Persimmon Pudding
The recipes for persimmon pudding I’ve come across are all very enticing to food historians. They go on and on about its old-fashionedness, its popularity in Indiana (There’s [...]
Whole Apple Applesauce
The very best applesauce is made with whole apples. This I discovered when making apple butter. The process calls for cooking quartered, unpeeled apples—cores, seeds and all— [...]
One-Banana Bread
This recipe is proof positive of why every cook should know how to make—and use—a vegan egg. I always seem to have one over-ripe banana. There it will sit, on my counter, get [...]
Mushroom Broth (with stems and ends)
Why toss out the brown ends and tough stems of those mushrooms you use when turning them into a rich, flavorful broth is as simple as setting them to boil in some water for a [...]
Almond Croissants
There is nothing worse—and nothing better—than day-old croissants. Nothing worse, because each chewy, slightly stale bite of a day-old croissant is a reminder of how good the [...]
Leek Green Champ
Because leeks are so very costly per pound in the US, it pains me, PAINS ME, to throw away leek tops the way most French cooks do. I’ll do it if I absolutely have to—say, whe [...]
Not-so-“Parfait” Jam
No, apricots are not still in season in France in September, but I did just find myself simmering a pot of apricot jam just recently... While digging through my pantry, I not [...]
Spiced Puff Pastry Twists
Since Cancale is the hometown of chef and master spice blender Olivier Roellinger, I end up with quite a few of his spice mixes blends in my cupboard at any given time. Some [...]
Savory French Toast Tartines
It has been a busy couple of weeks since I was last able to shop for food. Good-busy, with lots of eating out and seeing friends, but bad-busy in the sense that a lot of food [...]
Asparagus Avgolemono Soup
It all started with trying to find a way to use the woody, fibrous ends of the asparagus I’ve been getting at the market in Saint-Malo this spring. The tips and stalks are in [...]
Tender, Tomato-ey Braised Radish Tops
Here’s how much I love the way I’ve found to prepare radish leaves (and turnip and any other leafy-topped root vegetable): I actually bought FOUR bunches of radishes at the m [...]
Strawberry Water
I didn’t even need to bookmark this idea from the Food 52 website to remember it this strawberry season… Leftover strawberry stems infused in water to make a fragrant, faintl [...]
Orecciette with Collard Stem Coins and Crispy Prosciutto
If I were giving this post the serious clickbait treatment, the tag line here would be, “Not cooking your kale stems? You’re missing out!” Or maybe: “The kale technique no on [...]
Braised Celery Hearts
When I get into a work groove on the computer, I often crave something to munch on to…um… “fuel” my inspiration. Or that’s the excuse I give myself for my at-the desk nibblin [...]
Red Pepper Soup with Crispy Chickpeas
Perhaps it is my straitened circumstances after losing my job when my longtime food editing gig ended in December. Perhaps it is the exorbitant prices I am paying for only h [...]
Bruschetta Toasts
I have something of a reputation for accepting—nay, wanting—food items my neighbors would otherwise throw away or not know what to do with. Bruised apples, overripe plums, be [...]