Reviving Traditional Foods
To drink beet kvass is to taste the blood of the earth - sweet and salty with a mineral-rich undertone that speaks of the soil itself. Beet kvass is an acquired taste, much like other fermented foods whose characteristic sourness can offend tame palates. In spite of – or perhaps because of – its briny [...]
Pumpkin custard, faintly sweet and deeply nourishing, finds its way to our Thanksgiving table each year. One of my favorite desserts, pumpkin custard is suitable for those who adhere to gluten- or grain-free diets, serving as a perfect and elegant substitute for classic pumpkin pie. I love the gentle sweetness, the rich and creamy texture [...]
I love the fruits of autumn - pears and quince, yes, but it is the apples I love most of all. Indeed, eighty-five pounds of pomaceous fruit lurk in stacked cardboard boxes in my living room. They wait for me, quietly. And as they ripen, they release their gently scent – mildly floral and slightly spicy. [...]
Onion bisque, a decidedly humble food, bridges the seasons of winter and spring in a beautiful marriage of overwintered onions and shallots with the new leeks of early spring. While many traditional bisques rely on thickening from cream or a floury roux, this simple onion bisque relies instead on a smooth body of pureed leeks [...]
Fermented hot chili sauce – explosive with heat and teeming with food enzymes, beneficial bacteria, vitamin C and carotene. Traditionally, all hot chili sauces were prepared through fermentation – and many of the world’s most renowned and well-loved sauces are still prepared through this time-honored technique of combining hot chilies with salt and allowing it [...]
Toasting pumpkin seeds, that hallmark of Halloween, are a ritual in our home just as it is in many American homes. We head to the pumpkin patch, a pitiful display of twenty or thirty pumpkins organized with military precision into uniform rows, but it’s all for charity – a way to spend a little extra [...]
Pelmeni, traditional dumplings that hold a near-sacred place in the hearts of the Siberian people inhabiting the Ural mountains, have made their way to convenience stores and the freezer sections of grocery stores all across Russia and Eastern Europe. But the modern convenience food and even homemade versions of pelmeni bare little resemblance to the [...]
Braised brisket with tzimmes, a classic dish for Rosh Hashanah, takes a new direction with the addition of hard apple cider. Slowly cooked and tenderly watched, grass-fed beef brisket is first seared in tallow then doused in homemade beef stock and hard cider and roasted in a clay baker or Dutch oven for several hours. [...]
Potato Leek Soup, dotted with dill and pasture-raised bacon, may seem like an odd addition to a June post. I mean, really now, summer’s less than a week away – and I imagine all of you sipping away at icy tomato gazpachos and spooning sweet cherry sorbet into your mouths. It’s hot. It’s humid and the night air is sultry and warm where you are, isn’t it? Don’t lie to me now – I know it’s true. While you’re lounging by the grill, sending your kids to run naked through the sprinklers and collect raspberries on tall, leafy canes, I’m shivering and considering turning out the heat though it’s the middle of June dammitall.
Lovage Soup for Spring
Moroccan Preserved Lemons
campfire roast chicken with flowering onion and dill
Our Daily Bread: No-knead Sourdough
A Story of Recovery (and a Recipe for Grain-free Carrot Cupcakes with Honey Cream Cheese Frosting)
A Recipe for Beet Kvass: A Deeply Cleansing Tonic
What People Are Saying