Easy & Elegant Orange-poached White Fish

Some days I don’t feel like cooking. At. All. You probably know the days – the ones when you’re tired, it’s hot, and you lack motivation to do anything in the kitchen that will take much effort, but you also want to eat something that is relatively healthy and light. Today was one of those…

Spiced-rubbed Sichuan Roast Pork

I have a recipe for you.  It’s not my own.  But it is pretty delicious and inspired by the Sichuan peppers I ran across on my recent trip to China. Sichuan peppers, if you haven’t had them, are an interesting experience.  I won’t say interesting flavor, simply because flavor is too simple a word for what…

Super Simple Stir-fry Formula

My first recipe experiments were in a shared dorm hall kitchen during my freshman year of college.  Unfortunately, those meals were mostly forgettable. What I do remember is that my neighbor, homesick for her native Korea, thought I made the perfect taste-tester.  She would cook dishes that were unfamiliar and exotic to my rural Utah…

Batches of Green Chile Garlic Burgers + Evening Rituals

My husband and I have a Monday-evening ritual that involves cooking up the same thing each week and tuning in to the latest episode of House.  It’s not exciting.  In fact, it is completely comfortable and relaxed – a way of easing back into the week.  But, it is something we both look forward to….

Colorful Mango Chicken Salad Lettuce Wraps

For those of us still on the edge of winter, this recipe will add color to dreary days. Want to see how to cut a mango?  Check out this post here. Lime juice vinaigrette for chicken salad -add a little garlic or chili flakes for kick Colorful Mango Chicken Salad Lettuce Wraps March 8, 2012…

The Original Paleo Chipotle Chicken Cauliflower Bake / Casserole

Many moons ago, when gluten and dairy were not an issue for me, I used to love making a chili cheddar pasta dish I’d found in Cooking Light.  It was awesome – filled with noodles, milk, butter, and cheese.  But, alas, no more. As I transitioned to a whole foods way of cooking, I realized…

Crock Pot Pork Carnitas with Cabbage Lime Garnish

Cubes of pork shoulder marinated over-night in milk and quartered oranges. A 5-gallon pot with pounds of lard and the pork chunks heated to the brink of boiling, and stirred every so often by a 3-foot, home-made wooden paddle. Pork that is extremely tender, has a slight crisp to the outside, and can easily broken…

Celebrating Simple Meals That Delight: A Full Meal Recipe

I finished Nicole Mones’ The Last Chinese Chef last week – which I really enjoyed and recommend.  Two ideas, in particular, from the book struck me. The first was the idea that food is often most delicious when it is simple – when it has no more ingredients than it needs and the essence of…

Highlighting Native Foods: Three Sisters Chorizo Casserole

Kabocha, a Japanese winter squash that can often be found at Asian grocery stores and sometimes at your local grocer’s, is beautiful, with creamy, deep-orange, and sweet meat.  It is also my all-time favorite squash.   I like them so much that within two days, I had bought two of these suckers at two separate…

Cocoa Iron Chef Night: Chicken Mole Poblano

Last week presented a new Iron Chef Night (ICN) challenge, and a good reason to finally make mole (pron: mo-lay), something I’ve shied away from for years because of a childhood memory.  I don’t actually know if I ate mole that didn’t taste good or if the combination of flavors just sounded horrible to my…

Spaghetti Squash Gratin with Crimini Mushrooms

Like everyone else lately, I was looking for a recipe that that would turn spaghetti squash into something amazing.  Not that it doesn’t have merit on it’s own – really, what other vegetable looks so cool when cooked?  But, it is a pretty mild vegetable and I was looking for some kick. In the end,…

Artichoke and Caramelized Onion Quiche

There are many ways to skin a cat, but only one way to get at the heart of an artichoke OK, no cat-skinning, just the need find an alternative way to deal with a tricky bulb.  It’s Iron Chef night.  This evening’s ingredient is the now in-season artichoke, a vegetable with which I have very…

Buckwheat Noodles with Spring Veggies and Walnut Dressing

If you have not been to 101 Cookbooks, you must go.  Now!  Heidi, the author of this blog as well as the cookbook Super Natural Cooking, offers some seriously good eats. The recipe I have most enjoyed since she shared it last spring is Walnut Miso Noodles.  It is something to be eaten in spring,…

Risotto with Mushrooms – Drinky and Stinky Garlicky Goodness continued…

Today is the day – garlic fest!  I’m excited to see what other garlic dishes make an appearance at dinner tonight, particularly for dessert.  I’m sure it will be delicious, or, at the very least, an interesting experience. The second entrée we are making is a vegetarian, dairy-free, naturally gluten-free risotto.  Sounds delicious when I…

Easy Paleo Tomatillo Enchiladas

I found a bottle of home-canned garlic tomatillo salsa at the market a couple of weeks ago.  It was in a quart-sized Mason jar with a raffia bow and a simple hang-tag for a label.  I knew what I’d use it for when I bought it; I’ve just been waiting for the craving.  And tonight,…