Category Archives: Recipes (Savory)

Wasabi Soy Sauce Pasta

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A plain looking pasta turned irresistible with soy sauce, wasabi, and butter.
A plain looking pasta turned irresistible with soy sauce, wasabi, and butter.

These days, when a trip to the grocery store demands the detailed preparation and stealthy movements of a crown jewel heist, we are all trying to make do with what we have on hand as much as possible.

That’s why I fell hard for this simple recipe for “Wasabi Soy Sauce Pasta.” Think of it as a Japanese version of Italian aglio e olio. It’s equally addictive, too.

It’s from the new “Rika’s Modern Japanese Home Cooking: Simplifying Authentic Recipes” (Rizzoli), of which I received a review copy.

The book is by chef and TV personality Rika Yukimasa, a Japan-native and graduate of the University of California at Berkeley.

While working as a commercial producer for a huge advertising firm in Japan, Yukimasa wrote cookbooks on the side. It wasn’t long before that became her vocation. She’s now written more than 50 cookbooks. She also hosts a popular cooking show, “Dining with the Chef,” which airs in 150 countries, including on PBS in the United States.

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Oh, Snap — As In Peas

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You won't want to cook sugar snap peas any other way after this.
You won’t want to cook sugar snap peas any other way after this.

Sweet — and yes — snappy, sugar snap peas don’t need much to enjoy fully.

In fact, just the opposite is true — we often do too much to them or overcook them so their delightful crispness is obliterated. As simple as they are to prepare, they can be tricky to get just right. A few seconds too long in a steamer, saute pan or boiling pot of water, and they turn wrinkly and mushy.

That’s why I practically leaped for joy after making “Sugar Snap Peas with Pine Nuts, Fennel, and Lemon Zest” from “The Side Dish Bible: 1001 Perfect Recipes for Every Vegetable, Rice, Grain, and Bean Dish You Will Ever Need” (2019), of which I received a review copy.

This tome of spectacular side dishes is by America’s Test Kitchen, where proper technique rules.

This easy side dish recipe gets snap peas perfectly. The key is cutting the snap peas in half — something I admit I’d never done before. Usually, I just stir-fry them whole.

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Easy-Peasy Spiced Ground Lamb with Peas

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A comforting home-style Indian dish -- in mere minutes.
A comforting home-style Indian dish — in mere minutes.

Some people always keep a bag of frozen peas in the freezer to suppress bruises or aches and pains.

Me? I keep one for last-minute additions to salads, soups, stews, pastas, and more.

They are nearly as good as fresh, easier to prep (there’s none involved), and are available year-round.

They add bright color, subtle sweetness, and gentle texture to so many dishes, including this one.

“Spiced Lamb with Peas (Kheema Muttar)” is from the cookbook, “Indian in 7” (Kyle, 2019), of which I received a review copy.

It’s by Monisha Bharadwaj, a chef and food historian, who runs an Indian cooking school in London, Cooking with Monisha.

As the name implies, the book is all about recipes for that take seven ingredients or fewer. Bharadwaj does take a few liberties with that, though. Cooking oil isn’t included in the official count. And some recipes call for simple sauces or pastes from a different recipe in the book.

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Burnt Broccoli with Tahini-Mustard Dressing

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Whisk together tahini, two types of mustard and vinegar for an addictive dressing for broccoli.
Whisk together tahini, two types of mustard and vinegar for an addictive dressing for broccoli.

Admittedly, much like a 5-year-old, my husband actually likes mayo or ranch dressing on his broccoli.

I get it, I get it. Folks like him just like a little creamy something-something to tone down the bitter, in-your-face vegetative character of broccoli.

But I’ve found something way better to dress it with instead.

“Burnt Broccoli with Tahini-Mustard Dressing” satisfies in the same way, but is definitely a step up.

This quick recipe is from “MUNCHIES Guide To Dinner” (Ten Speed Press, 2019), of which I received a review copy.

The book is by the editors of Munchies, the James Beard Award-winning food brand of VICE media group.

The look of the book is definitely millennial-driven, with its bright-colored, Instagram-like photos and its let’s-get-in-the-kitchen-and-hack-this vibe.

Some of the recipes would definitely qualify as stoner food, but ones you’d really want to eat no matter what your current state: I’m thinking of you, “Carne Asada Fries” and “Cacio e Pepe Popcorn.” Others are standards that should be in everyone’s wheelhouse, including “Lemognrass-Steamed Mussels,” “Grilled Caesar Salad,” and “Chicken Pot Pie.”

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Carolyn’s Never-The-Same Veggie, Bean, and Sausage Soup

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This is how I like to enjoy those now-scarce Rancho Gordo beans.
This is how I like to enjoy those now-scarce Rancho Gordo beans.

Who would have ever thought that dried beans would be as good as gold?

These are the times we are living in.

Since the shelter-in-place mandate went into effect, social media has been abuzz about how Rancho Gordo heirloom beans are in such demand now that the Napa specialty food purveyor is out of stock until May. Yes, a four-week wait.

But then again, its heirloom beans have always been highly coveted by those in the know.

I’m just thankful to still have several pounds of ’em from my order earlier last year.

What makes them so great? First, there’s the incredible variety, many of which you might be discovering for the first time, which aren’t readily available elsewhere. Second, it’s the freshness. Unlike beans that might sit on a supermarket shelf for years, Rancho Gordo’s beans turn over quickly, meaning that they are new-crop and will cook up faster and more tender. Third, they have so much flavor on their own that you don’t have to do any complicated to enjoy them.

My never-the-same soup always starts with Rancho Gordo beans, plus whatever worse-for-wear veggies lurking in my produce drawer.
My never-the-same soup always starts with Rancho Gordo beans, plus whatever worse-for-wear veggies lurking in my produce drawer.

Beans like these are hearty and satisfying, and come in so handy for making salads, stews, and dips. My favorite way to enjoy them is in soup — or in what my husband likes to call, “Carolyn’s Never-The-Same Veggie, Bean, and Sausage Soup.”

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