Recipes

Turkey chili with zucchini and corn

16 May 2013 Food
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I may have finally convinced my mom that I can cook. This year we’re sharing her kitchen, as I’ve temporarily invaded her house with my family of six. Here she cooks far more than I do, and I’m respectful of her domain. Despite being an admirably easygoing personality, my mom is very particular about her [...]

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New potato and asparagus salad with lemon-dijon dressing

3 May 2013 Food
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We’re having a heat wave in northern California, and it’s got me thinking about summer food. This potato salad, which I love warm or cold, is a dish you will want to remember for summertime entertaining. No mayonnaise or dairy involved, it’s a fresher take on potato salad that can endure the heat. And when [...]

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Stovetop asparagus

25 April 2013 Food
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It must be the inner grandma in me that has a thing for unfancy food. I love people’s enthusiasm for ingredient discoveries – smoked paprika! za’atar! pomegranate molasses! – but at heart I’m more of a basics girl than an accessories girl. Fresh ingredients don’t need a lot of dressing up, and my favorite preparations [...]

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Unplugging for a week (and roasted butternut squash)

6 April 2013 Food
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Heaven help me, I’m about to get on a Disney cruise. It’s about the last vacation I would have chosen – I’m deathly motion sensitive and the whole idea of being on a boat for a week makes me feel trapped. When I travel, I want to chart my path, explore new places, eat different [...]

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Maple vanilla Greek yogurt

2 April 2013 Breakfast
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Winter’s apples and oranges are languishing in my fruit bowl now that strawberries are back. We’ve been celebrating early-season berries with strawberry oatmeal shortcakes with maple vanilla sour cream. But lately I’m using Greek yogurt instead of sour cream, which has broadened the concept from a dessert topping to an anytime indulgence. Even when the [...]

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Hurricane popcorn

18 March 2013 Asian
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I’d forgotten about hurricane popcorn, a ridiculously addictive Asian-fusion snack from Hawaii, until I saw the words “nori popcorn” online recently. And then it all came back – hot buttery popcorn, toasted sesame seeds, crisp bits of roasted seaweed and a bit of sugar – and I had to make it immediately. In college, I [...]

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Kung pao (gong bao) shrimp

1 March 2013 Asian
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I love my mom. After a week away from the house, she does not for one second contemplate toast for dinner. She washes rice for the rice cooker, throws some frozen shrimp in a bowl of cold water, scavenges bits of onion, carrot and cabbage from the near-empty refrigerator. After a fragrant stir fry with [...]

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Ritzy chicken fingers

20 February 2013 Chicken/poultry
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There’s no avoiding snack food with four kids in the house (I don’t want to be the strict health-nut mom whose kids go to college and eat Froot Loops three times a day), but snack foods never crossed into my cooking until my friend Jenny got my kids hooked on her chicken strips rolled in [...]

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Chinese steamed sponge cake (ji dan gao)

8 February 2013 Asian
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Nobody goes to a Chinese restaurant for dessert. Dairy products such as cream and butter, so essential to pastry, were uncommon in China until recent years. Even today, ovens are not typically found in Chinese kitchens. Traditional Chinese treats are made on the stovetop – fried goodies such as sweet, chewy sesame seed balls made [...]

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Ham and cabbage soup

31 January 2013 Food
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I hear what you’re thinking: First she dishes out health advice (bleh), followed by salad (lady, it’s cold out, give me some real food!), and now soup? With cabbage? Enough already! But truly, this soup is no punishment – it’s honest comfort food for dreary days. Technicolor summer calls for bright, gorgeous food. But the [...]

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