When it comes to meat, America is firmly committed to beef and chicken. (With some pork thrown in, mostly in the form of ham and bacon.) But in many other countries, the meat of choice comes from smaller herd animals like lamb and goat. “Mutton” is sheep meat — that is, older lambs. Not only [...]
Cooking is fun, but it’s even more fun when you’re doing an Extreme Food Makeover challenge! This weekend, I’ve been brainstorming recipe ideas for Cooking Matters Michigan‘s EFM contest. I and my fellow competitors have each been given a dish to remake with what we have on hand plus three purchased ingredients AND a “secret” [...]
Continue reading about What Do You Get When You Cross Pizza with Curry?
I used to think the term “curry” meant a specific blend of spices used in a particular way. That turned out to be semi-true. “Curry,” an Indian chef told me a few years back, “simply means ‘sauce.’ A curry can be what you make it.” The way we think of “curry,” then, is kind of [...]
When I was a kid, I thought the only difference between pastas was that some were long and skinny and others were tubular and short. Or looked like shells. But nowadays, the more I troll through the pasta aisles, the more I realize that while shape is important, the biggest difference between one pasta to [...]
I know not everyone is going to be with me on this one, but poached eggs have always been my favorite. Scrambled eggs are nice, and so are hard-boiled eggs, but for me, the creamy poached-ness is where it’s at. Poached eggs are easy to make, too: just crack an egg into boiling water, set [...]
Mung beans are the cutest beans you can imagine! They’re my latest little favorite finds in the Grains & Legumes department. I’ve been wanting to make a dish with them ever since an Indian friend made a wonderfully simple lunch for us involving mung beans, paneer cheese, and cauliflower. I hadn’t had mung beans before, [...]
Continue reading about Fragrant Curries and Enchanting Beans
I love Indian cuisine — it’s pungent and earthy, aromatic and exciting, and turmeric is a darned handy 100% natural yellow dye. (Worth remembering come Easter-egg-dyeing time!) And since India is home to many clusters of traditions and beliefs, there’s also plenty of culinary variety between various regions. The only thing I wish Indian food [...]
If you ask an American what bread looks like, she’ll probably say “a loaf”…but it ain’t necessarily so. There are many kinds of flatbreads: Mexican tortillas, Ethiopian injera, Middle Eastern pitas and lavash. Indian cuisine features chapatis, naan, and roti. Even the American pioneers favored buckwheat pancakes. The humble muffin–which is probably America’s greatest single [...]
Whether it’s cheese and potatoes or shrimp and onions–or anything else you can think of–every culture has its version of dumplings. In the States, we’re accustomed to sweet dumplings for dessert, but in other areas of the world, stuffed doughs are often savory. These Indian samosas, for example, consist of whole-wheat dough filled with finely-diced [...]
