Weekend Kat Blogging: Monkey Love And Pockets Are Cool

When Kat opened up her Christmas present from her Uncle Dan, at first she was afraid of it.
I think it was the mandrill’s big red nose that scared her. But when she first opened it and pulled him partway out of the box, head first, she ducked her head, and scooted behind me, and peeked […]

Brussels Sprouts: A Much Maligned Vegetable Finally Comes Home

I admit it.
I used to be a hater.
I used to hate brussels sprouts, and could never understand why in the world anyone in possession of their senses would ever want to eat one, much less more than one of these mutant, alien miniature cabbage heads. They were mushy, watery, bitter, and smelled like–well, like […]

Muhammara: It’s Vegan, It’s Good For You and It’s Damned Sexy

Muhammara is a dip, spread, sauce, condiment or salad that is said to have originated in Aleppo, Syria, although, it is served and eaten all over the Middle East.
It is also sexy: red, a little spicy, smooth, and oh so slippery on the tongue and tingly on the lips. It’s like a long kiss […]

Taste vs. Flavor, Or, In Praise of Our Noses

I was reading somewhere on the net, a thread of conversation about food, foodies, and what makes a foodie a foodie. In the middle of this wide-ranging discussion, one commenter postulated that most foodies were supertasters who have tongues which can discriminate between the most subtle nuances of flavor between different foods.
Except, as another poster […]

Inspiration For A Light Supper: Moroccan Chicken Salad

In creating dinner specials for Restaurant Salaam, I have found inspiration in sometimes surprising places.
Of course, I am inspired by recipes I have found in the many dozens of cookbooks covering the regions of North Africa, the Eastern Mediterranean, the Middle East, India and Western China which I have in my collection. This goes […]