• Spicy Chickpeas with Curry Leaves and Kale

    Spicy Chickpeas with Curry Leaves and Kale

    Oh kale, you’re everywhere. You’re in my belly right now because I just had you for lunch (a raw salad that was a little too spicy from Little Dom’s Deli). You’re a fad, you’re a trend. You’re chips, you’re juice. You’re unavoidable in L.A. And here I am putting a recipe with kale in it…

  • Heavenly Hummus with Homemade Pita Chips

    Heavenly Hummus with Homemade Pita Chips

    One thing that I like about cooking is that even if think you know a recipe, there’s always a better version lurking around the corner. It’s always possible to make something better. So, for example, homemade hummus: I’ve been making it for a while. Generally, I just strain a can of chickpeas (reserving the liquid),…

  • Omelet Issues

    Omelet Issues

    I’m at the point now where I really think I could make a good omelet, only I’m held back by a cruel and powerful force: a sticky non-stick skillet. David Lebovitz warned me, ages ago, not to flambé in my new non-stick, that it might ruin the coating, and did I listen? I did not.…

  • Avocado Soup

    Avocado Soup

    A confession: If I do a dinner recipe on the blog on a Friday? It’s usually my worst one. Not necessarily because it doesn’t taste good, usually it’s because the picture isn’t good. It’s the post I didn’t want to blog on Monday or Tuesday and then Wednesday came around and by Thursday I was…

  • Cheese Enchiladas with Chile Con Carne

    Cheese Enchiladas with Chile Con Carne

    Enchiladas have come into my life in a big way. It started when Craig talked about his mom’s enchiladas in the first episode of The Clean Plate Club. That inspired his mom, a week later, to make her famous enchiladas for dinner when we were all up in Bellingham. Her recipe is hand-written on an…

  • Killer Homemade Nachos

    Killer Homemade Nachos

    On Saturday morning, I woke up with a throbbing headache, totally dehydrated and desperate for coffee. That’s always the sign of a successful Friday night (ours involved seeing “Blue Jasmine” so you know it was wild). A few hours later, feeling better, I was craving some greasy food to accompany my viewing of “It’s Complicated”…

  • Adana

    Adana

    The weirdest thing: we moved to Atwater Village, right next to Glendale, only a few weeks ago. When our New York Times weekend subscription kicked in, I eagerly opened the magazine, as I always do, checking out the food column before attempting (and failing at) the puzzle. To my total amazement, Mark Bittman’s column celebrated…

  • The Ultimate Weeknight Dinner: Braised Chicken Thighs and Cauliflower with Olives and Capers

    The Ultimate Weeknight Dinner: Braised Chicken Thighs and Cauliflower with Olives and Capers

    You’re not going to believe me, but I’m telling you the truth: the dinner you see above? It’s cheap and easy. Don’t balk! I kid you not. Last Monday, I made this dinner for less than $20 and it was one of the best things that I’ve made in a long time. I didn’t even…

  • A Kitchen Table

    A Kitchen Table

    One of the things that came up, when we found our new apartment, was the fact that there was room for a kitchen table. I liked that idea, but didn’t really think that much about it. As we set things up, though, there was an obvious space in the kitchen–in front of my cookbook shelf–that…

  • My Top 10 Favorite Breakfast Recipes

    My Top 10 Favorite Breakfast Recipes

    Breakfast may be my favorite meal to cook because there’s nothing fussy or formal about it. You just wake up, roll out of bed, head to the kitchen, put the coffee on, see what you’ve got in the fridge and the pantry and get going. Most of the time, I improvise with what I have…