I swear I don’t do it on purpose. But somehow, whenever John leaves town for a conference, I seem to end up cooking something I know he would love. Sometimes I feel guilty about this. He is in Recife, Brazil for 8 days. I will let you draw your own conclusions about my guilt level…
Carnitas
Believe it or not, I had never made carnitas before this. I have no idea why, given that Mexican food and braised meat are 2 of my favorite things ever. I recently purchased Roberto Santibañez’s Tacos, Tortas, and Tamales: Flavors from the Griddles, Pots, and Streetside Kitchens of Mexico, and was feeling really inspired to make…
Bacon and Farro Salad
Today–the day of writing this, not posting it– was the last day of school. Such a bittersweet day, full of so many conflicting emotions. The kids of course feel no such conflict. Alex is ebullient with joy while Sammy is devastated. I feel much of both. On the one hand, our schedule is once again…
Pork Posole with Roasted Pork Tenderloin & Lila Beans
Alex has been going through a picky phase (I’ll wait for the gasps to die down). Lately leftovers drive her nuts (thanks, Dad, I blame you for that one!) and she is incredibly picky about various textures. My method for dealing with this has been to ignore, ignore, ignore. I make what I want–and she…
Uncle Chris’s “Fist Sized Meatballs”
In case you are wondering, Alex named the meatballs. She has a sense for the literal, my kid. I was leaning toward “Man Sized Meatballs.”
Egg Muffins
The discovery of this recipe has been an absolute game changer for me. I am not a fan of waking up early, I am not a fan of lunch foods, and I am frequently on the go around lunchtime anyway. Between all these issues I frequently end up skipping breakfast and nutritionally skimping on lunch,…
“Pork Claypot Rice” Adapted to My Kitchen
I love the internet. If you are interested in culinary anthropology, for lack of a better way to put being interested in exploring other cultures’ cuisines, the internet provides a wealth of information. Sure I can read a book an American traveling in Indonesia has written about Indonesian food–I have those books, I love those…
Goan Spiced Roast Pork Tenderloin
Alex has taken to basically reading one chapter book per night. I quiz her about them, suspicious that she is not absorbing anything, but actually she does indeed seem to be, so perhaps not just my love of reading but also my speed of reading has been passed on (to which I say thank goodness…
Zhurou Chao Mogu (Chinese Pork and Mushroom Stir-Fry)
The minute I saw this recipe in Saveur I knew I was making it. Mushrooms are one of those foods that John and I, while I was pregnant, would spend silly hours dissecting exactly what our strategy would be if–God forbid!–we had a child who did not like mushrooms.