September 13, 2011
Homemade Celery Salt
When I read Heidi's July post about her homemade celery salt, I bookmarked it immediately, murmuring to myself how simple and beautiful and clever the idea was.
While I am an enthusiastic consumer of celery root, I don't cook with celery stalks much, and only ever buy it in small quantities to flavor stock. Still, in those cases, I am faced with a fair amount of celery leaves that come with the stalks. I usually just add those to the stockpot ...
"Homemade Celery Salt" continues »
February 8, 2011
Dukkah
I first learned about dukkah three years ago, when I had the incredible good fortune of traveling to Australia for a writers' festival. I spotted that Egyptian mix of nuts and spices again and again, in fine foods stores and on restaurant menus, and naturally, I was intrigued.
Dukkah -- also spelled duqqa or dukka -- is made with nuts (most commonly hazelnuts, sometimes pistachios or almonds) and seeds (cumin, sesame, coriander, fennel), as we...
June 29, 2010
Roasted Lemon Zest Powder
Kitchen recycling is my favorite hobby.
So many food scraps can be put to good use with just a little time and flair*, and the satisfaction is immense when I feel I'm using my supplies to the max -- making chilled soup from pea pods, pesto from radish tops and croissants aux amandes from day-old croissants, using the whey from mozzarella in bread dough, parsley stems in stews, and the rinds from hard cheeses in soups.
Today's trick is one I'v...
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December 8, 2009
Carrot and Ginger Quickie Pickle
Pickling means preserving food in a seasoned brine or vinegar mixture, and in case you didn't get the memo, pickles are the new cupcakes.
I sorta kinda doubt it -- try bringing pickles to your nephew's birthday party -- but, as someone who grew up with store-bought jars of cornichons (gherkins) as the single pickled element of the family diet, I am most intrigued by the techniques involved, and the wide range of products they create.
I am a c...
"Carrot and Ginger Quickie Pickle" continues »