blackbird – Page 14 – The Rookery

New Mexican Haul

Apples from Roberto’s on the High Road to Taos, pinto beans from Chama, atole (fine-ground blue cornmeal) from Chimayó and dried red Hatch chiles….

I recently picked up a taiyaki mold at Cost Plus (I guess the kids call it World Market these days….) because I love the ice cream taiyaki from Uji Time in Japan Center in SFO and because what’s not to like about adorable fish-shaped doughnut-pancakes? They’re very similar in conception and taste to æbleskiver—no clueContinue reading “Taiyaki/Bungeoppang”

Comfort Food: Kimchi jjigae

This makes me so happy. I use this recipe with a couple of tweaks from Eric Kim—plus my homemade kimchi and homemade tofu. I have never once said the words, “This has too much kimchi in it,” but I may have gotten preeeeetty close this time. Oh well, I’ll just eat it with rice. OnContinue reading “Comfort Food: Kimchi jjigae”

Look! I made another brick…. sourdough whole wheat sandwich loaf from A Perfect Loaf (I’m giving you that link so you can see what it’s supposed to look like. Oh well, tastes like bread.

Elderberry Cordial

There are elderberry bushes all along the slopes of the Sierra Nevada, and today I went to one of my favorite picking spots outside Bridgeport to harvest berries for this year’s cordial. I use this recipe from Hank Shaw. You just have to be careful to pick the berries off the stems because the stemsContinue reading “Elderberry Cordial”

Campfire Fish Tacos

Just got back from a great, quick trip to the Mendocino area to escape the smoke. I’ll sort through my photos and post a trip report tomorrow, but for tonight it’s this quick hit: a serendipitous recipe for fish tacos I came up with on my last coastal camping trip and repeated this time withContinue reading “Campfire Fish Tacos”

Perfection

This is an essay I wrote two years ago as a thank-you to my dear friends Eric & Vicky, who gave Malena, Hyunsuk, and me their reservations for a temple-stay weekend with the Buddhist nun and chef Jeong Kwan at Baekyangsa Temple in Jeollanam-do, South Korea. LCO “…this Body itself is Emptiness and Emptiness itselfContinue reading “Perfection”

Umeboshi (update)

Looking good so far! It’s been 2 weeks, and the plums have released enough brine to submerge themselves (just), and there’s no mold or anything. So, I’m adding the herbs at this point. Couldn’t find shiso, so used a mix of mint, basil, and lavender from my garden. Now it goes down into the basementContinue reading “Umeboshi (update)”

The Apricot Pit

I enjoy coming up with new cocktails. I’ve invented them for holidays; I’ve named them after friends; I’ve memorialized pets with them. Once you figure out the basic formula, you can improvise on it–just like cooking. You can find a bunch of basic formulas online, but the one I like to work around is 2Continue reading “The Apricot Pit”

Miso Soup from Scratch (kind of)

This isn’t a recipe; it’s the story of a minor obsession—and a pretty typical one as far as my cooking obsessions go. I start with something that fascinates me and then go down a rabbit hole with it until I realize it’s dark and cold, and then I backtrack a bit and settle in somewhereContinue reading “Miso Soup from Scratch (kind of)”