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Main Courses

Ratatouille Not Twee

The Fourth of July calls for red, white and blue. But if it’s independence we’re celebrating, why not red, green, yellow and purple? Ratatouille is a southern European, mid-summer, vegetarian casserole, ideal for when you return from the farmers market with way too much. The chickpeas make this a one-pot meal; bread crumbs are to […]

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Main Courses

Gazpacho Summer Soup

Update, August 2020: As much as I love this soup, I tend to make it just once a summer. The recipe is both long and large. I’ve been halving it in recent years so why not just give the smaller amounts? Less thinking that way. The original post follows. Gazpacho for Four, Easier than Before […]

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Condiments

You Say Ganouj, I Say Ghanouj

Or baba ganoush or baba ghanoush. Baba ganouj is a first cousin to hummus dip (mashed spicy chickpeas), but with eggplant as the base. For shmearing on pita wedges or vegetable sticks. Mollie Katzen in Still Life With Menu likes it as a pasta sauce. Any kind of eggplant works; the common jumbo globe has […]

Categories
Bake

Granola, Better Homemade

Using two cookbooks for one oft-used recipe, mainly the penciled notes in each, finally got old. It’s time to write it out. Is it mine, or theirs (see footnote)? A now-retired newspaper food editor once told me not to worry: “At conferences, we all agree, if you change more than the amounts of salt and […]

Categories
Bake

Irish-style Soda Bread

Traditional Irish soda bread consists just of flour, buttermilk, salt and baking soda. Americans added sugar, raisins and sometimes caraway seed. Soda bread gets stale in a day and crumbles when you try to slice it. The New York Times in March 2007 discussed this here , with an improved recipe here, which makes a […]

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Kook Cooks Life Lessons

The 4 Gram Coat

Copyright 2007 Ben S. Pollock It’s overeating season, followed by Resolve Month beginning on New Year’s Day. I eat healthier than some but know I fall short. Dr. Arthur Agatston emphasizes whole carbs and not too many of them, especially the simple or sweet ones, and his South Beach Diet has been the easiest plan […]