eggs in cold water, which makes the eggs, as expected, cold. In any case, soft-boiled eggs atop asparagus, prosciutto and mascarpone-slathered toasts make another great open-faced sandwich. Lastly, down below, you’ll see another batch of the whole-grain muffins I made several weeks ago....

Today’s recipe is a great accompaniment to any Indian meal. It can be enjoyed at any time of the day, whether be breakfast, lunch or dinner. Boondi comes from the word ‘boond’ that means drop, therefore boondi refers to small drops/balls of fried chickpea flour. It’s a 5 minute recipe that is quick and easy to prepare. Boondi raita is a delicious dip prepared with crunchy and crispy boondis that are mixed with homemade curd (yogurt) and later flavored with spices....

These buns are the perfect vehicle for these roasted green pepper burgers, which my mother turned me onto recently. It’s simple: roast green peppers, chop them up, and mix them into hamburger meat with a little kosher salt and pepper. Then, form patties and cook them in a cast iron pan for about four minutes a side for delectable medium-rare burgers. Incredibly, the roasted peppers keep the burgers juicy and tender but not so much as to mask the flavor of the meat....

Hello everyone, how is your week going? Mine is okay not too good, not to bad. Good because, after a long gloomy week, sun finally decides to make an appearance. The sun is shining bright and the temperatures are rising..yay !! Bad because, I am all sniffy, sneezy, curled up in bed with a box full of tissues, some throat lozenges and my laptop – I have flu and that means plenty of rest 🙁 and soups....