Grit Came From Above
January 26, 2008
[To everyone who came here looking for "kittens" on Google, welcome. You should go here. Never let it be said that we here at HtoM stood between the people and what they came for.]
Hailing from Georgia as I do, I find it hard to believe that there are people, going to and fro in the earth and walking up and down in it, who actively hate grits. Surely, I figure, they haven’t been introduced to a properly composed bowlful of the stuff. Who of right and stout mind could resist its considerable, cheesily substantial appeal?
Perhaps (although it seems like its own form of craziness) it’s in the butter and the cheese of it all that the problem lies. After all, several of my friends in Atlanta, a number of whom were Georgians born and raised, invariably opted for the healthier charms of cornbread, toast or fruit when we’d go to brunch on Sundays. I thought of them when tinkering with this Epicurious recipe for butternut squash polenta. Read the rest of this entry »
Almond Pancakes and Apricot Compote
January 20, 2008
The breakfasts J. and I make are usually savory—aside from our love of all things egg-related, we’re typically drawn towards foods that skew towards the saltier side.
But yesterday at brunch (I might tell you where our favorite spot is someday, but I haven’t worked up the stones to reveal it just yet), we found ourselves gazing hungrily at the light golden waffles our friend A. had ordered. Glazed with honeyed maple syrup and covered with a thick carpet of spiced apples, they staggered us into stealing multiple forkfuls from his plate in between bites of our chilaquiles and huevos rancheros.
Unsurprisingly, when we found ourselves in a pantry-cleaning mood this morning, we threw together as many sweet and fruity things as we could, ending up with a stack of lacy, buttery pancakes and a pleasantly oozy apricot compote. The pancakes had a satisfying crunch from a handful of ground and sliced almonds that we impulsively added to the batter. They were mighty fine. I’m already thinking about the next time we make them, and how some tweaks—maybe a little orange zest, vanilla or cardamom—might work in the batter.
Paella in Point Form
January 14, 2008
The one thing I immediately thought of buying when I found out my office was sending me to Madrid for a week was a good, old fashioned paellera - a shallow pan specifically made for paella. Although I live in London, in a gardenless flat, far from any wilderness or even open spaces where barbecues are allowed, my imagination still ran wild with thoughts of paella cooked over twilight open fires, with fresh seafood pulled directly from the ocean into my pan and saffron tendrils falling from the sky like a gentle snow. And, well … I bought the paella pan. I am now willing the rest of the vision to appear. Isn’t it just like purchasing a Ferrari at age 57? Don’t the hot chicks just appear? If you build it, they will come….?
There are extensive debates as to how to make a proper paella. What meat? What stock? Saffron or paprika? Add rice, then stock? Stock, then rice? What veggies? Oh lordy, it didn’t promise to be an easy undertaking. Then there was the matter of the paellera itself - did it need to be seasoned, like a wok? Could I use soap when it needed washing, or did it need to be treated like a delicate nonstick fryer - where no metal could ever touch its surface? My saffron-dusted dream was quickly turning into a bitter nightmare fraught with imitation food-colouring.
Read the rest of this entry »
Masoor Dal with Tomatoes
January 11, 2008
When I was a wee N. (n., shall we say), modern western medicine rarely wound its way to me. My mother treated most — if not all — of my occasional childhood sicknesses with the same methods her mother had used, except for (perhaps fortunately so) the outdated panaceae of gripe water and mustard poultices.
I have nothing to say against the cure-alls she used; I’ve grown to be a healthy adult, albeit short and knock-kneed, and on many bleak winter days I think back fondly to the more edible medicines, the potions she served to me in large white bowls brimming with steam. Many of the ingredients she used — neem flowers, turmeric, cumin seeds whole and ground — are substances many now consider magically, potently healthful.
Potato Soup with Peas
January 4, 2008
Bitter, disgusting winter weather plus a latent cold? I wanted soup, of course, but not the usual suspects — chicken noodle, tom yum goong or any others in their brothy company. I wanted something hearty, but silky; starch-laden but still brightly seasoned and flavorful. Wandering through Fairway, mittens in pockets, I decided potato soup would be just the thing, but that I’d have to do some thinking to leaven the blandness. I eventually picked up some peas, a pair of lemons and a bunch of thyme, ingredients my mother likes to use in a summery buttermilk soup.
Sure, It’s Confiture
January 3, 2008
Homemade strawberry jam is one of those things that, when you announce to friends that you’re planning to make some, elicits several comments that are — for my part — not so accurate. Most of these comments drop neatly into the category “Time and Hands,” as in “look who’s got too much on theirs,” and it’s with that observation that I take issue. (With the runner-up, “That Sounds Rad,” I have no contentions. More toast?)
Truthfully, I haven’t had much time these days. To spend hours on a Saturday afternoon gently skimming froth from a saucepan growing gummier by the minute would be impossible for me. That’s why this recipe is such a find: within half an hour, with minimal effort, you have jarfuls of deeply satisfying, garnet-colored jam. As a spread, it’s tailor-made for toast, cookies, cakes and — as was the case with my mother — gifting to the neighbors.
