Butternut soup. Rice Bowl. Oven-Steaming.

Recipe: Roasted Butternut Squash Soup

Blog Post & Recipes: Get creative with rice bowls

In creating your own rice bowls, try different techniques to coax out the flavor of the grains. The rice can be cooked in vegetable broth for added flavor (in the case of the bibimbap, use a kombu broth). If making rice on the stovetop is worrisome, try boiling it like pasta until al dente, then drain it. The grains will be fluffy and won't stick together.

If the rice has an assertive flavor, like basmati and jasmine, pair it with stronger flavored ingredients; otherwise the nuances are lost ...

Bibimbap ... Wild Rice Bowl

Recipes: Oven-Steamed Food. The writer also talks about oven-steaming on her blog.

Oven-steaming food in a foil or parchment packet captures flavors without adding fat. Tucked into their own little surprise packages, chicken, salmon, and sugar snap peas bake quickly ...

Salmon With Tomatoes & Rosemary ... Baby Bok Choy, Sugar Snap Peas & Garlic ... Curried Chicken, Peppers & Peas

Pomegranate Molasses. Chicken in Milk.

Blog Post & Recipes: The Secret Ingredient: Pomegranate Molasses

Once or twice a month, I’ll choose a new Secret Ingredient, tell you where it comes from, what it is, and what to do with it—recipes included ... pomegranate molasses, not molasses at all, but rather a syrup made from concentrated pomegranate juice and sugar, is positively cheap. You can find it for under four dollars at any kosher shop or Middle Eastern food store, and some of the wider-ranging supermarkets ...

Today, I am going to show you how to use it to make Pomegranate Molasses and Pine Nut Cookies, and Pomegranate Molasses Barbecue Sauce to slather on Pomegranate Molasses BBQ Pork Ribs.

Recipe: The Ultimate Bird? Jamie's Chicken in Milk and Lemon

I recently noticed this rather odd recipe on Jamie Oliver's site. It calls for roasting a chicken in a big pot with a pint of milk, a lot of lemon zest, a cinnamon stick, and unpeeled garlic cloves.

... and, from the same blog, Frugal Cooking: Eight Ways to Use Leftover Chicken

1. Green Salad

2. Chicken Salad

3. Chicken Soup

4. Chicken Pizza

5. BBQ Chicken Sandwich

6. Lettuce Wraps

7. Chicken Pot Pie

8. Burritos and Enchiladas

What other suggestions do you have for using up leftover chicken?

Kneading. Chicken Dishes. Root Vegetable Gratin.

Article & Recipe: Kneading bread: Science backs up an ancient technique that's as relevant as ever for today's cook

We knead dough because wheat flour contains two proteins called gliadin and glutenin which, when mixed with water, come together to form gluten. As the dough is kneaded, the gluten strands form networks, giving the dough strength and elasticity ...

Recipe: Basic French-style bread

Recipe & Blog Post: Root Vegetable Gratin

This is a great alternative to a traditional white-potato-and-cheese gratin (and it's more healthful, too). It's got a lovely depth of flavor, and the broiled panko crust gives it a fantastic crunchiness.

One side note: This is one of those dishes that really is much, much easier to prepare if you have a mandoline.

Recipes: Cooking on the cheap with three items

The challenge: Using chicken thighs, a whole grain and at least one fresh vegetable, the chefs were asked to make a hearty, healthy and delicious dish that home cooks can easily prepare to feed a family of four. More ingredients were allowed, but nothing too fancy.

Chicken Stew with Cider and Wheat Berries ... Pan-seared Szechuan Chicken ... Chicken and Rice Casserole ... Parmesan-crusted Chicken Thighs with Roasted Squash, Creamed Barley and Collard Greens ... Really Slow-cooked Sticky and Sweet Chicken Chili

N.b. I've added a 'leaf vegetables' tag and changed the 'nuts' tag to 'nuts and seeds' so that it can include peas.

Brussels Sprouts. Pea Soup. Choosing Ham.

Recipe: Recipe: LA Mill's sweet pea soup

Dear SOS: The coffee at Silver Lake's LA Mill is outstanding, but the real standout is their pea soup. Delicious! It's dark green, with a deep, earthy taste. I could eat it every day, which is why I'd love the recipe!

Blog Post & Recipe: Bringing out the best with brussels sprouts

Like all underdogs, this ugly duckling has merit. If you choose the best specimens, and cook them carefully to coax out their sweet yet earthy goodness, you won't be disappointed. If you think you don't like them, try this recipe and keep the following points in mind

...

Pan Roasted Brussels Sprouts With Cheese Grits

Article & Recipe: A guide to the right Easter ham for you

A US guide to store-bought ham.

... arm yourself with the facts to find the right ham for the occasion. This brief guide to retail hams can help with the hunt. Prices vary widely, but keep in mind that the cheapest hams generally have the highest water content.

What's in a label ... Cuts of ham ... Types of ham ... Ham Guidelines ... Tips on Buying Ham ...

Lemon Risotto with Asparagus

Molasses. Rhubarb. Vegetable Lasagna.

Recipe: Raise-the-roof sweet potato vegetable lasagna

Approved by firemen.

If you're starting this from scratch, begin by baking two sweet potatoes and start layering the lasagna once they're done. If you sauce dry noodles generously when layering the lasagna, it's not necessary to boil the pasta. Use a sauce with little or no added oil

Article & Recipe: Rhubarb recipes: Fool around

#
Rhubarb, orange and ginger nut pudding
#
Rhubarb baked in grenadine

Article & Recipes: Molasses' complex flavor brings new dimension to savories as well as sweets

Molasses puts the chew in cookies, the soul in shoofly pie, the fudgy moistness in gingerbread.

Molasses (and its kindred sweeteners such as sorghum syrup and pomegranate molasses) now is used in savory recipes: sauces and braises for meats, marinades for vegetable salads, cures for fish and glazes for poultry ...

*
Recipe: Charlie Ayers' molasses steak sauce
*
Recipe: Beet salad with pomegranate-molasses dressing
*
Recipe: Apple cider-molasses braised pulled pork
*
Recipe: Gingersnap cookies
*
Buying molasses
*
The magic ingredient
*
The scoop on sweet sorghum

Egg Drop Soup. Creamy Chicken Orzo Casserole.

Article & Recipes: Try these recipes to get you through those early-spring colds

Egg Drop Soup ... Creamy Chicken Orzo Casserole

Sardines and Spaghetti. Leek and Zucchini Soup. Noodle Soup.

Blog Post & Recipe: Dinner Tonight: Venetian Spaghetti with Sardines

Not that there are any clams to be found—just the ultrahealthy and ultracheap sardine, onions, and a little milk which almost melt to combine as a gently flavored and slightly thick sauce. It coats the pasta beautifully.

Blog Post & Recipe: cream of leek & zucchini soup

... the flavor was perfect, the creaminess lent it a satisfying richness, and the zucchini made me feel like I was eating something reasonably healthy. A small cup was the perfect amount for a light lunch.

Article & Recipe: From a Simple Base, Endless Possibilities

Look at the 'Related" side-box for the link to the recipe.

What it is: a tasty, fast, cheap, infinitely variable broth-and-noodle combination. Its preparation is slowed down only by waiting for the water to boil.

A key ingredient is ketchup; if you can’t bear that thought, you can use tomato paste instead. There’s also sriracha, the Southeast Asian hot sauce; and soy sauce; vinegar; and sesame oil, all of which add character. The noodles I use are fresh egg pasta, but just about any kind of noodle can be used ...

Egg Noodles With Soy Broth

Carrots

Recipe: Glazed Carrots

Recipe: Carrot Oatmeal Cookies Recipe

If you somehow combined a coconut macaroon with a bit of carrot cake, you might end up with a cookie like this one.

Blog Post & Recipe: Carrot Soup Recipe

I typically seek out "early" carrots with the bushy green tops still on. The leaves should be fresh and not wilted, and the carrots should have vibrant color. If they feel rubbery, pass on them. I pass on bagged carrots or the big, woody ones - the early carrots often have a much sweeter flavor.

Recipes: Carrot Side Dishes

Sweet Baby Carrots
Pumpkin-Carrot Rice
Savory Roasted Root Vegetables
etc

Recipe: Carrot Soup

rscicluna added this comment at 12:26pm Wed 11th February, 2009

Yum! I just made this for lunch for my son (12mths) and I. I'm not usually a soup person but this is really tasty and super easy to make. If I can make it, anyone can. I used onion as we had no leek.

Recipe: Carrot halwa

1kg carrots, grated
100g ghee plus 1 tbsp extra
200g sugar
7 cardamom pods, crushed and seeds reserved
10 natural almonds, slivered, plus extra to garnish
10 pistachio nuts, slivered, plus extra to garnish
4 tbsp milk powder
1 tbsp ghee
2 tbsp cream

Recipe: Jamie Oliver -- carrots

My favourite ways of cooking carrots all serve 4 people – for each recipe you will need 500g/1lb 2oz of carrots, either left whole if they are baby ones, or sliced into small erratic pieces – nothing too perfect.

carrots boiled with orange, garlic and herbs

roasted carrots with orange, garlic and thyme

mashed carrots

Website: CarrotRecipes.net

* Baby Carrots
* Baked Carrots
* Carrot and Coriander Soup
* Carrot and Raisin Muffins
* Carrot Bread
* Carrot Bread for Bread Machine
* Carrot Cake
* Carrot Casserole
* Carrot Cupcakes
* Carrot Loaf
* Carrot Marmalade
* Carrot Mousse
* Carrot Muffins
* Carrot Salad
* Carrot Sandwich Spread
* Carrot Zucchini Bread
* Carrot-Tofu Quiche
* Crunchy Salad Topping
* Glazed Carrots
* Honey Carrots
* Low Fat Carrot Cake
* Maple Carrots
* Moroccan Carrot Salad
* Orange Carrots
* Pickled Carrots
* Raisin and Carrot Salad
* Spicy Carrot Soup

Chocolate Stout Cake. Favourites. Bunny Chow.

Blog Post & Recipe: Chocolate Stout Cake Revisited

Recipes: Favourite things

Got a recipe you could happily dish up for the rest of your life? Here are our favourites ...

A bowl of beef stew with pickled walnuts / Roast chicken with aioli / Smooth mashed potato / A plate of spaghetti carbonara / A scoop of coffee ice cream

Blog Post & Recipe: Bunny chow

There is some discussion as to the origin of this steet food which broadly consists of curry ladled into a scooped-out loaf of bread. One theory is that it originated at a restaurant in Durban's Grey Street when, in the early 1900s, caddies from the Royal Durban Golf Club were unable to get enough time off over lunch to dash to predominanty Indian Grey Street to pick up a curry for lunch. The caddies would ask their friends to bring back curries for them and because there were no polystyrene containers back then, the shopkeepers sent the curry in holowed out loaves of bread. There was also no disposable cutlery, so the bread was useful as a tool to dip into the curry and use instead of a fork. This theory might also explain the rather unusual name: the shopkeepers on Grey Street were called banias (an Indian caste of merchants), and "bunny" could be a corruption of this. Another similar theory is that bunny chows originated as a means for the (mostly Indian) labourers to take lunch onto the sugar cane plantations of Kwa-Zulu Natal in the days before disposable containers.

Pumpkin and Whisky Bread Pudding

Recipe: Food awards 2009: best reader's recipe: David Hall's spiced pumpkin and whisky bread pudding

From the Observer magazine.

Crustless quiche. Frumenty. Braised Brussels Sprouts.

Blog post & Recipe: miniature crustless quiche

I wanted something distinctly eggy, but not too rich or filling. Then, duh- quiche! Except- I was too lazy to make a crust, and I don't have a pie tin. The simple and obvious solution is to grease up my muffin pan and make mini crustless quiches, duh.

Article & Recipe: Frumenty

Basically, the recipe is wheat pounded and seperated from its hulls, then boiled in cow or almond milk until it forms a gel, this mixture was then sweetened, spiced or coloured as appropriate to the the period. During the Medieval period it most often served without sugar with boiled venison as a type of pottage or in non-meat days with porpoise or beaver tail.

Recipe: Creamy braised brussels sprouts

Braising is an uncomplicated and miraculous cooking technique that will put every ignored vegetable in your refrigerator to good use and flavor even the cheapest cut of meat.

Vegetarian Borscht. Beef in Guinness. Jerusalem Artichoke Soup

Recipe: Hearty Vegetarian Borscht

Most winter borscht is made with beef stock and/or meat bones. This one gets its deep, savory flavor from porcini mushroom broth.

Recipe: Beef in Guinness Stew

Guinness makes a great base for a stew, but do be careful not to use it as 100% of the stock flavouring, or it will be very bitter indeed. Beef shin is best, but stewing steak also works.

Article & Recipe: And was Jerusalem builded here

The one light at the end of this tunnel of depression is a brilliant vegetable, the Jerusalem artichoke. Much like last week's discussion on chard, it is a misunderstood and under-used vegetable. The name doesn't help as it has absolutely no relation the globe artichoke you will be more familiar with. It is actually the root or tuber of a particular sunflower and if you have never seen one, think of a ginger root with cylindrical rings on the surface of their gnarly skin ...

Smoky Jerusalem Artichoke and Ginger Soup

Nashi. Chimichurri. Aubergine Ravioli.

Recipe: Roasted Aubergine Ravioli

I really do love wonton wrappers. They are so incredibly useful for holding different kinds of fillings, and can be cooked in so many ways. I used them for ravioli. again. with a-typical filling. why not?

Recipe: Chimichurri

It's an Argentinean sauce or condiment, similar to pesto, that is popular throughout South America. This basic version uses fresh parsley, oregano, garlic, oil and vinegar and a little bit of chili pepper, though the variations on this theme are endless ... In Argentina it is used both as a marinade and a sauce for grilled steak, but you can use it also with fish, chicken, or even pasta.

Article & Recipes: A pear to remember

The crisp, juicy nashi originated in northern Asia ...

Salad of nashi, fig and walnut with a blue cheese dressing ... Nashi chutney ... Nashi and hazelnut cake

Wok cooking. Soft Tofu. Prairie Oysters.

Article & Recipe: Wok-king is cooking for people on the run

Some wok tips, with a recipe at the end: Ginger Chicken With Snow Peas, Red Pepper and Water Chestnuts.



Article: Delicacy of the Wild West Lives on for Those So Bold

Of all the country’s gastronomic competitions, from “Top Chef” to pies at the county fair, perhaps none compare to the challenge facing the harried chefs assembled here in a parking lot for the 18th annual International Comstock Mountain Oyster Fry. Classically dipped in cornmeal and then fried, or artfully concealed in scrambled eggs, bordelaise sauce or sushi, these oysters were not of the Chesapeake or bluepoint variety but, rather, a cornerstone of Western ranching culture involving testicles from gelded lambs and calves.

Recipes: Good Question: How Can I Use Soft Tofu?

Katherine loves soft tofu, but she needs more ways to cook with it. Can you help her?


• Ma Po Tofu

• Cooking Korean: Soondubu jjigae

Many people also use silken or soft tofu in baking and in smoothies as a substitute for dairy. This chocolate pudding recipe can be adapted for soft tofu:
• DIY Chocolate Pudding
• Also try this: Raspberry Chocolate Pie at Tofu for Two

• Aromatic Silken Tofu, with ginger and rice wine.
• Tofu with mushrooms and ginger

... We're counting on the readers to offer many more suggestions! What are your favorite recipes with soft tofu?

Potatoes. Spaghetti. Who's Cooking?

Article: Who’s Cooking? (For Health, It Matters)

Home-cooked meals are typically more healthful than those prepared at restaurants. But just how much more healthful depends on who’s doing the cooking, where the recipe comes from, and even the dishes in which the food is served.

Studies show that the biggest influence on family eating habits is the person who buys and prepares the food. These “nutritional gatekeepers,” as researchers call them, influence more than 70 percent of the foods we eat, according to a 2006 report in The Journal of the American Dietetic Association ...

Recipes: Five ways with a packet of spaghetti

1. Artichoke and mascarpone pasta

2. Spaghetti, sausages and mustard

3. Spaghetti and mussels

4. Chicken and pasta pie

5. A quick and cheap tomato and pasta soup

Recipes: New Potato Day: Eat and Plant Potatoes Today

Did you know that today is a big day for potatoes? Not only are they a featured part of most St. Patrick's Day menus, but this is also the day when potatoes are traditionally planted! Potatoes go into the ground earlier than most garden seeds, at least in the northern parts of the world ... Here are five fresh ways to eat new potatoes, which are turning up at the markets soon ...

• 1 Crème fraîche and chives

• 2 Saffron and parsley

• 3 Ginger, cumin and sesame

• 4 Honey and basil

• 5 Thyme and carrots

Related: Sixteen Kinds of Potatoes

Corned Beef and Cabbage

Recipe: Corned Beef and Cabbage

Last year for St. Patrick's Day, my friend Suzanne had me over for dinner with her family and served the tastiest corned beef and cabbage dish. Usually we prepare corned beef and cabbage boiled, but Suzanne had baked her corned beef in the oven, slathered with sweet hot honey mustard, and sautéed her cabbage with onions on the stove top until they were nice and caramelized. I begged her to show me how she did it and recently we spent the day cooking together, making corned beef and cabbage both ways - oven baked and boiled. We did a taste test with the whole family that evening and the baked version won, hands down. Here I present to you both the baked and the boiled recipe versions.

Hamburger Blog. Bourbon Cough Syrup. Colcannon Puffs.

Recipe: Colcannon Puffs

I had a bunch of kale in the fridge that I needed to use up, so my thoughts immediately went to colcannon, the traditional Irish dish of mashed potatoes and cabbage or kale. Then a conversation about potato pancakes got me thinking of the ones my mother used to make with leftover potatoes, and soon I was contemplating colcannon pancakes.

Sometime between cooking the potatoes and adding the seasonings I decided to try baking the colcannon in small balls.

Recipe: Bourbon Cough Syrup for Grownups

It's basically hot bourbon and lemon juice, with a heaping helping of honey. I cut it with a bit of water, too, but that's optional. It's an easy nightcap, steaming and warm, with a stiff shot of booze to put you to sleep, lemon for Vitamin C, and all that sweet honey to make it go down easy.

Blog: A Hamburger Today

A US hamburger blog.

Adam of GrubGrade gives a favorable review of the elk burger from Burger Bar in Roy, Utah: "This was not a dry burger despite my worry, and it had a good 'beefy' taste despite not being beef." Related: Dear AHT: Should I Make Burgers with My Elk Meat?

Duck Fat. Cajun Meatloaf. Pinto Bean Pie.

Article & Recipe: Rendering Duck Fat

Recipe: Cajun Meatloaf

Article & Recipe: Pinto Bean Pie: Sweet, not Savory!

I’d been curious about bean pie for quite a while. When I first heard of it, I assumed that it was a version of Frito pie that was made with beans instead of chili. But when I heard people talking about eating bean pie for dessert, I realized that I had been wrong and that bean pie is sweet not savory.

After a bit of research, I found quite a few recipes and from the spices added decided that bean pie was trying to approximate a pumpkin or a sweet potato pie, as often included were allspice, cloves, ginger, cinnamon and nutmeg. And even though some recipes insisted that pinto bean pie was a substitute for pecan pie, after making it I failed to taste how this could be the case.

Beef Stock. The Minimalist Kitchen. Food Blogs again.

Article: 50 of the world's best food blogs

Another list of food blogs from the Times.

This list comprises 50 of our favourite food blogs but is by no means exhaustive. Times Online invites users to submit their favourites for a follow-up article using the comment box below.

Article: Stocking the Minimalist Kitchen

Posters at the end disagree with some of the writer's choices.

Sometimes we’re in the mood to buy every expensive gadget we see; other times we want to whisk everything off the counter and keep only the necessities. In the spirit of early spring cleaning, we’ve put together a list of the 10 kitchen tools you need to whip up (almost) anything.

Recipe: How to Make Beef Stock

... the trick with stock is to roast the bones first to get some caramelized flavor going, then to slowly heat them in water until a bare simmer, and then let them cook that way, gently, for a good long time. With beef stock, it helps to include some beef scraps or stew meat, as well as aromatic vegetables and herbs. Also a few veal bones will help provide gelatin to the stock.

Bento Boxes. Iranian.

Blog: Lunch in a Box

A blog devoted to the bento box. Click on 'Lunch Links' for a long list of links to other bento websites, blogs, and resources.

Article & Recipes: Iranian new year's feast is worth the effort

Herb kookoo - a sort of dense souffle of chopped herbs, tart red barberries, and walnuts, bound together with eggs - is a traditional accompaniment to the Nowruz meal ... The other dish prepared this day is ash-e reshteh. This hearty noodle soup, full of beans and herbs, lightly thickened with flour, and finished with kashk, a kind of yogurt whey that adds a dairy tang and a bit of richness, is always made on Nowruz.

# Recipe Ash-e reshteh
# Recipe Herb kookoo

Spare Bread. Chocolate cake. 10 Pantry Items. Guinea Fowl.

Recipe: Five-minute chocolate cake in a mug a sensation

Article & Recipes: The fowl for flavour

Look to the sidebar box for the recipe links.

Guinea fowl has got to be the ultimate bird – gamier than chicken but with a hint of sweetness, too, it is packed with flavour and always rises to the special occasion.

...

Because the meat is so lean it can dry out quite easily, making it tricky to roast. That’s why, for me, the star dish here is the 
pot-au-feu.

Warm salad of guinea fowl, bacon, carrots and green beans ... Guinea fowl in spiced orange sauce.

Article & Recipes: No crumb left behind

Leftover bread is so important in my pantry that if I don't have any on hand, I'll buy a loaf and dry it out in the oven. Then it's perfect to toast and tear into pieces to add to an arugula salad, or turn into buttered breadcrumbs for the first of the season's asparagus ...

Italian Stuffed Artichokes ... Croissant & Walnut Bread Pudding ... Savory Bread Pudding with Asparagus ... More ideas for leftover bread

Article & Recipes: Kitchen Essentials: 10 versatile pantry items

See the sidebar for links to more "Kitchen essentials" articles. Note: this article is US-centric, specifically southwest US-centric, which means that they make recommendations like this --

Shopping tips: Chipotle peppers in adobo are sold in cans in most supermarkets and Mexican markets. They are very spicy, especially if you use the seeds, so sometimes only a 1/2 teaspoon of the puree is enough. Leftovers keep well in an airtight container in the refrigerator.

Crackers

Recipes: 20 Cracker Recipes

1. Cheddar Crackers
2. Whole Wheat Crackers
3. Coffee Crackers
4. Wheat Germ Crackers
5. Soda Crackers
6. Vegetable-Flecked Semolina Crackers
7. Homemade Graham Crackers
8. Vermont Cheddar and Maple Crackers
9. Homemade Crackers
10. Whole-Grain Crackers
11. Jalepeno Cheese Crackers
12. Banana Crackers
13. Barley-Oat Crackers
14. Yam Crackers
15. Walnut Crackers
16. Vanilla Crackers
17. Oatmeal Crackers
18. V-8 Crackers
19. Oat Crackers
20. Granola Crackers

Recipe: Olive Oil Crackers Recipe

What kind of cracker? The cracker recipe I'm featuring today makes thin, snappy, rustic crackers. Though they are sturdy enough to stand up to a hearty dip. The technique is simple and straightforward (utilizing just a few ingredients) and the dough is a welcoming canvas to all manner of seeds, salts, cheeses, spices, or flavored oils that you might want to use as accents.

Recipe: To make the perfect cracker, add cheese

If you think of crackers as little bits of pie crust, or fast-cooking bread, you quickly comprehend why they're so easy to make. Which only makes it more befuddling that no one does, since packaged crackers are universally overpriced and often contain ingredients with which you'd never cook.

Crackers can be made with just flour and water, but like almost everything else, they're better with richer ingredients. These, typically, are butter, oil and milk or cheese, or both, along with seeds, herbs and spices.

St. Patrick's Day. Seasoning.

Recipes: St Patrick's Day

A collection of "editor's favourite" Irish-Australian St. Patrick's Day recipes.

Beef and Guinness stew ... Boxties with creme fraiche & smoked trout ... Colcannon with Guinness stew ... Irish coffee ... Irish soda bread ... Colcannon ... Treacle tart ... Beef & Guinness pasties ... Layered potato cake ... Mini Baileys cheesecakes ... Bitter chocolate tart with Irish Cream ... Pea & mint mash ... Steak & kidney tartlets ... Nutty Irishman ... Potato pancakes with smoked salmon ... Sauteed brussels sprouts with bacon ... Beef, stout & potato pies ... Baileys rocky road fudge ... Minted pea soup with smoked salmon and cream cheese toasts ... Baileys chocolate fudge

Article: A splash of seasoning can be better than a shake

When most cooks read "season to taste," they automatically reach for the salt shaker. That's not a bad start: A judicious sprinkling with salt will awaken many a dull dish. But if you stop there, many times you'll be missing a key ingredient. Because just as a little salt unlocks flavor, so can a few drops of acidity.

...

Though the results may be similar, salt and acidity work slightly differently. Salt is a flavor potentiator -- in other words, it works chemically to make other flavors taste more of themselves. Acidity works as seasoning by giving a dish backbone or structure, which allows other flavors to stand out and shine.

Nettle Soup. Basil.

Recipe: Food for free: how to make nettle soup from foraging

Making soup out of foraged nettles in the UK. Read down a little to find a link to a recipe for nettle tagliatelle.

Article & Recipe: Tastes as good as it smells

Basil is perhaps the only herb that tastes as good as it smells, according to the International Herb Society, which back in 2003 named it herb of the year.

...

Robyn uses it in a simple dish that could be part of nibbles or a light lunch. In this case, a tricolour flag is formed by basil, smoked buffalo mozzarella and tomatoes, and perhaps the flagpole, loosely speaking, could be a loaf of ciabatta bread.

Bacon

Blog: Bacon Porn.

Maple Bacon Frozen Yogurt ... Bacon lamp shade ... Bacon ‘Oozy’ Bread ... 500 Club Bacon Bloody Mary ... Bacon-wrapped Tater Tots ... Emily’s Bacon Vodka ...

Recipe: Bacon Pops! Goat Cheese Pops with Herbs, Pecans, & Bacon

Oh yes. All the cuteness of a cake pop, all the fun of an easy appetizer, and it's all wrapped up in bacon.

Meat on the Bone. Sprouted Bread. Boiled Octopus. Breakfast biscuits, US style

Article & Recipes: The Lovely Bones

There is much sense to cooking our meat on the bone. A bone's presence will moisten and enrich the flesh, lubricating our supper as it cooks. Look beyond the fillets and steaks and boneless breast meat sold for quick-hit meals and we have a choice of chops, legs, loins, even tails, that come with their own built-in succulence.

Article & Recipe: Ancient bread sprouts anew

Check the sidebar for a link to the recipe.

According to some, sprouted bread has been around since biblical times. Witness a couple of sprouted bread bestsellers named after holy scripture. (Ezekiel 4:9 reads: "Take also unto thee Wheat, and Barley, and beans, and lentils, and millet, and Spelt, and put them in one vessel, and make bread of it.") To the more romantically inclined, those are sprouting instructions and a recipe with one seriously long pedigree. Meanwhile, the cynics in the crowd suspect this is a fad concocted by a few crafty marketers.

Article & Recipe: Breakfast biscuits, US style

An Australian asks how to make biscuits.

They look like scones but are firmer in texture and were usually served with eggs, sausages or gravy as a breakfast savoury.

Since I got back have had a look on the internet for a recipe but have been overwhelmed firstly by the huge selection and secondly by the ingredients – what is all purpose flour?

Also, some tips re. cooking octopus.

Wine with Ethiopian food.

Article: Finding the right wine for Ethiopian spice

The question is: What sort of wine to pour with Ethiopia's highly seasoned meat and vegetable dishes, most of which are served on rounds of injera, the tart Ethiopian flat bread made from teff flour.

Tom Benezra ... wants a wine with an "earthy minerality" alongside the fruitiness to enliven the food. That's why he goes with Old World or Old World-influenced white wines.

Kumquats. Pies. Goat's Cheese.

Article: Kumquats: Big flavor in a small package

How to select: Look for firm fruits with glossy orange skins that are free of blemishes. Will Brokaw, who sell kumquats at several local farmers' markets, suggests, "Go for plumpest, most beautiful kumquat with the deepest color and you'll get the best one." The firmer the kumquat, the more recently it has been picked - older specimens will be softer.

Article & Recipes: Game pie voted Britain's best

Scroll down for links to several pie recipes.

Keystone game pie : Ashley Robins

Beef and Guiness pie : Gordon Ramsay

Steak and kidney pie : Lindsey Bareham

Chicken, leek and tarragon pie : Lucas Hollwegg

Turkey and ham pie : Gordon Ramsay

Deep-filled apple and blackberry pies : Gordon Ramsay

Minted courgette pies with tomato and coriander relish : Lindsey Bareham

Raised game pie : Gordon Ramsay

Article: Five ways with... goat's cheese

Make tarts

Roll puff pastry into rounds about 2cm bigger than your goat's cheese,and with the tip of a knife score a border 1cm in from the edge. Spoon over some caramelised onions, top with a thick slice of goat's cheese and bake at 200C/Gas 6 for about 15 minutes.

Bake with herbs

Brush thick slices of cheese with olive oil and scatter with thyme leaves. Put into the fridge for a couple of hours, then roll gently in breadcrumbs and bake in the oven at 200C/Gas 6 for about 6-10 minutes, until golden. Serve with a salad of mixed leaves and herbs, combined with slices of pear and walnuts and tossed in vinaigrette.

Some Irish Recipes

Recipe: Soda Bread

Recipe: Boxty (Potato Griddle Cakes) Recipe

Recipe: Colcannon

A mashed potato side dish, Colcannon was traditionally served, with coins hidden inside, at Halloween. Ours has cream, instead.

Recipe: Barmbrack

An authentic recipe for the classic Irish fruit bread.

Recipe: Drisheen

2 pt Milk
1 pt Water
2 pt Sheep's blood
1/4 lb Breadcrumbs
1 lb Mutton suet
2 ts Salt

Recipe: Dublin Coddle

It consists of layers of roughly sliced pork sausages and rashers (thinly sliced, somewhat fatty back bacon) with sliced potatoes, and onions. Traditionally, it can also include optional barley.

Recipe: Champ

Colcannon is made in much the same way as champ, but with the addition of cabbage. In parts of the country white cabbage is always used. In any case, shred and chop a small cabbage (discard the stump) and cook until tender. Beat into the potato mixture and serve as above.

... and some Irish-Americana posing as "authentic Irish dishes" --

Recipes: St. Patrick's Day recipes

Smoked salmon with arugula salad and citrus-cilantro dressing


Beef tenderloin with roasted mushrooms, champ and rosemary-whiskey gravy


Chicken breasts with wild mushrooms, potato cake, thyme butter and herb jus


Sticky toffee pudding with bushmills toffee sauce


Date Bread and Butter Pudding with Boozy Toffee Sauce


Colcannon


Ploughman's Sandwich

St. David's Day

Recipes: Welsh Icons -- Food and Drink

Click on the links for recipes or places where you can buy the brands.

Clark’s Pies ... Cawl ... Cockles ... Brains Beer ... Welsh Rarebit ... Felinfoel Beer ... Crempog ... Glengettie Tea ... Leeks ... Caerphilly Cheese ... Bara Brith ... Welsh Cakes ... Lava Bread ... Penderyn Whisky ... Faggot and Peas

Recipes: Leek Recipes.org

* Asparagus and Leek Soup
* Braised Leeks
* Champagne Grilled Leeks
* Creamed Leeks
* Grilled Leeks
* Leek and Mushroom Risotto
* Leek and Onion Bisque
* Leek and Pear Soup
* Leek and Zucchini Pasta
* Leek Soup
* Leek Tart
* Simple Cream of Leek Soup

Recipe: Barabrith (Welsh Tea Bread)

Barabrith is an old Welsh family recipe; it's easy to follow and the end product is simply delicious. Please measure using a normal-size coffee mug.

Crempog - Welsh Pancake Recipe

Welsh pancakes - Crempog - are different to the traditional British 'crepe' normally eaten on Pancake Day. The pancakes are thicker and slightly risen and cooked on a griddle.

Budget Cooking. Avocado pits. Herbs and spices.

Article: Do the maths (or how to have supper with Nigel Slater for 31p)

Video: How to Remove the pit from an avocado

An avocado pit just sits there, practically laughing at you, as you struggle to release it from the slippery grasp of the delicious fruit. Chef Deborah Schneider ... shows how easily it can be removed. She also shares two ways of prepping the avocado: the cube and the flare.

Article: When to ditch old spices, herbs

Although the terms are often used interchangeably, they refer to two distinct types of seasonings. Herbs are the aromatic leaves of nonwoody plants - parsley, sage, rosemary, thyme, etc. Many fresh herbs are widely available, and there are some whose dried forms are, I think, a lamentable waste of money. I would never use dried parsley, basil or cilantro in my cooking; a dish would be better off herbless.