Cardamom Kitchen

Caramelized Onions and Swiss Cheese Sandwiches

2012-01-30T15:57:00.045-06:00

I grew up at a time when food companies were aggressively working their way into homes across America. Like many children of the 70s & 80s, I still remember the catchy jingles that were sandwiched between The Flintstones and Looney Tunes to snare young viewers. Our family ate Indian scratch cooking nearly every night, but my parents occasionally allowed us to indulge in Oreo Cookies, Apple Jacks, and other packaged foods.

During the day, my sister and I ate in the school cafeteria where most meals were cooked from scratch. One of the lunch ladies was Italian-America and once a week ate her family's recipe for spaghetti with meat sauce.

I always looked forward to field trips. We were required to pack a lunch and I got to sneak a peek at the things my classmates ate at home. Many kids retrieved baloney sandwiches from their lunch box. I longed to bite into a layer of the oddly uniform meat that tasted like hot dogs. But mom was fiercely opposed to baloney. She always made me a ham sandwich topped with lettuce, a slice of tomato and a spoonful of mustard.

I rarely eat meat now. So my days of ogling at baloney dangling in the refrigerated aisle are over. When I want to warm up this time of year, I make French onion soup. But if I'm too busy to cook up soup, I toast some French bread and layer it a heaping spoonful of caramelized onions and Swiss cheese.

Uppumavu

2012-01-06T09:29:00.021-06:00

MOM'S UPPUMAVU
(COPYRIGHT 2012)

This is one of my favorite South Indian breakfast dishes. Imagine a moist, robustly seasoned couscous dish. Traditionally, each serving is topped with banana slices or a fried egg.

INGREDIENTS

Serves 4 to 6

2 cups semolina or 2 1/2 minute Cream of Wheat
2 tablespoons canola oil
1/2 teaspoon mustard seeds
2 tablespoons urad dhal
1 1/2 cups finely diced onion
1 jalapeno, seeded and quartered
1 tablespoon minced ginger
20 curry leaves
2 teaspoons salt
4 cups of water

INSTRUCTIONS

Put cream of wheat in a skillet. Heat to medium and dry roast, stirring frequently to ensure even cooking. Remove from heat when the cream of wheat turns golden (about 15 minutes).

Heat oil in a large saucepan on medium heat. Add mustard seeds. Cook until mustard seeds begin to pop. Add urad dhal and cook until it becomes medium brown. Add onion, jalapeno, ginger and curry leaves.

Cook until onion softens and becomes totally translucent. (This is very important step as the onion should not be crunchy.)

Add water and salt. Stir. Increase heat to high and bring to a boil. Boil for 2 minutes.

Remove from heat. Slowly pour in cream of wheat, stirring constantly. (The cream of wheat will spit and sputtered.)

Cover and set aside for at least 5 minutes to allow the cream of wheat to soften completely.

Serve with bananas or top each serving with a fried egg. Uppamavu can also be eaten with small side of hot pickle.

Green Bean Thoran

2012-01-05T17:00:00.032-06:00

In the winter, I thank my lucky stars for green beans. The grocery store varieties taste remarkably similar to their farmer's market cousins. (If only that were true of the tomatoes. I stay far away from them.)

On most occasions, I give beans a quick stir-fry with a dash of garlic and some salt. But during a recent trip home, my mom spoiled me with her much more full-flavored green bean thoran. Like other thorans, the dish gets much of its richness from unsweetened coconut. What makes green bean thoran really unique though is the way the beans are cut in short segments. The shape offers a little more chew and a little more give in every bite. Sounds strange, but I swear it's true.

Traditionally, the final step of the green bean thoran recipe calls for flavoring oil with mustard seeds and sauteing the steamed beans in the oil. My mom (who hates to cook, but always tends to my belly) suggested I share this more simple yet still yummy version! Enjoy!

GREEN BEAN THORAN
(COPYRIGHT 2012)

Serves 4 to 6

INGREDIENTS

1/2 pound green beans
1/4 cup finely chopped onions
1/2 a jalapeno, seeded and roughly chopped
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1/4 freshly ground cumin
2 tablespoons shredded unsweetened coconut
Salt to taste
Dash of turmeric
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons water
1 teaspoon coconut oil or canola

INSTRUCTIONS

Pull ends off of beans.

Line four to five beans together on a cutting board.

Slice into very short segments.

Place beans, onion, pepper, garlic, cumin, coconut, salt, turmeric and water in a saucepan. Stir.

Heat on high until water begins to boil. Lower heat to medium and cook for 2 minutes. Stir.

Cook for another 3 minutes (or until water has evaporated).

Mix in oil.

Serve with white rice and yogurt.

Decorating Cutout Cookie Dough

2011-12-22T20:30:00.051-06:00

In an episode of Family Ties, Mallory predicts that heaven is like an enormous mall which never closes. I remember thinking that was a frightening concept (long before it was possible to lose an eye over the latest Xbox). As a cookie lover, I envision heaven as one big bakery with a vast variety of sprinkles and cookie cutters.

This time of year, I always set aside time out to make cutout cookies. I love decorating them with royal icing, but know it's possible to create exquisite cookies without ever pulling out a piping bag. All it requires is some cutters, sprinkles and your untapped creative juices. The first step is to cut a basic shape from your cookie dough. Here I used a snowflake. Then think about ways to embellish the basic pattern. Reach for your smallest cutters, but also other objects (thinking outside the box).

I've long admired the intricately decorated snowflake cookies that are displayed in high-end home goods catalogs. This year, I set out to recreate them. Using a tiny star cookie cutter, I marked the center of each cookie. Then I pressed piping tips around the star shape. The rounded tips produce a delicate circular pattern. You can also make circles using the tip of a straw. Look around your house and find a way to re-purpose other objects. Create patterns with the tongs of a fork. Use the tip of a knife.

Once you have cut patterns into the cookie dough, use sprinkles to add texture and color. I pressed shimmery dragees into my snowflake cookies to catch the light.

A few years ago, I bought a patterned rolling pin at a super sale. The design reminded me of Dr. Seuss's books. I'm pretty sure it's meant for imprinting fondant, but I decided to test it out on cookie dough. I coated it with a generous layer of flour, dusted it off a touch and then pressed in over some dough I had rolled out. It left a wonderful whimsical pattern. I used cutters to shape cookies out of the patterned canvass. The lesson? If you have any tools for decorating fondant, don't overlook them!

Browned Butter Cardamom Cookies

2011-12-15T08:17:00.078-06:00

By the end of November, I begin nudging my parents to buy a freshly harvested evergreen from the local hardware store. That may seem awfully early, but I know it will take several weeks for them to act. In the meantime, I drag a 50 pound box out of storage and construct a fake spruce in my living room, branch by lettered branch.

Ever since I left for college a tree has become optional in our family Christmas celebration. When I spent a year in Japan in my early 20s, my parents decided not to bother with one at all. Miles away, I celebrated Christ's birth with a tiny artificial tree that I found while wandering around Kamakura. When I returned to the states, I bequeathed the tree to the American teacher that replaced me.

I can do without a single present at Christmas, but somehow the idea of not decorating a tree makes me despair. I love the ritual of clearing a space for one in my parent's kitchen and the debate that follows about whether it's standing upright or not. I also love passing homemade cookies around the table while the tree's lights flicker softly in the background.

BROWN BUTTER CARDAMOM COOKIES

Years ago, a kitchen savvy neighbor told my mom that some of the best recipes are the ones that food companies use to promote their products. So when I found Land O' Lakes recipe for Brown Buttered Cardamom Cookies I rushed to try it. I love the rich caramel-like aroma of browned butter so preparing the cookies was almost as enjoyable as eating them.

Fudgy Rocky Road Bars

2011-12-10T20:10:00.068-06:00

When I was in high school, it was cool to cruise the mall. It had a movie theater, an arcade and a Baskin Robbins store across from a circular fountain ringed with seating. I often made my way there with a friend on Friday nights. We would treat ourselves to ice cream at the end of the evening

Despite the choice of 31 flavors, my friend always ordered a single scoop of vanilla. I, on the other hand, was slowly working my way through every concoction they offered. Pink bubble gum, strawberry cheesecake, orange sherbet. Admittedly, there were some doozies along the way (thankfully nothing with bacon). But I believed all great adventures come with some missteps.

Exasperated, one night I urged her to try something new.

When we got to the counter she paused for a moment.

"Could I have a scoop of French vanilla?"

I have no memory of French vanilla, but over the years I delighted in cone after cone of Rocky Road.

I loved uncovering the squishy marshmallows and crunchy almonds buried beneath the decadent chocolate. When I saw this recipe for Fudgy Rocky Road Bars, I found myself longing for the mall and mullets and the gentle give of marshmallows.

My two cents worth on this recipe...

I swapped a bar of Ghirardelli semisweet chocolate for the chocolate chips and it was delicious.

I had trouble spreading the marshmallow cream over the almonds and graham crackers and advise dolloping it on top instead. The recipe calls for swirling the marshmallow cream and chocolate at the end so you'll have a second chance to spread it out evenly.

This is a rich fudge-like dessert. (It calls for nearly a pound of chocolate so I made half the recipe to test it out). I suggest cutting the bars into small pieces. Heat a sharp knife by dipping it in warm water, dry it and then use it to form the bars.

Cardamom Coconut Cookies

2011-12-04T12:32:00.026-06:00

CARDAMOM COCONUT COOKIES
(COPYRIGHT 2011)

Makes 30 cookies

INGREDIENTS

1 cup and 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup butter, at room temperature
1/4 cup and 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
1/4 cup and 2 tablespoons brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
3/4 teaspoon ground cardamom
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1 large egg
1/2 cup raisins, chopped
1/3 cup cashew nuts, chopped
1/3 cup unsweetened shredded coconut

INSTRUCTIONS

Heat oven to 350 degrees.

In a small bowl, whisk flour, baking soda and salt. Set aside.

In a medium bowl, beat butter with a hand mixer until smooth. Slowly add granulated sugar and brown sugar. Beat until light and fluffy.

Add vanilla extract, cardamom, cloves and cinnamon. Beat for 1 minute.

Add egg and beat until incorporated.

With the hand mixer on slow, gradually beat in flour mixture. Add raisins, cashews and coconut. Beat until just incorporated.

Spoon dough onto baking sheets two inches apart.

Bake 8 to 10 minutes or until golden brown.

Roasted Acorn Squash Seeds

2011-11-21T08:02:00.034-06:00

When my younger cousin was in grade school, her mom cooked the holiday turkey. After Thanksgiving, she and her classmates would exchange stories about the gigantic bird, mashed potatoes and other fixings that graced the table. For some reason the turkey her family ate never seemed to match the enormity of the ones her friends described. When she asked her mom about the discrepancy, her mom reassured her.

"I always make a turkey."

Soon after my cousin learned to read, she walked into the kitchen as her mom was prepping the turkey. Skeptical, she cross examined her mom about the bird. Her mom insisted that it was indeed a turkey. Unconvinced, my cousin dragged a chair to their kitchen counter.

Gazing down at the bird, she read the label out loud: "C-H-I-C-K-E-N!"

I felt redeemed when I heard about my aunt's mischief. I love to host guests during the holiday, but hate roasting turkey. It's cumbersome and boring. Luckily, a relative is hosting Thanksgiving this year. So I can devote my attention to preparing hor d'oeuvres, sides and dessert.

Turning to the farmer's market for inspiration as I had done all summer, I recently carried home several acorn squash. The squash were lovely roasted with a thin layer of olive oil. But it was the seeds which tasted like freshly made popcorn that drew me into the kitchen all afternoon.

ROASTED ACORN SQUASH SEEDS

Rinse seeds and layer on a paper towel to air dry.

Heat oven to 300 degrees.

Sprinkle with olive oil and season with salt.

Cook until seeds turn light brown.

Cranberry Spice Muffins

2011-11-16T19:39:00.045-06:00

CRANBERRY SPICE MUFFINS
(COPYRIGHT 2011)

Makes 12 muffins

INGREDIENTS

1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 teaspoon ground cardamom
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons packed brown sugar
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
3/4 cup chopped pecans
1 cup fresh cranberries, chopped
1/2 cup butter, melted and cooled
1 large egg
1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons whole milk

INSTRUCTIONS

Heat oven to 375 degrees.

Line muffin tin with baking cups.

In a large bowl, whisk together all-purpose flour, wheat flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cardamom, ginger, cinnamon and granulated sugar. Scatter brown sugar over flour mixture with fingers, then whisk to incorporate.

Mix in pecans and cranberries with a spoon.

In a small bowl, gently beat egg with a fork. Mix in milk and butter.

Pour wet ingredients over dry ingredients. Mix until just combined. It's a thick batter.

Fill muffin tin.

Bake for 20 to 25 minutes.

Blackened Catfish

2011-11-14T12:39:00.020-06:00

There are many misconceptions that keep people from stepping into the kitchen. One is that it takes a lot of time and effort to get a tasty meal on the table. Admittedly, there are some dishes that require a real time commitment (like souffle). But there are hundreds of other mouthwatering dishes that can be prepared before the delivery makes it to the front door. Blackened catfish is one of them.

It's simple really. Just pull together a rub with a few herbs and spices, coat some fish and pan fry it. I love this recipe from Gourmet. The last time I made it, I was out of thyme and too lazy to run to the store. It was still full of flavor.

If you're really short on time, buy a pre-made Cajun spice rub. I recommend picking one up from a gourmet grocery store like Whole Foods or a spice shop if possible. Beware of rubs that are packed with salt or full of flavorless fillers like corn starch.

Steam a side of peas. Set the table. I promise, you'll enjoy dinner.

Carrot Thoren

2011-10-30T18:39:00.010-05:00

CARROT THOREN

This South Indian stir-fry features freshly grated carrots, toasted mustard seeds and coconut which grows abundantly in Kerala. Mustard seeds jump about after sitting in hot oil so be ready to move on with the recipe when they start to shoot out of the pot. Quick cooking the carrots produces a colorful, crunchy dish. Remove them from the heat before they fully soften.

Serves 6 to 8

INGREDIENTS

2 1/2 tablespoons olive oil or coconut oil
3/4 teaspoon black or brown mustard seeds
1 dried red chili
1 cup diced onions
1 pound carrots, shredded
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon turmeric
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground cumin
1/2 cup shredded unsweetened coconut

INSTRUCTIONS

Heat oil in a saute pan over medium heat. Add mustard seeds.

As soon as mustard seeds start to pop, add dried chili and onion. Cook until onion becomes translucent.

Increase heat to medium-high. Add shredded carrots, salt, turmeric and cumin. Stir to coat with onion mixture. Cook for 2 minutes, stirring constantly.

Mix in coconut and cook for another 2 minutes.

Pumpkin Whoopie Pies

2011-10-22T11:42:00.039-05:00

When the trees on my street shed their leaves, I go digging for pureed pumpkin. I usually find a can or two stacked near the cannellini beans that I have ignored. But the brisk air and jack-o-laterns scowling from stoops help to refocus my attention. Pumpkin pairs perfectly with cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, ginger and other warm spices. So I perfume the squash with the aromatics at every chance I get.

This year I started my pumpkin marathon with Matt Lewis's recipe for Pumpkin Whoopie Pies with Cream-Cheese Filling. It calls for oil which helps to produce pillow soft cakes. I recommend reducing the cloves to 3/4 of a tablespoon. A whole tablespoon leaves an unpleasant bite. Also, if you can, chill the pumpkin puree before adding it to the batter as it keeps the cakes from spreading when baked.

I browned (and cooled) the butter for the cream-cheese filling, which adds a warm, nutty flavor.

Be sure to beat the butter thoroughly and sift the powdered sugar to keep the filling free of lumps (and bumps). Also, blend in the powdered sugar in several batches.

Cardamom Cutout Cookies

2011-10-15T07:13:00.062-05:00

When I was four, our family traveled to Thunder Bay to visit another Indian family. Just before dusk, I managed to get lost in the Rao's subdivision. One of their neighbors heard me whimpering "Mommy, mommy" to the family cat who was sprawled out in the driveway. I had long eyelashes, thick black hair and a tiny gold bangle on each wrist. She decided I must be related to the Raos who were the only Indians on the block. To test her suspicion, she asked what I liked to eat. If I said curry, she'd know who to call.

I responded with cookies and eggs.

Thankfully, she phoned the Raos anyway.

Cookie Monster's was my favorite Sesame Street character. I fantasized about hosting the shaggy blue puppet in our home.

Fast forward more years than I care to admit and cookies are still among the foods I cherish the most. (And, for me, "Mmmmm cookie!" monster continues to be one of the loveliest beings on television.)

I have my own kitchen. When fall begins, I like to make cookies with pureed pumpkin, cinnamon and other warm spices. I also begin baking cutout cookies - a hobby that lasts through the new year.

My favorite recipe for sugar cookies calls for a teaspoon of ground cardamom and a quarter cup of honey. If that sounds enticing to you, bake up a batch.

The Season for Chili

2011-10-12T13:56:00.032-05:00

In autumn, chili becomes my comfort food of choice. I love the smell of sauteed onions and cumin blooming in the kitchen and the way it's such an accommodating dish. I throw in vegetables I happen to have on hand - carrots, red bell peppers, a handful of corn for crunch. Some days I use pinto beans, on others I add a mix of kidney beans and chickpeas. Cheese and cilantro make for wonderful garnishes, but I never sweat it if I don't have them around.

VEGETABLE CHILI

A few tips...

My cupboard is full of spice jars. If I had to choose one to take to a deserted Island, I'd reach past the coriander and cardamom for the cumin. I'm so enamored by its earthy, lemon-infused aroma that I feel remorseful cleaning my spice grinder after I blend it. Cumin brings a real finesse to chili, and if you've never ground it yourself, you're in for a sensual treat.

When fresh tomatoes disappear from the farmer's market, I cook with a supply that I stash in my freezer or I buy them canned. I recently used Muir Glen's chopped tomatoes in a pot of chili and was amazed by their full flavor. Muir Glen is a little more expensive than other brands, but well worth the extra pennies. Watch for it to go on sale.

Some times, I add roasted bell peppers to my chili for a smoky flavor. Be sure to wash them carefully if you decide to toss them in or opt for organic as their skins are doused with pesticides.

Serves 4

INGREDIENTS

2 tablespoons olive oil
3/4 cup roughly chopped onion
1 1/2 teaspoon slivered garlic
1 tablespoon freshly ground cumin
1 teaspoon chili powder
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1 cup roasted red pepper, roughly chopped
1/2 cup raw or canned corn
1 15-ounce can pinto beans
1 14.5-ounce diced tomatoes
1 teaspoon salt
Pepper Jack cheese (optional)
Chopped cilantro (optional)

INSTRUCTIONS

Heat oil in a medium-sized pot on medium.

Add onions and saute for five minutes. Add garlic, cumin, chili powder and oregano. Stir and cook for another 5 minutes.

Add red peppers, corn, beans and diced tomatoes. Stir to coat with oil and spices. Stir in salt.

Cover and reduce heat to low. Cook for 25 minutes.

Top with cheese and cilantro (optional).

Siddo's Birthday Cake

2011-09-25T18:57:00.073-05:00

In June, my nephew Sidd called from Seattle.

"Susie Auntie, can you make my birthday cake?" He was on the cusp of turning eight."

"Of course, Siddo. What kind of cake do you want?"

"I'd like it to be square."

"O.k., but what flavor should it be?" To me, this is the all-important question. "Chocolate, vanilla, strawberry?"

"Chocolate," Sidd replied firmly.

After years of baking, I've come to recognize the power of a homemade cake. Truth be told, I can't recall any of the gifts I received at Sidd's age, but I can still picture the butterfly birthday cake my mom set before me.

For the next several weeks, Sidd and I continued to chat about the cake.

"Susie Auntie, I know what I want on my birthday cake. It's something very old and something that you can use to buy things."

A riddle. I liked the challenge. Before I could respond, Sidd began again.

"Think about it, Susie Auntie. Do you need a clue?"

"Siddo, do you want it to have a dinosaur?"

"Yes!" he replied. "You're right Susie Auntie. Now try to guess the other thing."

"Could it be money, Sidd?"

"Yes, money!" In the last few years, Sidd has developed a fascination with cash that no one wants to claim.

Putting our imaginations together, we talked about frosting a sheet cake with green trim to resemble a dollar bill and replacing Jefferson's profile with the head shot of a dinosaur. But after more thought, Sidd asked if I could make a cake with a giganotosaurus counting money.

"What's a giganotosaurus?" I asked naively.

My oldest nephew Paul picked up the other phone

"Susie Auntie, it's one of the biggest dinosaurs ever!!!"

I would have to Google it. G-i-g-a-n-o-t-o-s-a-u-r-u-s.

In a few weeks, Paul, Sidd and I were in my parent's kitchen measuring out ingredients. Flour flew, milk splashed and sugar crystals scattered. I poured the glossy batter into floured pans and passed them the mixing bowl. Conversation slowed as they slid their fingers over its surface, creating an abstract silver pattern.

We stirred together a butter cream frosting and Paul and Sidd scooped out a spoonful before I started to trim the cake.

"Mmmm...that's so good!"

By the time we got to the dinosaur, they were fazed by all the kitchen work. They chased each other in and out of the room while I sculpted its body together.

In the end, the cake was a little lopsided, but it possessed layers of meaning like a handwritten note. Paul pronounced it the best birthday cake ever and Sidd said that he wouldn't sell the dinosaur even if he were offered a million dollars. Having interned at a fancy-smancy bakery, I could pick out all its imperfections. As an aunt, I knew we had crafted a cake that would be remembered for years.

MODELING CHOCOLATE

I love to decorate cakes and cupcakes with modeling chocolate. It's easy to make and tastes like a high-end Tootsie roll. Just be sure good chocolate like Ghirardelli, Guittard or Lindt. If it's a really special occasion, splurge on Valrhona or Amedei. I use this recipe as a guide. If it's too hard to knead after you pull it out of the refrigerator, microwave it for a few seconds. Keep in mind that it hardens as it dries.

The Last Day of Summer

2011-09-23T18:56:00.048-05:00

I am conflicted when my dahlias finally open their petals with the panache of frozen fireworks. By the time they appear, much of the community garden is in need of rest. The corn flowers stoop. The zinnias bend their necks. The oak trees begin to shed their scalloped leaves. One-by-one, they hit the ground brown and crunchy. With autumn on its way, the landscape is inevitably being drained of color.

I have a passion for fiery fall leaves, but I am never ready to give up the comfort of the flowers that grow in my neighborhood. It is particularly difficult knowing that in Chicago the brilliance of autumn gives way to weeks of gloomy gray skies. I guess it's the price Nature exacts upon those that want to experience all four seasons.

Thankfully, the farmer's market is still full of color. For added comfort, I remind myself that autumn brings a stretch holidays that feature food front and center.

SWEET POTATO AND PINTO BEAN TACOS

Serves 4 to 6

INGREDIENTS

For the sweet potatoes:

2 cups diced sweet potatoes
1 tablespoon olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste

For beans:

2 1/2 tablespoons olive oil
1/3 cup finely sliced red onion
1 1/2 teaspoons slivered garlic
1/4 teaspoon cumin
3/4 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon salt
8 ounces white mushrooms, finely sliced
1 15-ounce can pinto beans

For guacamole:

1 medium avocado, seeded and peeled
1 small lime
Salt and pepper to taste
1/4 cup finely diced tomato
1 tablespoon minced cilantro

INSTRUCTIONS

Heat oven to 400 degrees.

Cover a baking sheet with aluminum foil. Spread potatoes over foil. Sprinkle with olive oil, salt and pepper. Rub potatoes to make sure they are coated evenly with oil.

Bake until fork tender, about 10 minutes. Set aside.

Heat oil for beans in a saute pan over medium heat. Add onions and garlic. Cook until onions soften, about 5 minutes. Add cumin, oregano and salt. Cook for 2 minutes.

Increase heat to medium-high and add mushrooms. Cook until mushrooms soften, stirring off and on.

Lower heat to medium. Add beans. Stir. Cook for 10 minutes. Remove from heat.

On a quarter plate, mash avocado with a fork. Squeeze lime over avocado.

Add salt and pepper. Mix with a spoon.

Add onions, tomatoes and cilantro. Mix together.

Tomato Rice

2011-09-11T18:37:00.045-05:00

My mom shared the gloomy prediction on a sunny day in June.

"Lucille used to say that the first frost falls six weeks after the cicadas begin to sing." Unwilling to ponder the possibility, I tucked the information in the far reaches of my mind.

About a month later, I heard their first chorus. It had a pulsing rhythm that seemed mechanized. Summer after summer, I had been fascinated by the ebb and flow of the cicadas' melody. So much so that when I lived in Japan my sister sent me a recording on cassette tape. But that day I felt terrorized by it. Hadn't summer just started?

By early August, my rabbit began shedding her coat. I found tufts of strawberry blond fur on the couch, the carpet and in the windowsill where she loves to perch. "Great???," I thought. "It seems, Honey is in cahoots with those noisy insects."

Unable to cope with the onset of fall, I began sharing the prediction with my neighbors.

"Did you know that it's supposed to frost six weeks after you first hear the cicadas?"

"Really, when did they start?"

"In the middle of July."

They would shoot me a look of disbelief that quickly gave way to weary acceptance.

"That's Chicago for you."

Thankfully the six-week point came and went without the appearance of ice crystals. The sun kept shining. The cicadas kept singing and Honey sported a shabby spectrum of blond.

Last week I asked a flower vendor at the farmer's market about the cicadas and their foretelling of fall. He gave me a big smile and in a humble voice said, "There's no way. The first frost coincides with the full moon and won't be here until the end of September."

And in a few simple words, he redeemed the buzzing creatures.

MOM'S TOMATO RICE

This recipe is wonderful with fresh summer tomatoes. (Be sure to store them on your counter top, not in the fridge where they get mealy.) It starts with a saute of onion, ginger and garlic, the "Holy Trinity" of Kerala cooking, and calls for turmeric, another very commonly used spice added in "dashes". The hot pepper rounds out the flavors and I think of it as my mom's secret weapon. Remove the seeds to dial down the heat. Lastly, the women in my family swear by Riceland Extra Long-Grain Rice.

Serves 6 to 8

INGREDIENTS

2 teaspoons olive oil
1 cup diced onions
1 1/2 teaspoon minced ginger
1 1/2 teaspoon chopped garlic
1/2 - 1 jalapeno, slice lengthwise (depending on the heat)
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground cumin
Dash of turmeric
1 teaspoon salt
2 cups diced tomatoes
1 cup extra long-grain rice
2 cups water
1 teaspoon lemon juice

INSTRUCTIONS

Heat oil in a medium saute pan on medium heat.

Add onion, ginger, garlic and jalapeno. Saute until onions become translucent.

Stir in cumin, turmeric and salt. Cook for 1 minute.

Add tomatoes and cooks until they begin to soften, about 5 minutes.

Add rice and stir until thoroughly combined. Cook for 5 minute, stir occasionally.

Add water and lemon juice. Stir. Bring to a boil.

Reduce heat to low and cover. Cook until rice is tender, about 15 minutes.

Salmon and Dill Sandwich

2011-08-14T21:01:00.061-05:00

The taste of fresh dill and just harvested cucumbers remind me of Elizabeth Buhler. As a child, I loved watching her tend to her garden, her feet firmly planted in the black Manitoba soil. A jar of her pickled cucumbers ended up in our cupboard, and by late summer, crab apples from the large tree in her yard were strewn across the counter. On Saturday mornings, soon after my sister and I had started an odyssey with The Jetsons, Mrs. Buhler would drop by with cinnamon rolls still warm from the oven. Not one to waste, she packed them in an old cereal box laid flat on its side. During road trips, we traveled with loaves of her homemade bread.

In January, Mrs. Buhler died just short of her 112th birthday. During her remarkably long life, she withstood the terrors of Russian revolution and the unchartered plains of southern Manitoba. She raised six children and left behind 23 grandchildren, 55 great-grandchildren and 39 great-great grandchildren. All the while, she scratch cooked. In her 70s, she made my mom's spicy sambar for her Thanksgiving dinner guests.

As one journalist noted, hers was an "Extraordinary Ordinary Life." Each time I shape a cinnamon roll from the recipe Mrs. Buhler penned in a curry-cued script, her spirit is with me.

SALMON AND DILL SANDWICH

Serves 4

INGREDIENTS

1-14.75 ounce can Alaskan Pink Salmon
1 teaspoon finely minced dill
1 cup diced cucumbers
1/4 cup diced scallions
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
2 teaspoons olive oil
8 slices of bread
A heap of arugula

INSTRUCTIONS

Drain water from salmon and invert into a medium sized bowl. Break up with a fork.

Add dill, cucumbers, scallions, black pepper, salt, garlic powder and olive oil. Mix together.

Layer on bread and top with a handful of arugula.

Tomato and Mozzarella Sandwich

2011-08-12T10:38:00.030-05:00

This time of year, tomatoes can be found ripening all over the community garden. The squirrels, birds and other critters vie for their fair share. So it's important to act fast if you want to eat any of vine-ripened fruit. I planted three heirloom tomato plants the year I got my plot. I hoped to freeze enough to last me over the winter, but ended up with half a dozen or so. The rest were poked by birds or plucked by squirrels who left a trail of the half eaten fruit into bushes. One morning, I saw a squirrel grasping a grape tomato pole to pole and feasting on it like a cob of corn. It was a humbling experience to have worked so hard for such a small harvest. But it was also a testament to the fine taste of the animals in the garden who find no reason to pass up the full-flavor of summer tomatoes. I resolved to raise a larger crop the next year.

I rely on tomatoes for many dishes, including South Indian staples that require sauteing an onion, some ginger and garlic and tossing in a cup or so. In the summer, I love to eat tomatoes raw so I often use them in salads or sandwiches. Last week, I got a lovely log of mozzarella cheese and decided to throw together an Italian-style sandwich.

I sprinkled a few slices of the cheese with salt, black pepper, garlic powder and a dash of fine French olive oil. After it had marinated for about 30 minutes, I placed the cheese on a whole wheat roll and layered it with a few leaves of fresh basil and oregano which added dimension.

Try to find fresh oregano if you've never had it. It has a subtle yet refined taste and provides more anti-oxidants that any other herb. Also, if all you have is mature basil consider blanching it as suggested by Saveur to temper the strong taste of licorice. Next year, I plan to plant my basil later in the spring so I can feast on tomatoes and younger basil.

Finally, I chopped up a handful of cherry tomatoes and layered them on top. I ended up with a sandwich so full-flavored that I couldn't resist eating half of it standing next to the cutting board.

Sweet Cherry-Almond Bars

2011-07-24T06:36:00.067-05:00

I recently bumped into a friend at the grocery store who was heading to the farmer's market in Madison, Wisconsin. Gung-ho to hear it, I told her that Madison has the largest farmer's market in the U.S.

Lifting her eyebrows, she asked "Really? I thought it would be San Francisco or something."

Jokingly, I responded, "You snotty, snotty East Coaster" and we both laughed.

What is it about the Midwest that makes it seem podunk to people from the coasts? During my five plus years out East, I spent a great of time debunking stereotypes about the region. Friends and family living on the West Coast seem to harbor many of the same misconceptions. In fact, when my sister was working on her master’s thesis, an uncle visiting from California actually asked one of her advisers if he liked meat and potatoes. It didn't go over well.

Is it that the region's greatest inventions - the airplane, the skyscraper, the assembly line, the brownie - are so commonplace. Or that the low-key approachability Midwesterners bring to the table seems naive? I really want to know.

On a recent family vacation in Michigan, I had the fortune of enjoying another great contribution from the Midwest: cherries. (Michigan produces more tart cherries than any other state. Its bounty equates to nearly three-fourths of the total annual production). At my sister's suggestion, we stopped at The Cherry Republic in Ann Arbor which has the tastiest dried cherries that I've ever eaten. It also sells chocolate covered cherries, cherry salsa, cherry jam and cherry butter. I smeared so much of cherry butter on the sample crackers that I should have been ashamed. But it has such a comforting homemade flavor that I felt as though I was in my own kitchen. On our way to Grand Haven, we bought a bag of fresh cherries from a local farm stand. We spent the rest of the drive plucking their stems and munching on their sweet flesh.

SWEET CHERRY-ALMOND BARS

Makes 16 bars

INGREDIENTS

1/2 cup butter at room temperature
1 cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 an egg
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
1 cup all-purpose flour
3/4 cup roll oats
1/3 cup unsweetened shredded coconut
1.5 ounces 70% chocolate
1/4 cup almonds
6 ounces cherry butter or jam

INSTRUCTIONS

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Line an 8-inch square pan with tin foil and grease.

In a standing mixer, beat butter and sugar until fluffy.

Beat in baking powder, almond extract and egg.

Add flour and mix until just incorporated. Add oats, coconut, almonds and chocolate. Mix until just incorporated.

Press 3/4 of the dough into the baking pan. Top with a layer of cherry butter. Crumble the rest of the cookie dough on top of cherry butter.

Bake for 30 minutes or until dough turns golden brown.

Arugula and Smoked Salmon Salad

2011-07-08T13:00:00.055-05:00

By the end of March, my green thumbed friends start to mentally formulate their dream garden. Most of them love basil and even though there's often snow on the ground, wax on about all pesto they plan to blend up. I get caught up in their fervor and end up planting a seedling or two. But the truth is I'm not a basil groupie and the mature leaves usually end up on my rabbit's dinner plate.

For me, summer hoopla is about strawberries, sweet corn and arugula.

I first tasted arugula in culinary school when Chef Piper laid out a wide variety of greens and directed us to create a signature salad. Like so many Americans, I was used to the flat flavor of iceberg lettuce. When the radish-like zip of arugula filled my mouth, I was captivated. The unremarkable looking green was Indian-American's dream. I've been a devotee ever since that first sampling. In the summer I become an addict.

Eager for a taste of its peppery punch, I planted a palm full of arugula seeds in mid-April this year. The temperature dipped and the double-leafed seedlings took weeks to appear. I fretted like a young mother. They eventually pushed out of the ground, but took an unusually long time to gain some height. By the time the leaves were mature enough to harvest, soft oak leaf and Simpson leaf lettuce had sprung up in the common area of the community garden. Both pair beautifully with arugula, adding a mild undertone to its zesty flavor and bringing a silky softness to the mix.

ARUGULA AND SMOKED SALMON SALAD

Folger's Coffee company used to run a commercial that featured an elderly woman who carried a jar of their crystals where ever she went. My mom used to joke that she would do the same thing in her senior years. Instead of coffee, she brings dry beef curry when she and my dad visit me. It is a beloved dish among many Syrian Christians men in Kerala. I love everything about the dish, especially the chewy chunks of coconut. But I'm conflicted about eating it after befriending so many kindhearted cows in Kerala.

Recognizing this, my mom has started to tote beef curry and a wedge of smoked salmon to my house. The beef is for my dad and the fish is for me. A few weeks ago, I was pressed for time so I threw a few chunks of the salmon over fresh arugula and some other fresh lettuce. I sprinkled it with a teaspoon or so of red wine vinegar mixed with olive oil. It was a delectable pairing and is now a dinner staple. The salmon adds a bacony chew and a faint taste of the ocean. The red wine vinegar, a slightly boozy tang.

If you pull together this delightfully simple salad, use the best olive oil your money can buy. (A secret...I often find great deals on olive oil and other essential staples in the gourmet food section of Marshall's and TJ Maxx.)

Gooseberry Pie

2011-07-07T21:12:00.068-05:00

Producing a gooseberry pie from garden to table is a labor I love. I learned this last week when Pete beckoned us to harvest ripe berries from the community garden. Six of us gathered around the sprawling gooseberry bushes. The pinstriped fruit hung just inside the branches like little lanterns. When I reached in to pluck them, hefty thorns caught my sleeve and clawed at my arm. I popped a berry in my mouth looking for solace and, and it make my whole body pucker. The tartness was almost as off-putting as the thorns.

But I kept picking.

During my recent trip to India, I had spotted gooseberries at the market. In the South, they are commonly pickled with turmeric, mustard seeds and other spices. I learned that Ayurvedic doctors have prescribed Indian gooseberries for centuries. I wanted to test out a pickle recipe with the berries, but not until I made a pie.

When I got home, I removed the "tails" and "tops" of the berries one-by-one. Then I tackled the pie crust. I am the family baker, but my focus has always been on cookies and cakes. I knew if I stumbled with the pie, it would be with the crust. It could shrink or crack or wind up not flaky enough. So I turned to Martha Stewart and America’s Test Kitchen, two of my favorite teachers, for guidance.

This week, I took my gooseberry pie to work night at the community garden. Earlier in the day, I had smothered a slice of it with whipped cream, unable to fully enjoy it without a bit of taming. The gardeners gobbled the rest of it up without a dollop of dairy proving that there is an avid fan base for tart summer desserts.

GOOSEBERRY PIE

Make a 9-inch pie

INGREDIENTS

For crust

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon of sugar
1/2 cup unsalted butter, cold and cut into small cubes
1/2 cup vegetable shortening, cold
1/4 cup iced water

For filing

6 cups gooseberries
2 tablespoons water
2 cups sugar
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup dried sweetened coconut

INSTRUCTIONS

Combine flour, salt and 1 teaspoon sugar in a food processor and pulse for 10 seconds. Layer with butter and vegetable shortening and pulse until mixture forms coarse crumbles.

Pour into a bowl. Layer mixture with ice water and press. Continue until dough just sticks together. (If you need more water, add it one tablespoon at a time).

Form dough into 2 balls. Place on plastic wrap, flatten into a disk and cover with plastic wrap.

Refrigerate for at least one hour.

Pull tails and tops from berries.

Put berries and water in a saucepan. Cook over medium-low heat until the skin of the berries split and they loose their shape, about 15 minutes.

Add sugar and flour and stir until filling starts to bubble. Remove from heat.

Layer cutting board with flour. Roll one disk of dough into a 12-inch round. Loosely roll dough around rolling pin. Hold over pie plate, unwind and tuck into edges of pie plate. Cut excess from edges. Roll out other disk into a 12-inch round and lay on cookie sheet. Refrigerate for 30 minutes.

Layer bottom of pie crust with coconut. Pour gooseberry filling over coconut. Use a flower-shaped cookie cutter to cut flowers from the other layer of dough. Layer flower-shaped dough over gooseberry filling. (Or simply lay second layer of dough over pie filling. Trim excess dough from edges and pinch seams together. Make slits in the top to allow steam to escape.)

Brush with heavy cream and sprinkle with remaining sugar.

Bake at 350 degrees for 60 minutes or until crust is golden brown.

Cool on baking rack for an hour. Serve with whipped cream (apparently optional).

July 4th Fruit Pizza

2011-07-04T07:41:00.026-05:00

Susan Pachikara (COPYRIGHT 2011)

I have a thing for chocolate. In culinary school I studied under a chocolatier who got his start at La Maison due Chocolat. Chef Graham exposed me to the world of fine chocolate and my passion for the lovely substance only grew. But in the summer I try to stay focused on fresh fruit which is so fleeting in the Midwest. (In a weak moment, I may look for a way to combine the two).

Strawberries are slowly disappearing from the farmer's market and I wanted to give them a proper send off. Thankfully, blueberries and red raspberries are taking their place and there are many ways to celebrate these lovely fruits in the kitchen.

JULY 4th FRUIT PIZZA

Tip: I borrowed a round pizza pan from a friend to bake the cookie crust, but you can also use a regular cookie sheet. If you have extra cookie dough, you can bake a few mini-pizzas or cut out cookies. Also, you can top the pizza with any type of fruit. Next time I'm going to try the recipe with a chocolate cookie crust.

Makes one 16-inch pizza

INGREDIENTS

For cookie crust

3 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking power
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup sugar
1 cup butter, at room temperature
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 small lemon, squeezed and zested

For icing

1/2 cup butter, at room temperature
1/4 teaspoon vanilla
3 cups powdered sugar, sifted
1 1/2 tablespoons milk

For topping

Blueberries
Strawberries
Raspberries

INSTRUCTIONS

In a bowl, mix together flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside.

In a standing mixer, cream butter and sugar with a paddle attachment on medium speed. Scrape butter mixture down from sides of the bowl. Add egg and vanilla and beat until combined. Add lemon zest and 2 tablespoons lemon juice. Beat another 2 minutes.

Add dry ingredients and mix until just incorporated.

Gather dough into a large ball. Wrap in a large piece of plastic wrap and flatten it until it takes the shape of a large disk.

Refrigerate for 3 hours.

Cover pizza pan with tin foil.

Lightly flour a cutting board. Roll dough to 1/4 thick. Gently roll dough wrap dough around rolling pin, hold it over pizza pan and slowly unroll onto pizza pan. Press dough into corners of pan.

Bake 15 to 20 minutes or until light brown along the edges. Place on cooling rack.

In a standing mixer, beat butter on medium speed until fluffy. Add vanilla and beat until incorporated. Add sugar and milk and beat on low until sugar is incorporated. Then beat on medium high for about 5 minutes.

When cookie crust is completely cooled, cover with icing.

Layer with fruit.

Stove Top Popcorn

2011-06-30T10:05:00.095-05:00

I don't know if you've heard, but a study just released by researchers at Harvard found that Americans who snack on potato chips pack on the pounds. Frank Wu, one of the study's authors said the results help illustrate that there are in fact 'good' and 'bad' foods.

I love potato chips. But with the obesity epidemic raging across the country, perhaps it's time we found a new national snack food. I nominate homemade popcorn. It's crunchy, filling and fun and possesses the power to release the inner child in even the grumpiest adult.

Let me clarify what I mean by 'homemade' popcorn. I'm talking about popcorn that is made over the stove or in a popcorn popper layered with a bit of oil. I am not referring to microwave popcorn with its musty, dusty aroma. At my last job, I dreaded mid-afternoons when a very kind-hearted colleague would nuke up a bag and perch it on the edge of his desk. A synthetic smell hung in the air for the rest of the day. At one point, our director burned a bagful of popcorn in the microwave. The smell was so piercing that the maintenance man paid us a visit, fearing a toxin had been released five floors away. An off-putting odor plagued the kitchen for weeks.

The experience makes me worry for people who feed on microwave popcorn. Many brands contain partially hydrogenated oil and other spooky sounding items like TBHQ, propy gallate and annato. (I wish I was making this up.) It costs two to three times as much as homemade popcorn, takes nearly as long to make and worst of all, pales in taste. Like a bad toupee, microwave popcorn is an obvious impostor that will leave you craving chips.

Americans devour old-fashioned popcorn at the movies and savor it at the park. It's a shame that we shy away from it at home when all it takes to make the playful, fiber-rich treat is a steel pot and lid, some corn kernels and a dusting of salt. A reasonably priced popper will also do the trick. (I nabbed the Stir Crazy for half price when Carson's closed on State Street a few years ago. I can make a delicious bowl of popcorn with just a dab of oil.) Both options allow you to control the salt and fat content.

The good news is that one you're comfortable making plain popcorn, you can move on to fancier versions. It's lovely popped in flavored oils and encrusted in a sprinkling of sugar. Believe me, once you get going you'll forget the chips.

STOVE TOP POPCORN

Makes 4 cups

INGREDIENTS

1 tablespoon canola oil
1/4 cup corn kernels
Salt to taste

INSTRUCTIONS

Coat the bottom of a steel pot with oil. Add corn kernels. Heat on medium-high. Cover.

Allow kernels to pop. Remove from heat when popping slows to about a pop every two seconds. Do not wait until the last kernel pops, as the rest of the popcorn will burn.

Pour popcorn into a bowl and dust with salt.

Miss Julia's Kale Chips

2011-06-13T20:53:00.051-05:00

Honey mustard salmon. Tofu steaks with maple marinade. Whole grain spaghetti with cheesy turkey marinara. Sound like offerings at one of Chicago's hip cafes? Well, the dishes are all part of the lunch menu at the Academy for Global Citizenship where students can also opt for soy milk. During a recent visit, children from kindergarten to third grade buzzed around me in the school's edible school yard. Some watered plants, others pulled weeds and a handful mimicked the dance moves of a teacher. Rosie, Daisy and Bluebell shared the green space. When the school's executive director Sarah coaxed the hens from their coop, they casually pecked about like contented farm animals. Thanks to the trio, the students know where eggs come from. They come from chickens.

By preparing meals with ingredients free of hormones, pesticides and antibiotics, the school seeks to promote student health. And it has bred many discriminating eaters. According to parents, students often grill them at the grocery store.

"Is that organic?" "Did you remember the soy milk?"

The school also offers workshops to engage the local community. The workshops include cooking classes and tastings that allow parents to sample school meals for themselves. According to Miss Julia, who leads the workshops, many parents seek information on culinary nutrition.

The school recently created a booklet to share its unique recipes. It includes dishes like tempeh bean chili and breakfast quinoa with dried cherries, raisins and pecans. It also has instructions for the school's kale chips which are included below.

MISS JULIA'S KALE CHIPS

This recipe transforms kale's frilly leaves into whispy bites with the lightness of nori. I could easily devour a bowl full. Many thanks Miss Julia!

Serves 4 adults

INGREDIENTS

2 bunches kale

2 tablespoons olive oil

2 to 3 large garlic cloves, minced

Sea salt and pepper to taste

1 tablespoon toasted sesame seeds

INSTRUCTIONS

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Rinse kale and pat dry. Remove and discard thick ribs and roughly chop leaves.

Pat leaves dry again. In a large bowl, toss with olive oil, garlic, salt and pepper.

Spread on two large rimmed baking sheets.

Bake for 15 to 20 minutes, stirring every five minutes or so until leaves are crisp on edges and slightly browned.

Sprinkle with sesame seeds before serving.

Strawberry Lemonade Popsicles

2011-06-08T21:15:00.008-05:00

STRAWBERRY LEMONADE POPSICLES

INGREDIENTS

3 1/2 cups water

3/4 cup sugar

1 1/2 cups coarsely chopped strawberries

3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice (about 4 lemons)

INSTRUCTIONS

Combine 3/4 cup water and sugar in a sauce pan. Bring to a gentle simmer and cook until sugar dissolves. Set aside to cool.

Using a blender, puree strawberries with 3 tablespoon of lemon juice. Push juice through a sieve to filter out seeds.

In a pitcher, combine sugar syrup, strawberry juice, the rest of the water and lemon juice. Stir.

Divide strawberry lemonade evenly between popsicle molds. Insert sticks and freeze for about six hours.

Dip molds in hot water to release popsicles.

It Won't Last Strawberry Lemonade

2011-06-05T15:23:00.027-05:00

STRAWBERRY LEMONADE

This recipe was inspired by a drink I had at Holy Trinity High School in Wicker Park. I stopped by the school in April to see how Chef John Boundas and his staff are innovating Chicago's school lunch program, one meal at a time. At the end of the visit, a woman handed me a glass of the strawberry lemonade they stir up with frozen berries from the commodities program. The blush-colored drink had a fruitiness, a tang, and a touch of sweetness that would outshine any processed beverage. It is proof that John and his staff really do perform miracles in the kitchen.

Tip: Two years ago, I visited my Aunt Regina who lives just outside of San Francisco. At the time, her lemon trees were heavy with fruit. She taught me to pour extra lemon juice into an ice cube tray to store it for later use. Use this tip if you end up with more lemon juice that you need for the strawberry lemonade.

Makes about 1 1/2 quarts

INGREDIENTS

3 1/2 cups water

3/4 cup sugar

1 1/2 cups coarsely chopped strawberries

3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice (about 4 lemons)

INSTRUCTIONS

Combine 3/4 cup water and sugar in a sauce pan. Bring to a gentle simmer and cook until sugar dissolves. Set aside to cool.

Using a blender, puree strawberries with 3 tablespoon of lemon juice. Push juice through a sieve to filter out seeds.

In a pitcher, combine sugar syrup, strawberry juice, the rest of the water and lemon juice. Stir.

Samosa Inspired Tartlets

2011-05-30T08:39:00.075-05:00

My parents entertained a lot when we were kids. The day of a dinner party, my mom would pat ground beef into cutlets and whack apart a whole chicken for biryani. She would fry papadum, one by one, and stir together a bowl of raitha. For dessert, she would roll out dozens of little footballs from a milk-based dough (her signature shape for gulab jaman), fry them, and soak them in a simple syrup perfumed with cardamom and rose water. She never referred to recipes while she cooked.

When I walked into the kitchen after completing a task I had been assigned (dusting shelves, vacuuming stairs, polishing mirrors), she would accost me with questions.

"Does the rice have enough salt?" "Are the cutlets too hot?"

By mid-day, there was desperation in her voice.

"Did I fry enough papadum???"

My mom always felt trapped in the kitchen. But she had standards to uphold. I had seen it in India. My aunts served multiple courses and pulled everything together from scratch. They closely monitored guests as they ate and plopped servings of rice on half-filled plates. When glasses were emptied, they were quick to fill them.

Thirty minutes before the dinner party was supposed to start, my mom would put the mop away and fold up wet dish towels. My dad would put the needle on a record of belly dancing music and bring out the wine glasses.

Their guests would always stay well into the night. I took it as a sign that my parents had done something right.

SAMOSA INSPIRED TARTLETS

I've preserved my mom's three-course tradition. It charms and baffles my guests since so few people seem to cook these day. But I have tweaked my mom's menu to make it my own. I serve a lighter starter: samosa inspired tartlets. They are faster to make than cutlets and less filing than regular samosas. The phyllo cups offer a wonderful crunch. If you're in a hurry, skip all the spices except for cumin, garlic, cayenne and salt.

Makes 12 tartlets

INGREDIENTS

For tartlets:

6 sheets phyllo dough

For filing:

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 cup boiled and cubed potatoes

1/2 cup diced onion

1/2 teaspoon finely minced ginger

1/4 teaspoon ground cumin

1/4 teaspoon garlic powder

1/2 teaspoon garam masala

1/8 teaspoon turmeric

1/4 teaspoon cayenne

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup fresh or frozen peas

2 teaspoons finely diced cilantro

INSTRUCTIONS

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Unwrap six sheets of phyllo from the roll. Keep the sheets stacked and place on cutting board. Using kitchen scissors, cut out 12-3 inch x 3 inch squares from the layers of dough. Gently push a square in each cup of a miniature muffin tin.

Bake until cups become golden brown, about 10 minutes. Cool on wire rack. Gently remove cups from tin. Time saver: The phyllo cups can be baked up to one month ahead. Store them in an air tight container at room temperature. Do not place in refrigerator. The moisture will cause the cups to soften and wilt.

Heat oil on medium heat in saucepan. Add onions and ginger and cook for 5 minutes.

Add cumin, garlic powder, garam masala, turmeric, cayenne, and salt. Cook for another 5 minutes.

Add potatoes and peas. Cook until peas become bright green, about 5 minutes.

Remove from heat and stir in cilantro. Cool.

Place filo cups on serving plate and fill them with potato mixture.

Banana Strawberry Bread

2011-05-19T13:04:00.127-05:00

A few weeks ago, I traveled to southern Illinois. For most of the six-hour journey, our train chugged through open prairie. Golden rods layered the fields and, hawks dipped into sight, slicing the air with their broad, scalloped wings. I nodded in and out of sleep soon after we left Chicago. By the time the conductor announced "Effingham, Effingham, Illinois!" I could no longer sleep. I sat up and started scribbling a list of things I wanted to do during my brief visit. It began with picking strawberries.

As a child, I spent summers catching army green frogs and stirring up concoctions with wild mint and water from the garden hose. At dusk, my friend Annette and I would track lightening bugs with empty glass jars, devising new navigational strategies when the sky turned black enough to see the stars.

During summer vacation, Mrs. Barbay would take us strawberry picking. At the farm, we would hop on to a flatbed waiting in the parking lot and dangle our feet over the edge. Once all the U-pickers had boarded, the truck inched toward the berries, passing a barn, tractors, and, maybe, a few cows. Soon rows of strawberry plants appeared. We would hoist ourselves to the ground, cushioned by a light layering of hay, and spend the morning hovered over the plants, pulling back their leaves in search of the colorful, low-lying fruit.

When I left Chicago, the strawberry plants in the community garden had just unfurled their leaves. It would be several weeks before they grew delicate, daisy-like flowers and even longer before any fruit appeared. In the region of the Bible Belt where I grew up, the strawberry farms would be open for the first round of picking. All winter long, I had longed for the floral sweetness of June bearing strawberries. With a little luck, I would be able to enjoy a bowlful alongside a plate of fried Catfish and some sweet iced tea.

BANANA STRAWBERRY BREAD

When I tracked down the list of fruits that contain the most pesticides, I learned that strawberries are part of the Dirty Dozen. So be sure to wash them thoroughly before you use them or buy organic strawberries. Do the same with lemons.

Also, try to use strawberries as soon as possible. If you need to store them for a day or two, lay them out in a single layer and refrigerate them. Be sure to throw out moldy berries to keep mold from spreading.

INGREDIENTS

1 1/2 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 cup wheat flour

3/4 cup sugar

3/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup strawberries, finely diced

1 1/2 cups mashed ripe bananas (about 3 bananas)

1/2 teaspoon lemon zest

2 tablespoons plain nonfat yogurt

2 large eggs, lightly beaten

6 teaspoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled

1 teaspoon vanilla

INSTRUCTIONS

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and grease a 9 x 5-inch loaf pan.

In a large bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.

In another bowl, mix together strawberries, bananas, lemon zest, yogurt, eggs, butter, and vanilla.

Carefully mix banana-strawberry mixture into dry ingredients until flour just disappears. Do not over mix.

Pour batter into prepared loaf pan.

Bake until bread is golden brown, about an hour. Cool for at least 15 minutes on wire rack.

Kerala-Style Fried Fish

2011-05-18T19:03:00.106-05:00

The first day I was in Kottayam, Iyshakochamma and I went in search of a meen chutty – an earthenware pot dedicated to cooking fish. We walked to the main thoroughfare to flag down an auto rickshaw. Tatas, Suzukis, and the pod-shaped three wheelers zipped by us, like twigs travelling downstream. After several minutes of futile waving, a rickshaw swung off the road and abruptly stopped in front of us. We slid in back. Iyshakochamma asked the driver to take us to the main business district and he strong-armed the steering wheel back towards the charging traffic.

As the driver dodged harried taxis, barreling buses, and whole families on scooters, we jerked left and right, up and down. Flocks of school children, street side temples, and white washed churches where Syrian Christians worship shot by on either side. Our hair tossed and flipped in the gritty, open air and our noses perked as the smell of fried fish, exhaust, and jasmine ebbed and flowed. After several minutes, we pulled behind a truck transporting a towering heap of green bananas and we followed it to a large open market.

We slipped out of the rickshaw and into a zig-zag of commerce being carried out of storefronts, off carts and curbsides. A lemon vendor gave way to a man selling fresh fish. A purveyor of coconuts segued into a woman peddling bananas. We passed concord grapes with skin that rivaled fine velvet and sunset yellow papayas. Hawkers beckoned us to try their lanky beans, which sat within eyesight of ruddy tomatoes and pineapples topped with fountains of green.

The Portuguese who were the first to find a sea route to India brought much of this bounty. Their most pivotal contribution to India, and other parts of Asia, was the introduction of the chili. The spice is so integral to everyday Kerala cooking that nearly every family has a hot pepper plant (and when I was charting out my plot in the community garden, miles away, my mom insisted that I plant hot peppers, which I did.) At the market, we saw an array of chili – red, green, fat, lean.

As we navigated the bustling market, Iyshakochamma continued sleuthing for the meen chutty. Each vendor directed us to walk a bit further. About an hour into our search, we came to a narrow alleyway. An elderly woman in a faded cotton sari stood in a doorway. Around her feet, sat an army of clay red and charcoal black meen chutties, their straight sides giving way to a slightly rounded bottom. These pots conduct heat more evenly than their aluminum counterparts and are ideal for gently cooking fish. The woman turned over my selection, and tapped the bottom, testing its craftsmanship in front of us. She handed me the pot shrouded in newspaper and we headed home.

KERALA-STYLE FRIED FISH

(COPYRIGHT CARDAMOM KITCHEN 2011)

This recipe demonstrates how gorgeous cayenne pepper tastes when it is part of a simple, well-balanced spice mixture. Here it adds dynamic flavor rather than overpowering heat. (When a dish is really hot, it can be because the spices are poorly portioned. Items that are meant to be hot-hot, such as pickles and chutneys, tend to be eaten in small portions.)

I love making this recipe with salmon, but you can substitute just about any other fish from catfish to pampano. It's glorious with sardines, but they'll leave a fishy odor in your kitchen for days. Also, this recipe is very delicious broiled or grilled if you prefer a more heart heathy dish.

Serves 4 to 6

INGREDIENTS

1 pound salmon fillets

2 1/2 teaspoons cayenne pepper

1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

Dash of turmeric

2 tablespoons shallots, finely minced (optional)

2 tablespoons water

Canola oil for deep frying

INSTRUCTIONS

Wash salmon and slice into roughly 2 inch x 3 inch pieces. Cut 1/2 inch diagonal slits into flesh.

Mash shallots in a mortar and pestle.

In a small bowl, mix cayenne, garlic powder, salt, turmeric, and shallots. Add water and mix until it forms a paste.

Rub fish with paste. Marinate in the refrigerate for at least two hours.

Heat oil in a pot over medium high heat. Add onion slices. Add a few pieces of fish, skin side down to oil. Lower heat to medium and cook until fish browns, about 5 minutes. Turn fish and cook other side.

Remove fish from oil and place on paper towel.

Asparagus Soup

2011-05-01T12:37:00.101-05:00

Chicago winters last a long time. I don't mind the low temperatures or the snow. (I spent my early childhood in Canada.) But the gray skies that persist from late November through mid-April are another thing. For five months, Mother Nature experiments with nearly every shade of gray: steel gray, bluish-gray, pinkish-gray, the list goes on. In December, the dreary skies are bearable because most of us are distracted by the commotion of the holidays and the promise of the New Year. Snow is a novelty, a delight, really, compared to the late fall landscape - bare trees, dead leaves, tired brown grass.

In January, snow blankets the ground and the sky is often a whitish-gray, making the horizon hard to find. We continue to take pleasure in fresh snow, packing it into snowballs, rolling into snowmen, listening for the crunch under our feet. By February, we begin to feel sapped by the lack of color and days being book marked by darkness. We boast of our Midwest hardiness, but deep inside, we long for winter’s spell to be lifted. March brings about the cracking point. We feel crazed by weeks without sun, so crazed we expect a ground hog to bring about winter’s end. Still, we keep our spring clothes in storage and goggle “beach vacations” should it linger on.

Early April brings forth the tempestuous side of spring - fits of rain, temperature dips, and crabby skies. We replace boots with waterproof shoes and scarves with umbrellas. The snow melts away, leaving weathered sidewalks and naked trees. Not the sort of change we've ached for. Then slowly, amidst the chill and sullenness, golden clouds begin to huddle among the trees; their soft contours and luminous color countering months of monotony.

In fact, the clouds turn out to be bouquets of tiny yellow flowers with bright green stems. Their colors blend into the new birth green that appears only in spring, and "is Her (nature's) hardest hue to hold"as Robert Frost concluded. Within days, rain scatters many of the bouquets over sidewalks and into gutters, spreading fragments of color from the sky to the ground.

Daffodils and dandelions usher in even more green and gold. As the grass gets a solid footing, the trees toss off hundreds of tiny golden petals, inaugurating the end of winter’s long reach with the regality of a royal wedding.

ASPARAGUS SOUP

(COPYRIGHT CARDAMOM KITCHEN 2011)

This time of year (when the heater continues to kick on) there are days I crave the comfort of soup. This dish, which blends asparagus, artichokes, and leeks, offers warmth while capturing the freshness of spring. I like to include the eggs, cooked until the yolks are silky. But the soup is full-flavored without them. Also, if you're itching to make your own bread, take a look at Jim Lahey's book. He makes it remarkably easy. Really, you'll be amazed.

Also, here's a helpful video on prepping leeks.

Serves 6-8

INGREDIENTS

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 medium leek
2 pounds of asparagus, washed
1 teaspoon minced garlic
4 cups (or two 14.5 cans) vegetable broth
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
1 jar (6.5 ounce) marinated artichoke hearts
6 eggs
Pecorino cheese as garnish

INSTRUCTIONS

Slice away dark green portion of leek. Cut rest into disks, widthwise. Place in bowl and cover with water. Rinse until all silt is removed. Drain.

Chop off ends of asparagus. With a peeler, remove outer skin from woody section (bottom 2 inches or so). Chop into 2-inch pieces.

Heat oil in Dutch oven or stock pot over medium heat. Add leek. Cook for 3 minutes. Add asparagus, garlic, stock, salt, and pepper. Bring to a boil. Lower heat and simmer for 15 minutes or until asparagus is tender. Let cool 5 minutes.

Place eggs in a pot and cover with water. Bring to a boil. Turn off heat and cover pot with a lid. After 5 minutes, transfer eggs to a bowl of cold water. Let cool for 3 minutes. Peel eggs.

Place artichokes and 2 cups of soup in a blender or food processor. Puree. Stir back into soup.

Ladle soup into bowls. Top each bowl with a sliced egg and sprinkling of cheese. Serve with crusty bread.

The Versatility of Rice

2011-04-28T18:34:00.174-05:00

The smell I find the most comforting is the one that filled my mom's kitchen - starchy steam rising out of a pot of parboiled rice. Nearly every night, she scooped a heaping cup of granules from the 25-pound bag in the pantry and boiled them in a pot of water (much like Italians prepare pasta). While the rice cooked, she moved on to more daring feats like chopping onions in her palm and whacking open a coconut with a frightfully large cleaver. My mom insisted on two rules when it came to rice: it should never be sticky and it always had to be served hot. So when she placed the plump granules into a colander to drain, I knew it was time to set the table.

Rice forms the cornerstone of the Kerala table. So much so that when you want to know whether someone has eaten, you ask, "Choru undo?" which literally translates to "Have you eaten rice?" On most days we consumed Uncle Ben's parboiled rice paired, like a blank canvass, with other highly spiced dishes. However, rice takes on numerous other forms among Malayalees (making the region a gluten-free paradise).

I savored many rice-based dishes on my recent trip. For breakfast, I sat down to servings of putu (rice flour steamed with fresh, shredded coconut) paired with chickpeas or iddyappam (steam rice noodles) formed with a copper press. My auntie paired the noodles with boiled eggs that she cooked with coconut milk, coriander, and a mix of other spices. When we took day trips, my relatives and I lunched at vegetarian cafes. At Mummy's Restaurant, we ate ghee roast dosas, prepared from a rice-based batter. The dosas were cooked on a large griddle and layered with a pepper-onion chutney. We also enjoyed steamed idlis (rice buns) served with sambar (vegetable stew) and coconut chutney, that added zing to the meal.

My Auntie Iysha tracked down toddy, an alcoholic beverage prepared from the sap of coconut blossoms and used it to prepare kallappam. A Syrian Christian specialty, the fluffy pancakes get their lift as the alcohol ferments in a rice-based batter.

Iyshakochamma (kochamma means aunt) also introduced me to pidi. Together, we stirred up a rice-based dough, set aside a pinch, and rolled the rest into an army of one-inch circular dumplings. We seasoned a large pot of water with shallots, curry leaves, coriander, and salt and thicken the broth with the rest of the dough which had been liquified with coconut milk. Then we set the dumplings in the broth to boil. When they firmed up, each of us rounded up a plate full and smothered them with chicken coconut stew for a mid-day snack.

When people ask me to describe Kerala, my memory takes me to the plush paddy fields that once covered the region's fertile plains like a vast ocean. Unfortunately, the low profit margins associated with growing rice has made it untenable for many farmers. So many have receded. However, rice continues to dominate the table in one form or another.

RICE PILAF

(COPYRIGHT CARDAMOM KITCHEN 2009)

Serves 6-8

This pilaf features my favorite spice trio: cardamom, cloves, and cinnamon. Their flavors become weak in the knees yummy when combined with basmati rice. (So you can skip the saffron if your jar is empty.) I use basmati rice from the foothills of the Himalayas, which has more floral flavors than any domestically produced rice I've come across. Be sure to let the onions soften completely. Also, take time to "fry" the rice as it helps to keep the granules from sticking. This pilaf pairs beautifully with fish mappas and will appear again in a recipe for chicken biryani.

INGREDIENTS

1 cup Indian basmati rice

3 tablespoons butter or canola oil

1 cup diced onion

4 cardamom pods

4 cloves

1 stick of cinnamon

2 cups of water

1 teaspoon of lemon juice

Pinch of saffron (optional)

1 teaspoon salt

INSTRUCTIONS

Soak rice in water for 20 minutes.

Rinse rice until water becomes clear. Drain. Let sit for another 20 minutes.

Heat butter or oil in a saucepan on medium-low heat. Add cardamom, cloves, and cinnamon. Saute for 1 minute.

Stir in onion and cook until it becomes translucent.

Add rice and stir to coat granules with butter or oil. Cook for 3 to 4 minutes, stirring constantly to "fry" rice.

Add water, lemon juice, saffron, and salt. Stir. Bring to a boil.

Reduce heat to low. Cover and cook until rice is tender (10 to 15 minutes).

Remove cardamom, cloves, and cinnamon before serving.

A Fish A Day

2011-04-18T10:56:00.103-05:00

Late one morning in Kerala, I heard a female voice call into my aunt's dining room window. My aunt hollered back something about fish and headed to the doorway just outside the kitchen. I followed her, intrigued by the casual, yet intimate exchange. When I arrived, Martha lifted a wide aluminum vessel from her head and set it down in front of us. Nestled inside were several varieties of fish, including the region's much beloved karimeen (or pearl spot). Like the fresh fish I happened upon in markets across Kerala, their eyes were clear and their bodies, plump.

With a 300 plus mile coastline and a zig-zag of lakes, rivers, and canals measuring over 1,000 miles, living off the land includes daily doses of fish for many Malayalees. During my stay, fish with green mangoes, coconut milk, or chili sauce, and shrimp with tamarind all made it to the table. Yet, what I really crave, months later, are mathi (sardines). My aunts marinated them with chili powder, garlic powder, and turmeric and fried the fish to a crisp. Memories of pairing mathi with a canvass of parboiled and ladling of fresh yogurt still haunt me today.

On my last day in Kerala, my cousins took me to Kumarakom, a dreamy resort town in the backwaters. At the Kumarakom Club, my eldest cousin Reena ordered two specialty dishes - duck with gravy and karimeen pollichathu (fish roasted in a banana leaf). When the food arrived, she unwrapped three of the fish and placed the fourth one in front of me. As a guest, I didn't have to share. As I pulled back the corners of the banana leaf, the smell of black pepper, ginger, and garlic rose to my nose. Using my fingers, I scooped up a bit of the flesh. The outer edge had a thin crust. Inside, the flesh was tender and moist. I was grateful to have an entire fish, so exquisitely prepared, to myself.

We ended the afternoon with a houseboat ride along the lake. I'd had many dazzling adventures in India, but this finale on the water, was the most enchanting. For an hour, we meandered through a carpet of frilly green water hyacinths. Lanky coconut trees lazed about, beckoning us to be still. Their wispy leaves lifted and fell with the breeze. Everything in the hidden water world moved more slowly - the paddle boats, the birds, even the children splashing along the shoreline.

FISH MAPPAS

(COPYRIGHT CARDAMOM KITCHEN 2009)

Serves 6-8

One of the most appealing things about everyday Kerala cooking is how I feel once I've left the table. With a reliance on spices rather saturated fat, the fish dishes in particular, leave me feeling replenished not weighed down. Try this recipe for fish with turmeric for a nourishing meal.

INGREDIENTS

2 tablespoons canola oil or olive oil

3/4 cup onion, roughly chopped

1 teaspoon minced garlic

1 tablespoon minced ginger

1 small jalapeno, cut lengthwise

1 medium tomato, cut into wedges

1 pound Catfish or Tilapia fillets, cut into roughly 3-inch pieces

1/2 cup water

1/4 teaspoon turmeric

1/4 teaspoon cumin

1 teaspoon salt

1/4 cup milk or coconut milk

1/4 teaspoon vinegar

INSTRUCTIONS

Heat oil in a saucepan on medium-low heat. Add onion, garlic, ginger, and jalapeno. Cook until onion becomes translucent.

Add tomato and cook until it begins to soften.

Add fish. Cook for about 5 minutes.

Add water, turmeric, cumin, salt, and stir gently.

Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium. Cover and cook until fish flakes (about 10 minutes).

Reduce heat to low. Add milk and cook for 2 more minutes.

Remove from heat. Sprinkle in vinegar. Tilt pot to the left and right to distribute vinegar.

Serve with rice and steamed peas.

Storing and Grinding Spices

2011-04-10T18:45:00.089-05:00

In our last conversation, I shared tips to help you find full-flavored spices. In this post, I'll share insights I've learned from family and friends on storing and preparing spices.

Air, moisture and light all cause the essential oils in spices to degrade and their flavors to fade like a hosta in the hot sun. To preserve the earthy smell of cumin, the citrus notes in coriander, and the honey-ish undertones in saffron, follow these simple steps:

- Store your spices in airtight containers. You really don't need to buy swanky bottles. All the cooks in my family store spices in recycled jars that once held jam or pickled vegetables or condiments. Be sure to air out the ones that once held vinegar and other feisty ingredients. (My mom insists that labels on old jars be removed and, readily institutes that policy when she visits me. I think the labels gives the jars character, and prefer to leave them on. Potato, poe-ta-toe.)

- If you buy spice jars, select glass or ceramic containers instead of metal ones which can leave an off-flavor on spices. Make sure that the lids are airtight. Some of the sexy looking cork lids are not.

- Keep spices in a cool, dark place like a pantry or a drawer. Try not to store them near the oven as heat strips spices of their essential oils. Also, avoid storing spices in the refrigerator. It exposes them to humidity which also saps their flavor.

Now a little about grinding spices.

First and foremost, invest in a pepper mill. Please no ifs, ands or buts. Using preground pepper (that's been sitting on the shelf for who knows how long) is like eating a glorious meal with a stuffed nose. Freshly cracked pepper, on the other hand, brings a warm, lemony pleasure to eggs, soup and other everyday dishes. You will be amazed how much adopting a pepper mill pleases your taste buds.

During my recent trip to India, I watched my aunt's cook Shantha blend spices under the weight of a heavy stone rolling pin that she ran across a black stone tablet. Once a common fixture in Kerala kitchens, the stone grinders are steadily being replaced with (much less aerobic) electric coffee grinders. The last time my parent's visited Kerala, I bought four Brauns on Devon Avenue for them to present as gifts. (Curiously the closer I stepped to the exit, the lower their price fell.)

Some insist on grinding spices with a mortar and pestle, but I grew up with the ever-present buzz of a coffee grinder. Coffee grinders produce a finer powder and incorporate spice mixes more thoroughly than a mortar and pestle. Opt for a mortar and pestle if you are blending spices with fresh ingredients, including herbs. Use a mortar with a porous base so spices and herbs don't slide around as you try to crush them.

To purge your coffee grinder of lingering aromas, pulverize a few grains of uncooked rice in it between uses. You can also whirl around pieces of bread.

Many fall desserts call for the warm flavor of nutmeg. If a recipes calls for a small quantity of the potent spice, use a micro grater (or the smallest hole of your box grater) to prepare it. Store the rest of the seed in a airtight container for your next sauce or pumpkin pie.

Hunting for Quality Spices

2011-04-03T13:57:00.057-05:00

A few years ago, I attended a book signing on the history of Indian cooking. The author passed around a half-filled jar of commercially produced spice powder she had pulled from her cupboard. When it reached me, I scanned the list of ten or so ingredients. Then I instinctively twisted off the lid and inhaled the contents. My nose picked up the faint scent of coriander and cloves. The others spices had been rendered impotent, and as far as I could tell, the mix would do little to lure anyone to the table.

In the kitchen, it's widely accepted that the tastiest dishes are produced with quality ingredients. The tenant has helped spark the growth of farmer's markets which offer plump tomatoes and vibrant greens. Truth is that the same rule applies to spices. If you want to impart the floral flavor of cardamom in a dish, for example, you need to start with a jar that radiates its perfumy aroma. Below are tips I've learned over the years to find the freshest, most flavor-packed spices.

Shop at stores with a high turn over - Spices lose their potency the longer they sit on the shelf. High traffic ethnic food stores tend to supply fresh spices, and there are plenty of them in Chicago. Also shop at specialty stores like The Spice House that bank their reputation on the quality of their spices.

Rely on your nose and your other senses - Always involve you nose when sleuthing for fresh spices. Sniff packaged spices and hover over spice bins.

Purchase whole spices whenever possible - My mom is 70+ and hates spending time in the kitchen. But she buys most of her spices whole and grinds them in a coffee mill. Few pre-ground spices meet her expectations because they lose their essential oils so rapidly. The flavors in ground cumin and ground cardamom (a high cost spice) are particularly fleeting.

Scrutinize bulk bins - Bulk spice bins may offer lower prices but it's often hard to assess how often they're emptied. Always make sure that their lids are airtight and that they are stored away from strong lights and other heat sources.

Scrutinize spice rubs and spice mixes - The labels on spices rubs can be very alluring, but always focus on the ingredient list. All too often, they feature low cost fillers (listed first), such as salt or cornstarch. No one should pay a premium for either item and few of us want sodium masked in our diet.

Beware of unusually low prices - My siblings and I love the adage "You get what you pay for." Keep in mind that it applies to spices. If you come across high cost ingredients, such as saffron or cardamom, at bargain prices, you're likely getting bamboozled.

Tap Into Your Spice Rack

2011-03-29T19:24:00.033-05:00

I moved around in my twenties and spent the decade adapting to different kitchens. The high point was a galley way with sublimely stained wooden cupboards. More often, I occupied new construction where cabinet doors slouched on loosey-goosey hinges. My spice jars accompanied me into every new space offering a sense of order and a continuity linked my childhood. Like other Indian-Americans, spices form the cornerstone of my cooking. Over the years, I've also learned how they play a vital role in regulating my diet.

I'm a big fan of fat and sugar. (If they are combined in a cookie, even better.) But over time I've noticed how they stick to my bones. To cut back on these common flavor boosters, I have relied even more heavily on my spice rack. Spices contain minimal amounts of fat and makes my efforts to control calories incredibly tasty. Combine chickpeas with a pinch of coriander and cumin and I am perfectly happy to pass on the red meat. Saute a quartered pear with a quill of cinnamon and I forget about the milk chocolate hiding in a drawer.

Research shows that there are other dietary benefits to using spices. Apparently, the amount we eat is controlled by the brain's satiety center. The more aromatic a dish, the stronger the message the brain receives that we've had enough. Spices, which produce alluring tastes and smells, help to tell the brain when we're full. In addition, ginger, garlic, and fenugreek all lower the absorption of fat. Chili speeds up the rate at which fat gets burned. Spices also contain dietary antioxidants. A half teaspoon of cloves, for example, contains more antioxidants that a half cup of blueberries. Allspice, cinnamon, and saffron are also high in antioxidants.

The good news is that once you get hooked on spices, you won't get bored. Every culture incorporates them and the combinations used in India alone (at breakfast, lunch, and dinner) are endless.

Going "Home"

2011-03-06T18:16:00.099-06:00

In December, I traveled 8,000 plus miles to Kerala, the place older relatives still refer to as "home." Though I never lived with its borders, the tiny state on the southwest tip of India shaped my food identity. This journey would be different from the five I had taken before. I would be traveling without my parents - as tour guides, translators, experts on etiquette, and reservoirs of family history. In the past, they had shared unwritten rules (you'll shock people when you use your left hand) and in their company I never worried about taking a rickshaw across town. They provided directions. When strangers pinched me on the cheek and asked, "Do you remember me?" - a dizzying question given the branchiness of our family tree - my mom provided the answer. "This is your maternal grandmother's sister's second cousin's daughter."

During the eleven years since my last sojourn to Kerala, I had sharpened my kitchen skills in culinary school. I had also documented many of my mother's recipes, trying to preserve what seems like a dying art. I numbered steps and quantified murky measurements. Two "dashes" of turmeric became a fourth of a teaspoon and I deciphered "a 2-inch piece of ginger" as being "a generous tablespoon."

Over the intervening years, I had also recognized that many mainstay Kerala dishes - such as sambar (dahl stew), idiappam (rice noodles), and the vast array of thorans (stir-fried dishes) - were deliciously low-fat. I hoped to share the recipes I collected to help chip away at the obesity epidemic current raging in the U.S.

I wanted to use this trip to gather recipes from relatives still in India. I also wanted to study the origins of the Kerala pantry. To see firsthand how and where the native berries, seeds, and roots that give Malayalee food its vibrancy grew. I knew that for centuries Kerala was the world’s only source of peppercorns and that the prized berries had spurred the region’s maritime trade predating the Kubla Khan. But I wanted to know what they looked like on the vine. (I vaguely remember my father pointing them out in the yard of his family home years ago. But sadly, what registered in my adolescent mind, “Zzzzz. Boring!”) I would also seek out cardamom growing wild in the mountains. Its exotic oils perfume Kerala’s sweet and savory dishes. Over time, the spice has also found its way into Middle Eastern coffee and Swedish pastries.

I knew my pursuit would conjure up memories of my grandmother’s dimly lit kitchen where I watched in wonder as she fed dried coconut husks to an open fire. Their brown hairs flashed like threads of lightening once ignited. Using the back of a cleaver, she would crack open the shells of coconuts harvested from the lanky trees dotting the yard. Sitting on a low wooden bench fitted with a serrated blade, I happily shredded the flesh into a triangular hill of coconut confetti that ended up in many family dishes that I'll be sharing with you including the cabbage thoran below.

CABBAGE THORAN

(Cardamom Kitchen LLC - Copyright 2011)

Serves 6

TIPS

- Warning: I've gotten greedy at the farmer's market and chosen the largest possible cabbage. I end up with WAY more shredded cabbage than I need. The leaves are tucked tightly. Chopping loosens them and the quantity seemed to grow exponentially! So don't make this mistake.

- Do not overcook the cabbage. It should be served with a bit of a crunch.

INGREDIENTS

2 tablespoons olive oil or canola oil

3/4 teaspoon black mustard seeds

1 teaspoon urad dahl (black graham, split)

2 teaspoons minced garlic

1 cup onion, thinly sliced

1/4 teaspoon ground cumin

1/4 teaspoon turmeric
I jalapeno, split, seeded and quartered
10 curry leaves (optional)

1 teaspoon salt

4 cups shredded cabbage

2 tablespoons shredded, unsweetened coconut

INSTRUCTIONS

1) Heat the oil in a large saute pan on medium-low heat. Add the mustard seeds and cover.

2) When the mustard seeds begin to pop, add the urad dhal. Cook until the dhal turns light brown.

3) Increase heat to medium. Add the garlic, onions, cumin, turmeric, pepper, curry leaves, and salt. Cook until the onions are translucent.

4) Add cabbage and coconut. Stir to coat with spice mixture.

5) Cover and cook for 1 minute.

6) Remove lid and stir. Cover and cook for another minute.

7) Remove lid and cook uncovered until the cabbage is cooked, but still a bit crunchy.

Treat your valentine

2011-02-12T21:02:00.009-06:00

Hot chocolate is a divine pleasure (and so simple to prepare).

- For two servings, finely chop 3 ounces of your favorite bittersweet chocolate. I prefer a bar with 72 percent cacao.
- Put it in a sauce pan with 1 1/2 cups of whole milk.
- Bring to a simmer, whisking continuously until chocolate melts.
- Turn off the heat.
- Stir in sugar to taste and a splash of your favorite extract, such as vanilla, peppermint, or almond.
- Serve.

Fine Cooking's recipe for pasta with tuna, lemon, and fried capers pairs well with a decadent dessert. I replaced the fettucine with heart-shaped pasta from Italy. http://www.finecooking.com/recipes/fettucine-tuna-lemon-fried-capers.aspx.

For a unique twist, flavor buttercream frosting with a touch of rose water rather than vanilla and pipe a dozen roses.

Lemon Rosemary Cut Out Cookies

2010-12-15T19:49:00.016-06:00

How do I get through a particularly rough week? Baking and country music. This week's been a doozey and I thank God for Kenney Chesney and Fine Cooking. Today I turned to the magazine's recipe for lemon rosemary cut out cookies for solace. It's been perched (and occasionally blown off) a 6-inch pile of recipes I printed out over the course of the year.

I always have basic baking supplies on-hand and happened to have a lemon teetering about each time I opened the fridge. I planted rosemary in my plot at the community garden. I plucked several sprigs for the Thanksgiving turkey, but that was before the snow. I was wondering whether this member of the mint family had survived the recent blanketing. When I stopped by the garden, I found the top half of the plant poking through the white surface. The effort of its spindly branches reminded me of Charlie Brown's tree - pure and vulnerable. I stood in wonder, waiting for Linus's enlightened voice to kick in. When the moment passed, I harvested several branches and crunched back home, over the snow.

I found that the best part of this recipe is prepping the rosemary and lemon. The fine mincing that's required leaves the most remarkable fragrance on your fingers. Next time, I'll add a bit more sugar than the recipe calls for. Seehttp://www.finecooking.com/recipes/lemon

-rosemary-christmas-tree-sugar-cookies.aspx

Snacking on Apples

2010-10-05T19:46:00.010-05:00

Under a Peach Tree

2010-09-06T16:48:00.017-05:00

PEACH COBBLER

INGREDIENTS

Filling

6 large peaches
3 tablespoons brown sugar
1 tablespoon honey
3/4 teaspoon cinnamon
2 teaspoons lemon juice
1 teaspoon cornstarch

Crust

1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 stick butter, chilled
1/4 cup hot water

INSTRUCTIONS

Heat oven to 400.

Skin and roughly chop peaches.

In a medium sized bowl, toss peaches with brown sugar, honey, cinnamon, lemon juice and cornstarch.

Place in a 9 x 9 inch glass dish. Cook for 10 minutes.

While filling is cooking, place flour, sugar, baking powder and salt in a food processor and pulse three times. Cut butter into 1/2 inch cubes. Layer over flour mixture and pulse until mixture looks like sand. Add water. Pulse until just combined.

Remove filling from the oven.

Increase oven temperature to 425.

Spoon batter over cooked peaches. Return to oven and bake for 25 minutes or until crust is golden.

Serve with vanilla ice cream.

Illinois Sweet Corn

2010-09-03T06:27:00.021-05:00

One of the most comforting sights for me are the rows upon rows of corn that shoot by when I take the train to southern Illinois. It's probably politically incorrect to admit this. Most of the corn grow in Illinois is subsidized and ends up as cattle feed or corn syrup. I don't support the subsidies or approve of their impact: the artificially low price of beef and the omnipresence of corn syrup in the American food system.

Yet, I treasure the taste of sweet corn and believe it's one of the most underappreciated gifts Mother Nature provides this time of year. I love sandpaper-like feel of the husks and the silky softness of the tassels. I love how the taut, plump kernels pop in my mouth after a quick boil, like perfectly ripened berries. They're sugary and savory. I never add salt or butter. As far as I'm concerned, it just gets in way.

At the farmer's market I carefully pull back the husk and tassels by an inch or so to make sure each ear is fresh. I look for plump kernels. During a recent visit, another shopper told me that smaller ears are more flavorful. She also recommended smelling the tip as part of the freshness test, but I didn't know what scent was the right one.

Anyone know about the smell test?

BOILED SWEET CORN

Bring a pot of water to boil. Make to add enough water to cover the corn.

Add corn and boil for about 4 minutes.

Remove from heat. Drain water.

Plum cobbler

2010-08-16T18:59:00.004-05:00

Mom's berry & cream cheese cake

2010-08-07T13:44:00.012-05:00

BLUEBERRY CREAM CHEESE CAKE

Serves 12-16

INGREDIENTS

For cake:

Dede Wilson's recipe for yellow cake, reduced by 1/2

For blueberry topping:

1 pound fresh blueberries

1/3 cup granulated sugar

1/3 cup water

For cream cheese frosting:

1/2 cup heavy cream, chilled

1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon powdered sugar

4 ounces of cream cheese

INSTRUCTIONS

Place mixing bowl in the refrigerator.

Preheat over to 350 degrees.

Prepare yellow cake in 8-inch baking pan or oven safe glass dish. Cool on wire rack.

Combine blueberries and sugar in a sauce pan. Add water. Bring to a boil on high, stirring now and again. Lower heat and simmer until juice thickens, about 10 minutes. Remove from heat. Cool.

Combine heavy cream and 1 tablespoon of powdered sugar in chilled mixing bowl. Beat until cream forms soft peaks, about 10 minutes.

Beat cream cheese in another mixing bowl. Carefully fold whipped cream into cream cheese.

Spread cream cheese frosting on cake. Top with blueberry sauce.

Sour cherries: going, going...

2010-07-18T12:55:00.019-05:00

SOUR CHERRY STRUDEL

Serves 4 to 6

INGREDIENTS

1 quart fresh sour cherries
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1 1/2 tablespoons corn starch
1/4 teaspoon almond extract
4 tablespoons butter, melted
1/4 cup chopped almonds
8 sheets phyllo dough
1 ounce 70% dark chocolate
Powdered sugar for dusting

INSTRUCTIONS

Remove pits and stems from cherries. Rinse.

Combine cherries, sugar, cornstarch and almond extract in a saucepan and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Simmer for 5 minutes, stirring intermittently. Set aside to cool.

Place 2 phyllo sheets on cutting board and dry for 15 minutes. Crumble. Mix into cooled filling.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Cover a cookie sheet with parchment paper. Place 6 other sheets of phyllo on a cutting board. Brush one sheet with butter and place on cookie sheet. Repeat with remaining sheets, layering buttered sheets one over the other on cookie sheet.

Spoon cherry filling on stacked sheets vertically, leaving a 3-inch border from the edge. Sprinkle with almonds. Turn top edge and bottom edge of phyllo sheets down to cover filling. Roll phyllo widthwise. Place roll on cookie sheet, seam side down.

Bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until phyllo becomes golden.

Cool on wire rack for 30 minutes.

Melt dark chocolate. Drizzle over strudel. Dust with powdered sugar.

Red Currant Jelly

2010-07-02T21:13:00.027-05:00

The community garden is an Eden in my urban neighborhood. Inside its gates, honey bees hover over flowers, powdered with pollen. Squirrels scurry across tree branches that gardeners once wove into fences. Rabbits appear out of nowhere, silent and watchful.

The garden is particularly magical by mid-June. Tiny pale blossoms cover the red currant bushes. Within a week, the blossoms transition into the caps of green berries that dangle from branches in loose strands. By mid-July, the berries ripen into a breathlessly regal red. Somewhat translucent, they pick up the sunlight and glow like the uncut rubies once worn by the Nizams of Hyderabrad.

In some ways, I feel silly harvesting such dazzlingly beautiful fruit to make jelly. The berries seem more fit for the hands of jewelers. (Perhaps that's why pastry chefs across Paris use them to crown tarts and tortes and other masterfully crafted confections.) Are there novel ways to incorporate their tart flavor?

RED CURRANT JELLY

Makes about 3 1/2 cups

INGREDIENTS

2 pounds red currants
1/2 cup water
.5 ounce dry pectin
3 1/2 cups sugar

INSTRUCTIONS

Gently wash berries. Pull from little branches and place in a saucepan. Crush with a potato masher or the bottom of a cup.

Add water and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat to medium-low. Cover and simmer for about 10 minutes. Remove from heat and cool.

Place a 12 x 12 piece of cheese cloth over a bowl. Using a spoon, place 1/3 of the cooked berries over the cloth. Squeeze berries to release juice. Repeat with the rest of the cooked berries.

Pour juice into a saucepan. Mix in sugar. Bring to a boil over high heat. Add pectin. Bring to a rolling boil, stirring constantly. Boil for 2 minutes. Carefully remove from heat. Skim off foam with a spoon.

Cool and transfer to glass jars.

Raspberry season

2010-06-26T15:48:00.016-05:00

Bring on the berries

2010-06-20T10:10:00.011-05:00

STRAWBERRIES WITH LEMON THYME SHORTCAKES

(Adapted from Bon Appetit)

INGREDIENTS

4 cup fresh strawberries

2/3 cup powdered sugar

3/4 cup buttermilk

1 tablespoon finely grated lemon peel

2 1/4 cups all purpose flour

1/2 cup light brown sugar

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

6 tablespoons chilled unsalted butter

1 tablespoon sugar

Whip cream

INSTRUCTIONS

Sliced strawberries and toss in a bowl with powdered sugar. Set aside.

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

Mix buttermilk, lemon peel, and thyme together in a small bowl. Set aside.

Mix flour, brown sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt together in a large bowl. Stir in buttermilk mixture until just blended. Transfer dough to lightly floured cutting board. Knead gently until dough just comes together. Do not over mix.

Divide dough into 10 balls. Transfer onto 2 baking sheets. Pat gently so they settle in place. Sprinkle with sugar.

Bake for 15 minutes. Transfer to cooking rack.

Carefully cut biscuits with serrated knife. Layer with whip cream. Add berries.

Tart, tasty rhubarb

2010-06-08T21:24:00.015-05:00

Rhubarb Compote

INGREDIENTS

4 cups thinly sliced rhubarb

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 teaspoon minced ginger

INSTRUCTIONS

Place ingredients in a medium saucepan.

Cook on medium heat until rhurbarb softens completely, about 5 to 10 minutes.

Serve on pancakes or toast.

Mushroom and Chicken Tamale Pie

2010-03-07T10:32:00.020-06:00

MUSHROOM AND CHICKEN TAMALE PIE

Serves 8-10

INGREDIENTS

For filling

3 tablespoons olive oil

1 pound white or baby bella mushrooms, thinly sliced

1 pound boneless chicken thighs, cut into 2-inch pieces

1 1/2 teaspoons freshly ground cumin seeds

1/2 teaspoon Mexican oregano

1/2 teaspoon ground garlic

1 teaspoon salt

2 large scallions, diced

1/2 cup roasted red peppers, diced

1 cup frozen corn

1 cup shredded mild cheddar and Monterey Jack cheese

Minced cilantro to garnish

For topping

1 1/4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour

3/4 cup corn meal

1/4 cup sugar

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup whole milk

1/4 cup canola oil

1 large egg

INSTRUCTIONS

Heat oven to 400 degrees.

Heat 1 1/2 teaspoons of olive oil in a saute pan on medium high heat. Add mushrooms and cook until soft. Remove from pan. Turn heat to medium.

Heat remaining olive oil. Add chicken, cumin, oregano, garlic powder, and salt. Cook for 8 minutes. Remove from heat.

Toss mushrooms, chicken, scallions, red peppers, and corn together in a bowl. Layer the mixture in a 9 inch x 13 inch casserole dish. Sprinkle with cheese.

In a large bowl, combine flour, corn meal, sugar, baking powder, and salt.

Whisk together milk, canola oil, and egg. Combine with dry ingredients until just moistened.

Spread over chicken mixture.

Bake for 20 to 25 minutes.

Garnish with cilantro.

Homemade

2010-02-13T20:18:00.091-06:00

Soon after I moved to Chicago, I attended a culinary tour along Devon Avenue. Indian retailers began settling its borders in the 80s, and over the years, it's come to resemble a Bombay side street. Toward the end of the tour, a local grocer guided us through his store. As we passed the freezer section, he pointed to rows of frozen dinners featuring perfectly plated Indian meals.

“Just like mom’s,” he pronounced.

Unable to help myself, I blurted out, "Not my mom's."

Unfazed, he pulled open the freezer door, picked up two of the sleekly designed packages, and handed them to me.

“You’ve really got to try these.”

After stepping out of the store, I handed the dinners to a woman on the tour who had clearly been coveting them.

Growing up in southern Illinois, I envied kids who regularly ate Swanson's TV dinners. I longed for the normalcy of these All American meals - country fried chicken, oven roasted turkey, salisbury steak - neatly compartmentalized in aluminum trays. On occasion, my mom made pizza or pigs in a blanket from scratch. When she really let her creative juices go on Valentine's day, we divvied up a heart-shaped meatloaf. But on most nights, we ate homemade curry (fish, beef, or chicken), a stir-fried vegetable, yogurt, and rice. Dinner was one of the few things my mom could recreate from the old country. And, for the most part, the menu like our curfew and the policy on dating, were nonnegotiable. To cope, I created a disdainful jingle, "Rice is for mice..."

Now when my mom cooks for me, I recognize it as a unique gift. The flavors are pure, not formulaic or masked by preservatives buzzing in the background. More importantly, her dishes possess a human touch forever missing in frozen dinners, including "Home-style" versions. And If I’m dining by myself, eating her food makes me feel less alone.

I know I’m not the only one who craves the comfort of home cooking. It becomes abundantly clear when I walk around with my cake carrier. The top is translucent enough to let passersby see the frosted cake sitting inside. I encounter a wide range of reactions from strangers, from shy glances to looks of desperation. The latter are often accompanied by passionate inquiries like, “Did you make that?” or “Is that for me?” I’ve never sensed such longing in the frozen food aisle.

So this Valentine’s day, if you’re searching for a unique gift, consider making heart shaped salmon patties for your loved one. They're sure to appreciate your human touch.

Heart-shaped Salmon Patties

Makes 6 patties

INGREDIENTS

1-14.75 ounce can Alaskan Pink Salmon

2 large eggs

1/2 cup bread crumbs (preferably panko)

1/4 cup finely minced green onion

1/2 teaspoon finely minced garlic

2 teaspoons grated fresh ginger

1 tablespoon soy sauce

Freshly ground pepper to taste

1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

Drain salmon. Place in a bowl and mash with a fork until very flaky.

Beat eggs and add to salmon. Mix in remaining ingredients.

Heat cast iron skillet to medium-high heat. Coat with 1 teaspoon olive oil.

Place heart-shaped cookie cutter on skillet. Spoon some salmon mixture into the cookie cutter and press to shape along edges. Gently remove cookie cutter. Cook until patty browns on side touching skillet (about 8 minutes). Carefully flip patty and cook until second side browns. Repeat with remaining salmon mixture.

Serve with steamed peas or roasted sweet potatoes.

Sweet Tooth

2009-12-25T12:19:00.045-06:00

Mediterranean Goodness

2009-11-20T11:39:00.010-06:00

MEDITERRANEAN-STYLE SPAGHETTI SQUASH

Serves 6 to 8

INGREDIENTS

1 medium spaghetti squash

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 large onion, roughly chopped

1 1/2 teaspoons minced garlic

1 14.5 ounce can of diced tomatoes, drained

1/4 cup sliced Kalamata olives

1/2 cup feta cheese

INSTRUCTIONS

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Cut spaghetti squash lengthwise and remove seeds. Place cut sides face down on cookie sheet lined with aluminum foil. Bake 30 minutes.

Heat oil in a large skillet on medium heat. Add onion and garlic. Saute until onion becomes tender. Stir in tomatoes and cook for 5 minutes. Remove from heat. Add olives.

Use a fork to remove the pulp from the squash. Mix into sauteed vegetables. Garnish with feta.

A New Side Dish

2009-11-08T11:22:00.050-06:00

Stately and imposing, roast turkey has an alluring presence on the table. But all too often the feast offered the eyes does not translate to the tongue. That is why I stand with the sides in the turkey v. side dish debate. I don't believe a relatively lean bird can compete with bread crumbs soaked in eggs and potatoes smothered in butter. That's keeping the pie out of it.

Unfortunately, I'm not the only one in the family who covets the side dishes. When remnants of the Thanksgiving day meal are lined up buffet-style, my siblings and I elbow for leftovers - mashed potatoes, dressing, and corn (a family tradition) - like early morning shoppers at a black Friday sale. A few forkfuls of the dismantled turkey eventually also make it onto our plates. Inevitably the dreaded post-Thanksgiving complaints are registered. "Is the dressing all gone???" "What happened to the mashed potatoes?"

Given our unanimous preference for sides, I decided to add another dish to the table this year. I wanted something to counteract the richness of the mashed potatoes and dressing. Bon Appetit's brussels sprouts slaw with mustard dressing should create the right balance. In season and full of flavor, the briefly steamed sprouts offer crunch and tang. I'm hoping their presence on the menu will lead to less tussling over leftovers after the holiday.

Quick tip: score each sprout before placing them in your steamer. This helps the leaves and core cook at the same rate.

More Cranberries

2009-11-07T18:32:00.017-06:00

CRANBERRY ORANGE BREAD

(Adapted from Joy of Baking)

TIP

- The peel of conventionally produced oranges, lemons, and limes contain residues from pesticides. So consider using organic versions in recipes that call for the peel.

INGREDIENTS

1 large egg

3/4 cup freshly squeezed orange juice

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 cup unbleached all-purpose flour

1 cup whole wheat flour

1/2 cup white sugar

1/2 cup brown sugar

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon orange zest

4 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into pieces

1/2 cup coarsely chopped walnuts

1 cup fresh or frozen cranberries, coarsely chopped

INSTRUCTIONS

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly coat a 9 x 5 x 3 loaf pan with canola oil.

In a small bowl, combine beaten egg, orange juice, and vanilla. Set aside.

In a large bowl, whisk flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and orange zest. Blend butter into flour mixture so resembles coarse crumbs.

Mix wet ingredients into dry ingredients. Add cranberries and walnuts.

Pour into loaf pan and bake for 50 to 60 minutes.

Remove from oven and let cool on a wire rack before slicing.