While we tend to pair pasta and beans in soup (pasta e fagioli, anyone?), we usually don’t serve them in a dry environment…but why not? Sprouted-grain pastas are now widely available, and they make a hearty counterpoint to whatever bean strikes your fancy. White or black, hot or cold…beans are a flavorful, inexpensive source of [...]
Although sprouts are available throughout the year–and you can easily sprout your own grains and legumes any time you’d like–spring seems to be a particularly fitting time to incorporate sprouts into recipes. In this case, I’ve mixed broccoli sprouts with bamboo, carrots, and orange bell pepper to make a quick and fresh Asian salad. The [...]
We’ve all seen birds enjoying millet–now it’s our turn! The hulled seeds in the grains/flour aisle (millet used for birdseed generally has not been hulled) are a nice alternative to rice, potatoes, or couscous. Millet cooks in about 35 minutes and makes a very fluffy, slightly-sweet grain that can easily be mashed with vegetables or [...]
At times, a kitchen can seem like a place of chaos–there are bubbling pots on the stove, you have three glass pans of vegetables roasting in the oven, meat waiting to be filleted, and bread rising in the sunny patch in the corner. And don’t forget about dessert! (Granted, this scenario might only take place [...]
Although John Montagu–the 4th Earl of Sandwich–probably didn’t invent one of the staples of modern-day American cuisine, he certainly ensured its popularity. What other eighteenth-century dish is served in almost every restaurant in the country? The sandwich is truly an elegant solution: it allows for extreme creativity in both base and toppings, it’s a great [...]
Technically, pine “nuts” aren’t nuts at all–they’re seeds from pine trees. You might also see them called piñones (in Latin markets) or pignolis (in grocery stores specializing in Italian cuisine). Pinenuts are an essential ingredient in an Italian dish that Americans know and love: pesto. Whether it’s tossed with pasta or rubbed into chicken, the [...]
