morsels & sauces

So, I took a new job in August. And I have loved it. As in really loved the new challenges and opportunities and expectations. It's still in education. It's still thinking about academics. But it is much more holistic than just literature and thesis statements and Virginia Woolf. Okay, okay some days weren't all about Virginia Woolf even six months ago, but now they certainly are not. They're about the history of math and STEAM curriculum and debate tournaments and experiential learning as it pertains to physics. And occasionally they get to be about thesis statements and Virginia Woolf. But it does mean that the time devoted to my blog has been greatly diminished. Not to worry, though, as I still have many plans for dishes this fall and winter. When this book arrived in the mail, it was clearly a no-brainer for me. I have made no bones about how much I love appetizers. Given an option for morsels, I find that there is no contest. Especially if said morsels a...

It has been a little while since I have posted; suffice it to say that with the start of the new school year, the cooking has taken a backseat, or if you owned a station wagon in the 70s, the way-way back. The preparations for school have been in the driver’s seat, careening around like a teenager with a newly procured driver’s permit. However, don’t let it be said that I haven’t been thinking about cooking—and thinking about it a lot—even if I haven’t been doing as much of it as I would like. I recently received an advance copy of Heidi Swanson’s Near & Far , a cookbook set to come out on September 15. You know it’s a good cookbook if one of your first thoughts is that you want to buy the hardback, full-color cookbook as soon as it’s released—which is precisely what I intend to do this Tuesday as a bit of a birthday present to myself.   Heidi Swanson is the reason a lot of food bloggers became food bloggers. The original intention of her site— 101 cookbooks...

I have been eyeballing the new cookbook,  The Broad Fork , from chef (and Top Chef judge) Hugh Acheson for some time. Southern cooking is booming these days, and Acheson certainly is the expert in presenting it with all the flourishes of his French training tempered by the comforts of okra, gumbo, black-eyed peas, and grits. However, don't expect to see tired (although tried and true) recipes. No, no. Acheson punches up his grits to become "Crisped Pork Belly with Kimchi Rice Grits and Radishes" and his black-eyed peas transform into "Crisp Flounder with Field Pea Ragout and Herb Salad." This is a foodie's cookbook with a lot of Southern zing. Acheson asserts that he wanted to write this cookbook because he is a strong proponent of CSA subscription and farmers' market attendance. However, often people don't know what to do with the inevitable mounds of  sunchokes or kohlrabi or salsify that show up in the CSA box. (In fact, he opens...

So I have to make this post somewhat quick, as I am about to run 6.6 miles this morning. You see, I am ridiculously running a 10k in three weeks as part of the Big River Run in Mendocino , and, well, I am absolutely unprepared and so thusly terrified. I think that the last time I ran 6.6 miles was two years ago. So this morning, I am giving it my best shot as a woman newly entered into her forties. But before I do, let me tell you about last night's dinner. Up here in Fort Bragg, I stopped by an absolutely delightful store, Astoria Home Store , that has been open only a month. I am in love with the owner's collection of Depression-era glass plates and her pretty combinations and platters. So, I swooped in and snapped up the lovely plates in the photos here. Aren't they gorgeous? And what plates they were for this delightful, exceptionally simple, and remarkably tasty chile dish. The recipe is renowned cookbook author and Mexican cooking expert  Diana Ke...

I hate to alarm anyone, but it's August already. How did this happen? August isn't much for holidays. There is no Labor Day, no Independence Day, no Thanksgiving. But it does mean the anniversary of the signing of the 19th Ammendment (Aug. 26),  National Rice Pudding Day (Aug. 9), Bad Poetry Day (Aug. 18), and (as hard as it is for me to type here) Back to School specials (date varies). And back to school means back to smoothies for me. For, you see, I am not  a morning person. I have to leave my keys in the same place every evening, or I won't be able to locate them the next morning without a husband-led search party of himself and the cats. In fact, I usually shower, choose my clothes, and pack up my work bag the night before. I am lucky to make it out the door with deodorant on, with smoothie in hand, and with caffeine in my cup. I have a smoothie for breakfast every weekday morning during the school year. I blend these puppies up the night before, put them...