Pork and Apple Enchiladas Verde Casserole

Apples are gloriously in season this month; at our farmers market, a double handful of varieties are currently available, including two of my favorites, MacIntosh and Jonathan. MacIntosh apples, in fact, were the first apples I introduced Zak to in order to convince him that he really liked apples. He was convinced for years that […]

Cowboy’s Pie–A Tex-Mex Take on a British Classic

I made an offhanded comment in my last post about how the chipotle-chevre mashed potatoes would make an excellent topping for a Tex-Mex version of the British standard casserole Shepherd’s Pie. The more I thought about it, the better of an idea it became. And I did have a goodly bit of mashed potatoes left […]

Preserving the Beauty of Tomatillos For Winter

Tomatillos are a gorgeous fruit, and they are an integral ingredient to one of my favorite cooking sauces from North America–salsa verde. The fruit, which is encased in a papery husk like a leafy Chinese lantern made of mulberry paper, is often thought of as simply green in color, but the truth is, the hues […]

Wholly Vegetarian Refried Beans (Which Taste Like They’ve Been Cooked With Pork)

I grew up eating lots and lots of dried beans, simmered on low heat all day, in a big pot, seasoned with a ham hock. My favorites were pinto beans, which were usually served in a bowl with diced raw onions on top and cornbread on the side. They may or may not have had […]

Heirloom Tomatoes Are Here!

Heirloom tomatoes are a hot topic in the food world these days, with writers generally trumpeting their virtues, though some folks, such as Derek from An Obsession With Food, have conducted taste tests of some varieties of heirloom tomato and have been both underwhelmed and blown away.
What makes a tomato an heirloom? Well, they […]