Author: cookwithwhatyouhave
Blackberry Slump
The winey, warm taste of bubbling blackberries topped with the simplest possible biscuit-like crust has broken the blogging hiatus this summer. My six-year-old has been asking for weeks now when I would make this summer’s blackberry slump. He mostly likes … Continue reading →
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The Idea of a Salad
Upon hearing the word salad my son’s face reveals disgust or despair or just plain irritation. He actually eats bean, grain or pasta or potato salads and in a pinch even a grated vegetable salad but any kind of green … Continue reading →
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Very Green Risotto
The farmers markets are overflowing with greenery, and new springy greenery like pea shoots, fava tops, spinach, . . . . I love kale and collards and rarely tire of them but these new tender leaves and shoots just taste … Continue reading →
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Barley Lentil Soup with Green Garlic & Parsley
This is a season-straddling soup. A soup into which I stirred a generous heap of fresh parsley and finely minced green garlic just before serving. And it felt springy and bright despite being a robust soup at heart. I love … Continue reading →
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Squash Rice Fritters + Cilantro Yogurt Sauce
Mid last week I had one section of that beautiful, giant squash leftover. I had unearthed a bag of cooked, frozen rice–rice that I had almost dumped on the compost because I inadvertently left the burner on when I went to … Continue reading →
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Winter Squash, Chickpeas, Lemongrass & Coconut Milk
I’m not at all tired of the months of sun and warmth captured in a deep orange winter squash enjoyed in the last throes of winter. A friend gave me a gorgeous Marina di Chioggia squash last fall and we’ve … Continue reading →
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Roasted Potatoes, Horseradish Cream & Watercress
Memories of one of my favorite childhood meals at my grandparents’ house in the Bavarian Alps–smoked trout with horseradish cream and a green salad–inspired the recent purchase of a chunk of fresh horseradish at the Hillsdale Farmers Market. While I’ve … Continue reading →
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Why Not? Add a Spoonful . . .
of Harissa to my plain bowl of brothy beans for lunch? Why not do the same a few days later with chickpeas and top them with garlicky sautéed mustard greens and feta? This was such a success that I taught … Continue reading →
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Potatoes and Kale Baked with Tomatoes and Bacon
One-dish meals that take oven-time but not much else are a godsend. When these one-dish meals use the produce in the Winter CSA share for which I write recipes and are gobbled up by the husband and kid and snacked … Continue reading →
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Cauliflower Pasta “Risotto”
My father always told me not to over promise or over sell or just not be so darn hyperbolic, but I just can’t help myself. My son and husband and I all ate two plates of this last night with … Continue reading →
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Tomato-Braised Collards and Beans
All the talk of bean and lentil-eating traditions around the New Year suits me perfectly. They are thought to bring prosperity and health. I’ll happily discuss and cook those darlings any day so all the recent posts and meals cooked … Continue reading →
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Zwetschgendatschi
There are many versions of this Bavarian dessert and many of them use a yeasted cake as the base. I grew up with a butter heavy, short crust version and am thus devoted to it. You want Italian Prunes since … Continue reading →
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Summer Lentils and Beans
It’s hot in Portland and getting hotter. We’re not so used to this here. I have been feeling a deep pang of empathy for the millions of people who have been living through the heat wave/drought this summer in much … Continue reading →
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Summer Simplicity and Frenzy
Herbs, hardboiled eggs, salads, fresh fruit, bread, cheese. . . .zucchini and green beans starting to come out of my ears. . . .It’s a good time of year for cooking (or assembling) with what you have. And as much … Continue reading →
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Labor of Love . . . in the Form of Currant Cake
My father was German and as might be considered typical, had strong opinions about many things, including food. He had an excellent palate. He died sixteen years ago when I was 23, long before I devoted my professional and volunteer … Continue reading →
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Gratitude & Salads
It’s one of those mornings in Portland (Oregon) that is unspeakably beautiful–one of those days that makes the cold, clammy, gloomy days of June seem both irrelevant and from some distant past hardly to be remembered (even though it was … Continue reading →
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New Favorite One-pot Meal (+ an Egg)
A friend of mine raved about this dish at a dinner party the other night. It took me a week to finally make it and then I made it twice in a row–the second time to take to another dinner … Continue reading →
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When Time is Short – Chickpea Avocado Salad Sandwich
Time has been short for my lately, hence my long absence here. I’ve been consumed with all sorts of projects and I have missed this place. So, hello again! These busy weeks have had a few silver linings, one of … Continue reading →
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Cook-With-What-You-Have Fried Rice
A student of mine turned me onto a classic (as I learned) way of cooking brown rice a few years ago. This method works particularly well with short-grain brown rice and has converted many a brown rice skeptic in my … Continue reading →
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Cleaning out the Freezer & Cornbread
We ate the last quart of frozen berries about six weeks ago and freezer pickings are starting to get a bit slim, as they should be. I am equally as keen on filling that freezer in summer and fall as … Continue reading →
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