July 12th, 2010 | by Jen | published in All, Cheese, Delectable Dairy, DIY Food Projects, Weekend Projects
Ricotta, ricotta, ricotta. So versatile, so simple, so delicious when done well, and so awful when done wrong. For most of my life I hated ricotta, thinking it too rubbery and tasteless. That is, until I tried (quote unquote) REAL ricotta. Not the stuff from the grocery store, but the artisan cheese that is traditionally […]
June 13th, 2010 | by Jen | published in All, Delectable Dairy, Veritable Vegetables, Weekend Projects
The first time I saw tumbleweed rolling down the street was in rural eastern Washington. We were in some small town near the Idaho border whose name escapes me now. It was early, 7AM or so, and my dad and I pulled the truck up to the only place in town that was open, a […]
April 11th, 2010 | by Jen | published in All, Cheese, Veritable Vegetables, Weeknight Recipes
There is only one vendor that sells cardoon at my farmer’s market, and they display the stalks in a gigantic flower vase. Every time I walk past this stand, I think of Tim Burton…
March 15th, 2010 | by Jen | published in All, Cheese, Delectable Dairy, DIY Food Projects, Fantastic Fruits, Honorable Herbs, Lemon, Thyme
There is no cheese that I enjoy more than high quality, handmade ricotta. For years I poo-poo’d it because all I had ever tasted was the shelf stable, strangely homogeneous, fairly tasteless, mass-produced grocery store variety. And then a few years ago…
November 30th, 2009 | by Jen | published in All, Around the World, Cabbage, Cheese, Delectable Dairy, Veritable Vegetables, Weeknight Recipes
One of the best parts of my recent move has been unpacking the multiple boxes of cookbooks that I sealed up and put into storage before leaving for Germany. At the time I thought I was putting my “second tier” books…
November 25th, 2009 | by Jen | published in All, Around the World, Cheese, Dandelion Greens, Veritable Vegetables, Weeknight Recipes
Dandelions’ adaptability makes them one of my favorite cooking greens. They are tasty raw (or perhaps slightly wilted with a warm bacon vinaigrette), lightly sauteed with some hot…
September 10th, 2009 | by Jen | published in All, Delectable Dairy, Peas & Pea Shoots, Veritable Vegetables, Weekend Projects
Summer seems to have come to an end here in Hannover. The skies are gray, there is a chill in the air, and I find myself caught in the rain more often than I would like. The common adage when you carry an umbrella…
August 23rd, 2009 | by Jen | published in All, Around the World, Basil, Delectable Dairy, Honorable Herbs, Most Popular, Sausages, Meats, Weeknight Recipes
I read cookbooks to relax. There is no better way for me to unwind than to read a recipe, imagine the finished dish, and consider when I might possibly try my hand at making it. I go in phases…
August 19th, 2009 | by Jen | published in All, Around the World, Basil, Cheese, Delectable Dairy, Honorable Herbs, Tomatoes, Veritable Vegetables, Weeknight Recipes
Auflauf, gratin, casserole…? Because I am 1) living in Germany, 2) obsessed with french cookbooks, and 3) decidedly American at heart, I sometimes just don’t know…
August 5th, 2009 | by Jen | published in All, Around the World, Delectable Dairy, Veritable Vegetables, Weeknight Recipes
I love okra. Since the first time I tried it I have loved it — no “acquired taste” here. Perhaps it helps that the first time I tried okra was while living in Jaipur, India with host family that…
I daydream a lot about cooking during the week, especially when I’m on the train. Its rhythmic...
Yesterday I inaugurated my new canning equipment -- a huge 12 quart stockpot, a canning funnel, a ma...
I read cookbooks to relax. There is no better way for me to unwind than to read a recipe, imagine t...
I have been craving some serious American food as of late. A week ago I had the overwhelming urge ...
A few weeks ago on the same France trip that introduced me to Feves au Lard Fume, Steven and I met u...
When I try to explain what tempeh is to a person who isn't familiar with it, it never ends up soundi...
I had a quiche epiphany the first time I tasted the quiche from Tartine Bakery in San Francisco. Th...
Besides the expected potatoes and cabbage, green garlic is one item that I have been coming across w...
Hands down, my favorite breakfast is two soft boiled eggs, a touch of butter, a piece or two of good...
The range of culinary emotions I've experienced living here in Germany for the past three months spa...
Long time no see! The recent Modern Beet silence has been due to the fact that I made an internatio...
I can't believe how easy it is to make gravlax. Or let me rephrase that statement -- I can't belie...
I was looking out my apartment window the other day when my gaze came to rest on a tree about fiftee...
Oh. My. God. This is the best pie crust I have ever tasted! So flaky. So moist. And oh the hin...
These past few weeks have been particularly busy and challenging for me. I changed jobs, spent two ...
Wilkommen nach Deutschland! Ok, full-disclosure time: I haven't yet made this myself, but I watche...
A while back, I got the idea in my head that I wanted to make my own sausage. Why? first and forem...
I was walking back from lunch the other day with my coworker Fritz, and he (very) jokingly proclaime...
Perhaps you would have chuckled if you saw me leaping into the air, grabbing at bunches of elderberr...
The annual zucchini proliferation is upon us! Last week alone I was given six large zucchini, which...