This month I’m doing a bit of guest blogging over at my friend Michele’s site The Modern Jewish Wedding. Each Friday I’ll be doing a post as part of her Shabbat shalom feature, offering some inspiration for the weekend, and a nice way to close out the week. For those whose Hebrew is a little rusty, shabbat […]

Today I have a guest post over at Lisa Rawlinson’ fabulous blog Full and Content. Lisa is a fellow Austin Food Blogger Alliance blogger, and since her blog has been around for a while she has so many incredible recipes and reviews that you should check out. Lisa is a big proponent of Meatless Mondays, […]

I’m pretty inconsistent when it comes to breakfast at home. Some days I want a full meal deal, and others I just want a cafe au lait and a the morning news updates. Once upon a time I had a stable of three or four breakfast options I’d rotate through during the week, but I’ve […]

Between appointments, I decided to go to Pei Wei Asian Diner for lunch, having read good reviews of their gluten-free menu. I’m not the biggest fan of chain-style Asian food, but I am trying to check out the specifically gluten-free menus around town to see what’s on offer. At Pei Wei the list turned out […]

I have a new addiction and I have to keep it out of sight, otherwise I’ll eat every last little bite. The other day I mentioned the broccoli rabe recipe with pine nuts and lemon that I tested for Food52. I didn’t go into much detail, and I’ll share my notes after the contest the […]

I am really into autumn greens this year, and despite the surfeit of kale and collards in my fridge at the moment, I volunteered to test a recipe in a Food52 recipe contest for Your Most Impressive Dinner Party Side featuring broccoli rabe. In the process of shopping for ingredients I learned a few things about broccoli, […]

We had a busy weekend with family from out of town and at least a portion of the Austin City Limits music festival, so I didn’t do my usual Sunday cooking. I made a lovely dinner, though, with a variation on Mark Bittman’s Mediterranean Chicken Thighs, some rich and cheesy polenta with garlic, and sauteed […]

Hey, sorry for falling behind for a couple of days! We had some houseguests and related excitement, and since I’m trying to blog for #31days by the seat of my pants, I got a bit behind. The comeback starts now. On Saturday we went the Austin City Limits music festival and overall we had a […]

The last two batches of black beans I’ve made have been dry, by which I mean not drunken, and this makes me sad. For years I’ve been making my black beans with a healthy dose of Dos Equis, Negro Modelo, or Baltika and now I can’t. A friend mentioned gluten-free beers to me a couple […]

My Best Recipe is definitely becoming a series! If you haven’t read my original post, the idea of a “best recipe” is one that is consistent, uses just a handful of staple ingredients, is easy to remember, and comes together with a minimum of fuss. This granola recipe fits nearly all those requirements, but it does […]

Or honey-almond granola. Or honey-coconut granola. Or honey-cranberry granola. Or honey-flax granola. Basically, you can add almost anything (and everything) you like and this granola is divine. I won’t post the recipe right now, but I’ll add it in the next few days, so you’ll just have to come back. I made this granola all […]

I had hoped to share a gluten-free version of my favorite oatmeal cookies today as part of the Cookie Bites series, but time got away from me and I wasn’t able to test out the recipe with a gluten-free flour blend. I promise a recipe for these in the near future, no matter how experimental […]

Today’s cookie recipe was given to me by a baker friend who took pity on my total lack of gingersnaps while we were living in Uzbekistan (pictured bottom right). Most of the key ingredients for gingersnaps are easily available there, with the exception of molasses, and fortunately we squirreled a couple bottles away when we […]

Over the next couple of days I’m going to share some awesome cookie recipes, starting with my all-time number one favorite cookie in the world. In 1998 I moved to San Antonio and became addicted to Central Market‘s Chocolate Crispy Cookies. For nine months I bought one package of six cookies for $4.99 each week. […]

This last week has been super busy and as a result we’ve eaten out a bit more often than usual. While I normally love trying new places, this gluten-free thing means I have to do a fair bit of research before heading out for a meal. I’m starting to learn (and remember) which restaurants have […]

Last weekend I was lucky enough to win free admission to the Austin Food Blogger Alliance‘s Photocamp thanks to Mad Betty, who ran a drawing on her site. I learned a few new skills that I’ve been trying to put into practice over the last several days, skills I now call fauxtoshopping. I think that […]

Sunday we met up with with our longtime friends Mitch and Donna and their darling two-year old Zella. It was great fun to hang out and catch up after a few busy months of not seeing each other. Zella brought her giraffe mask and we played a bit of peekaboo. Only later did I realize […]

I haven’t talked about it here yet, but about a month ago I had to change my diet because of a health condition and begin eating gluten-free. In some ways it has been a radical shift, and in other ways it’s not noticeable at all. My friend Kelsey, who blogs at Heart Knit Home, encouraged […]

I was working all day, building a site for a wonderful event in San Diego called Cake Bake, and I missed the news earlier in the day that Marcella Hazan passed away today at the age of 89. Hazan was a force in the kitchen, and her influence on Italian cuisine in America is impossible […]

If ever asked, I would be hard-pressed to say what my very best recipe is, but this would be one of the handful that would leap to mind. In our foodie-obsessed culture it sometimes seems that the more retro or the more avant-garde a dish is, the more respect it commands. For me, the idea […]

Last month I met Stephanie McClenny, founder and creator of Confituras, at a class she taught on preserving peaches. Stephanie is the creative force behind the stunning array of jams, preserves, chutneys, and pickled fruits on offer at Austin’s farmers’ markets and specialty food stores. She uses only the freshest local fruits in her confitures, […]

  A few weeks ago Paul and I went to dinner at Eden East at Springdale Farm. Springdale is one of the urban farms on Austin’s eastside, and it’s well-known for the fantastic produce that comes from its tiny plot of less than five acres. We were enchanted by the picnic tables set under the […]

About five years ago I had my first piece of food writing published in the magazine PresenTense, put out by the innovative Jewish organization of the same name. The piece was part of an issue that looked at the ways young Jews were exploring issues concerning food in a day and age very different from […]

A million years ago when I lived my L.A. life I had a favorite meal that was hard to come by: potato and rajas tacos at Border Grill in Santa Monica. As a poor grad student Border Grill was out of my reach except for the most special of occasions, so I bought the cookbook. […]

Real talk: aguas frescas are amazing and I’m admitting to a mild obsession. My love of the agua fresca really took off in Thailand of all places, where you can find tropical fruit “shakes” nearly anywhere for the high price of about 30 baht or $1. When I first saw “shake” on the menu I […]

It’s barely mid-June, but deep in the heart of Texas it’s hot everyday and the locally-grown fruits and vegetables are rolling into the markets, tables groaning under the bounty of summer. With Father’s Day upon us, it was time to pick up corn, peppers, squash, tomatoes, and ‘shrooms and fire up the grill. We mighta’ […]

Keeping Passover in Uzbekistan is…a challenge. It should come as no surprise that Manischewitz and Streit’s don’t have local factories, so getting a hold of the Passover products we’ve learned to rely on in the U.S. is a bit of a challenge. Last year I asked my mom to send us a care package of […]

Spring is upon us here in Uzbekistan. The spring holiday Navruz (which translates to New Day) is nearly here, coming with the equinox. Next Monday Passover will be here, and then Easter. Spring is definitely springing! For us, the arrival of Passover always means shifting the way we eat. It’s not just about forgoing bread […]

Back in January we took a much-needed long weekend trip to Istanbul. It’s a relatively short 5.5 hour flight from Tashkent on Turkish Airlines, and we gain time flying there, so it’s a very nice option. We found ourselves a bit light on the internet