It’s been hot and muggy here in Berlin. And no one has air conditioning (well, some of the hotels do, but no one I know who lives here does). So, I’ve been deeply enmeshed in the German summer OCD of opening and closing windows at magical times, sitting in front of the fan, taking coldContinue reading “Easy Summer Gazpacho with Cucumber Kimchi”
Category Archives: blackbird
Winter Soups: Lemon Chicken French Onion Soup
I know it’s not winter anymore, but…this was just too serendipitous not to post. Sometimes recipe ideas come together sheerly because of what you have to hand, and this is one of those instances. It started with Ina Garten’s Lemon Chicken with Croutons recipe, my go-to roast-chicken recipe because of the bang/buck ratio: you stickContinue reading “Winter Soups: Lemon Chicken French Onion Soup”
The Saga of The Soufflé Pancake
A true saga takes you on a ride. It has Mystery. Drama. Poetry. Heartbreak. And it goes on for waaaaaaaay longer than you hoped it would. As with all of my Quixotic quests, I don’t remember how this one began. Does it matter? At this point, everyone who likes to cook has seen a souffléContinue reading “The Saga of The Soufflé Pancake”
Field-Trip Fridays/Friday Favorites
Since I’m still recovering from Covid, my big field trip today was to the…wait for it…GROCERY STORE!! Yeah, not gonna write a post on that. So instead, here’s a top-10 list of my favorite cookbooks: Food of the Southwest Indian Nations. I grew up eating some of these dishes but learned a lot of newContinue reading “Field-Trip Fridays/Friday Favorites”
Grating Butter
I figured out the grating butter trick the way I figure out almost every hack I have: by being lazy efficient. I keep my butter in the freezer b/c I can’t stand the “refrigerator burn” it gets when it picks up the random smells of the other things in the ‘frig with it. But thatContinue reading “Grating Butter”
Winter Soups: Curried Squash with Popcorn and Apple
The weather in Berlin continues to suck, shocking exactly no one. So, when I got back from a long bike ride today (more on that tomorrow), I was thoroughly chilled and craving hot soup. My local grocery store has these pretty Red Hokkaido squashes that look like smallish, bumpy pumpkins (I think they’re in theContinue reading “Winter Soups: Curried Squash with Popcorn and Apple”
Pizza!
I can’t remember whose vlog I was watching, maybe Ashley Choi’s, but she got pizza and wine with a friend on a cold winter night, and I thought: That is a great idea. I’ve been cooking well for myself since I arrived in Berlin, but I haven’t gotten much in the way of local takeout,Continue reading “Pizza!”
Iron Teakettle and Winter Tonic
The rental I’m staying in in Berlin has this beautiful iron teakettle that sits on a brazier stand that takes a tealight. It’s so nice to brew a pot of green tea up and then sip it hot all afternoon while sitting and working on the couch. Today I put some winter tonic in theContinue reading “Iron Teakettle and Winter Tonic”
PBS Cooking School
I read a great short essay in the New York Times today by food columnist Eric Kim, in which he calls himself a “Food Network Baby” who, along with others of his generation, learned to cook–and to enjoy food as culture–by watching Emeril Lagasse, Rachael Ray, and other TV chefs in the late 90s andContinue reading “PBS Cooking School”
Capsule Pantry
I’ve done a couple of extended stays abroad for research and community work, and as I love to cook, this has presented me with the problem of how I can do so without investing in an expensive pantry that I am likely to have to throw out (or rehome with friends/neighbors). So, I’ve come upContinue reading “Capsule Pantry”
The Rookery 