For quite a while, I spent a lot of time on Amtrak commuting between Philly and DC. I spent those luxurious hours listening to podcasts and reading cooking magazines. When I came upon a recipe for the “best carrot cake,” I dogeared the page and resolved to bake the cake for father’s day. My dad loves this one particular carrot cake from a diner in Philadelphia, with shaved chocolate around the outside, cream cheese icing, and cute orange carrots made … Continue reading
This is the perfect salad to make when you need a refreshing side dish but have a very sparse pantry. I was making crêpes complète (buckwheat crêpes filled with ham, gruyère, and a runny egg) and knew I would need a bright side salad, something with lemon, to cut through the richness. But I had no salad greens, and the only supermarkets within walking distance of my new home are grossly expensive. I always keep a package of carrots in … Continue reading
I make variations of this soup for all seasons, and this one is perfect for summer. It’s light, healthy, and loaded with vegetables. The only problem is its name… I never know how to pronounce minestrone. Is it mine-strone or mine-stroney? Well, it’s delicious no matter what it’s called. And it’s also very flexible- you can make this soup a hundred different ways all depending on what ingredients you have available. The secret to making a great soup is to … Continue reading