Mushroom Scramble

For this spur-of-the-moment, dark-hued scramble, thinly slice or dice one shallot and add this to a pat of butter melting in a skillet over medium-low heat. Let the shallot soften for about 3-5 minutes, stirring occasionally, then add anywhere from three to five smallish crimini mushrooms, roughly diced. If the pan is dry, add a [...]

Cool Rice Salad for Hot Days

For days when it’s just too hot to contemplate cooking, it’s good to have some meals on hand that are filling but don’t require actual cooking. The trick with this one is that you have to plan ahead a bit because the two main components do require the hot stove as well as time – [...]

Spanish Tortilla (sort of)

A dish like this is why I love having a mandoline/slicer: it makes quick work of potatoes, delivering lovely thin slices that cut down (ha, sorry) on the time required for something delicious like Spanish tortillas. In this case I started with Austrian fingerling potatoes, reducing two mutant fingerlings the size of small hands (well, [...]

Spring Salad

Once again, I’m spurred to action of the cooking sort by rapidly aging produce. This time, it’s peas. Spring means fresh peas, and in a burst of enthusiasm I got shell peas from my CSA. And then promptly let them sit in the fridge for a week. Luckily, the awesome Orangette‘s podcast Spilled Milk just [...]

Pot Luck Salad

This week my office had a pot luck lunch, and I felt compelled to make something myself rather than buy my contribution at the grocery store. Considering the situation – no real kitchen, no oven or stove except a microwave – I immediately thought of one of the picnic/potluck standbys: some sort of pasta salad. [...]