February 2011
1 post
8 tags
The Cure for the (not-so-)Common Olive
One of my favorite things about living in Southern California is the amazing produce we get year round, and the staggering variety available. Every Sunday, I buy most (if not all) of my produce for the week at the Hollywood Farmers’ Market. Shopping at farmers’ markets has made me realize the diversity of the produce I buy; while a few heirloom veggies are currently enjoying a...
October 2010
2 posts
11 tags
WatchIn honor of my mom, and Thanksgiving
Lately I’ve been thinking about this movie, my first 16mm film, and then, serendipitously, a friend mentioned wanting to see it again. I shot this film on Thanksgiving morning 2002, and since Thanksgiving is once again approaching it seemed an appropriate moment to post it.
I’ve written (lovingly, I hope?) about my mom and her mania regarding...
7 tags
Pie Coulda Been a Contender
Last year (2009), I participated in the first KCRW Good Food Pie Contest. While it was fun, there were a few weird things about that event, not the least of which was that it took place in a mall. Competing with over one hundred fifty pies, my humble Caramel Pumpkin, even with its high fluted all-butter crust, lacked the glitz and glamor of those flashy meringue-topped concoctions of which...
September 2010
2 posts
5 tags
I Scream-a, You Scream-a...
… we all scream-a for ice cream-a!
Despite my recent posts about pies, the truth is that the confection I have been experimenting with most lately is ice cream. For my birthday (in February) my amazing and wonderful mother-in-law gave me an ice cream maker attachment for my KitchenAid mixer, and this summer I have been giving it a real workout!
For the 4th of July, I wanted to make a...
6 tags
Phyllo-sophy
Obviously, I am a pie lover. I love pie for dessert, but I also think it’s pretty much the best breakfast food in the world. With every season, I look forward to baking a different fruit pie with my farmer’s market bounty. At the height of summer, when stone fruit is abundant and sweet as candy, I just can’t get enough, eating it with my yogurt in the morning, as a simple...
August 2010
1 post
9 tags
Adventures in Pickling
One of my favorite aspects of cooking is making foods that are ordinarily store-bought. Most people have probably baked cookies or simmered up some marinara, but how many people make their own bread, jams, or condiments? Accustomed to buying certain prepared items, we tend to forget they can be made from scratch, although lately I’m seeing a resurgence in doing just that. Controlling...
July 2010
2 posts
4 tags
Insert Granola Joke Here
Listening to the radio last summer on the 40th anniversary of Woodstock, I heard that Wavy Gravy, a sort of psychedelic clown, introduced granola to those stoned, hungry, and no doubt smelly masses. Although some kind of proto-grapenuts version called “granula” dates back to the 1860s, Wavy Gravy’s fruity/nutty/oat-y “breakfast in bed for 400,000” seems to be the...
2 tags
Easy-Peas-y
This recipe came out of a desire to make something delicious with egg roll wrappers leftover from another recipe and a seasonal vegetable, which happened to be Snap Peas. However, the recipe is versatile, and I’m also looking forward to making them in the winter with roasted butternut or Kabocha Squash (“Japanese Pumpkin”) and maybe some fried sage.
Because I couldn’t...
June 2010
2 posts
6 tags
Heart in Hand
I have been wanting to make Hand Pies since November when I competed in KCRW’s first Good Food Pie Contest. Waiting in the entry line with my Caramel Pumpkin, I admired one woman’s lovely blueberry hand pies which later that day won Second Prize in the “fruit pie” category. A road trip up to Santa Cruz for Memorial Day weekend seemed like a perfect excuse to try out this...
6 tags
An Ode to Yeast, for Father's Day
The smell of yeast dough is, for me, a kind of Proustian experience. My dad, an immigrant from Greece with little education, spent most of my childhood working as a cook in pizza restaurants, and for a short while running his own place. I would often watch him work, mixing huge batches of dough in enormous stand mixers, kneading and measuring out pieces by hand. I was mesmerized by his...
April 2010
1 post
4 tags
Kumquat Marmalade
Today I am finishing my second 2010 batch of kumquat marmalade. I am lucky to have a friend with a tree, but last year when I tried to make the jam for the first time I couldn’t find a recipe I really liked, so I’ve synthesized a few, done some testing, and here’s my own. I guess it’s technically more of a jam since I use the whole fruit instead of just juice and...