Onion goo

You know how sometimes you go somewhere new, and unexpectedly you end up eating something that blows your mind?  And then you spend months, even years, coming back to that memory, in odd moments, in the shower or on the bus?  And then you think, "God, I have to go on a desperate search for this thing RIGHT. NOW." but you can't find it anywhere?  And then you start wondering if it'd even be as good as you remembered, because time and memory have a tendency to drop rose-tinted veils over your senses?  And so this mythical dish lives on in your mind, floating in and out of your consciousness, causing moments of wistfulness for years on end?

Yeah.

This is the story of Zoe and the "onion goo."  Spoiler alert: it has a happy ending.

Baked Maple-Mustard Tofu

I make this tofu all the time because it’s great to have around to toss with a salad, wrap in a sandwich, or just snack on hot or cold. It’s baked for a long while at a low temperature to get as much moisture out as possible, leaving you with satisfyingly chewy, meaty tofu.

White bean and tomato soup

My grandmother never really liked to cook.  She did it, of course, for many years out of necessity--in the pre-feminist 50's and 60's, with a husband and three daughters to feed, cooking was an inevitability.  And as a good Jewish grandmother, conditioned to shower her family with love in form of food, she continued to make meals for us whenever we visited.

But with the rise of packaged foods, as her children and grandchildren have grown independent and her body has slowly wound down, she's stopped cooking on her own.  Now, at age 87, with a 94-year-old strict-vegan husband, her repertoire in the kitchen is limited to cocktails in the evening and fruit salad in the morning.  Most of her recipes were handed off to my mother long ago; they're Mom's recipes now, and that's how I remember them.

But there's one recipe I do remember well from her kitchen, the only real "grandmother's recipe" I have: white bean and tomato soup.

Curried Lentil Soup

I’ve been traveling a lot over the past month, mostly for job interviews. Looking for a job on the West Coast while living on the East Coast is maybe a little bit crazy, but hey, it’s worth it. DC isn’t a bad place, but I can’t wait to get back to Seattle and all of its wonderful particularities. Not to mention the abundance of farmers’ markets, and fabulous coffee to be found on every other corner!

Jet-setting is fun for a few weeks, but it takes its toll as well: the jet-lag, the screaming baby on the redeye flight, the work that needs finishing when you return . . . October arrived, things finally calmed down, I was about to recover from my exhaustion—and then the weather turned in DC. My poor immune system couldn't handle the combination, and I got hit with a classic case of the common cold. What to do? Make soup, of course.

Fried Okra

Okra is my favorite vegetable. A lot of people are turned off by the slimy texture, but to me that's just one of its charms, along with its mild yet unique (and tasty!) flavor. I am lucky enough to have grown up eating okra, as it was usually the vegetable that was served in my elementary school cafeteria in Texas. Those of you who didn't grow up with it might find it sort of freaky.

Okra is a summer vegetable; I found a bunch of it at the market last weekend, which I bought without even thinking about what to do with it. I love it simply steamed with a little salt and pepper or lightly stir-fried; it's also a necessary ingredient in gumbo and is used to delicious effect in Indian cooking (where you'll find it under "bhindi"). This time, though, I figured I might as well try my hand at frying it Southern-style. I do live south of the Mason-Dixon Line, after all, and batter-fried was the first form in which I tried it.

If you're not used to okra, frying it this way is a great way to introduce yourself to it. If you can't love okra covered in cornmeal batter and deep-fried, there is something wrong with you!

Asparagus Salad with Sweet Balsamic Vinaigrette

pictured with"Bass in Paper," a recipe I'll reveal at a later date

So here's the dilemma: I want to start cooking more seasonal fruits and veggies in my dishes, because that's what all the cool kids do nowadays and because it's a practice that goes hand in hand with buying local. I also want to cook asparagus, which I find quite tasty. The problem is that a) we're fast approaching the end of the summer season and b) asparagus cannot, in good faith, be considered anything but a spring seasonal. Oh well -- better late than never.

This recipe comes out of my mother's recipe box and has quickly become a spring/summer favorite in the household. While Dijon mustard, olive oil, garlic, and balsamic vinegar aren't by any means a revolutionary combination -- it makes for an excellent marinade on chicken -- I'm happy to report that it works very well as a base for an asparagus salad vinaigrette. There's also comparatively little prep time involved, which is always a plus for a side dish.

Finally, I should mention that this recipe is Emily tested and approved (she even went back for seconds!), which means that it can be a good choice for friends and family members with a minor aversion to veggies. Give it a try the next time you want to try something new alongside your entree... though you may need to act quickly, lest the asparagus disappear from the markets until next March.

Recipe after the jump:

Go-To Stir-Fry

My first post was a little bit of a challenge. I'm writing from my parents' place in Grapevine, Texas, where cooking the way I like to can be difficult for me. I like to cook with local, seasonal ingredients, and otherwise vegan. Right now, though, I'm in the land of Texas-sized grocery stores and Texas-sized steaks. Plus, my family's tastes are pretty different than mine, so what to make that everyone would enjoy?

My mom loves American-style Chinese food, but it's something she'd rarely try to make for herself, so I decided on the perennial vegetarian go-to: a simple stir-fry. It's simple, it's a crowd pleaser, it's pretty healthy, and it's very flexible: I did up some veggies and tossed mine with fried tofu, while Mom added some chicken for herself and my brothers.