Red Lentil Dal with Mustard Seeds as Pseudo Soup

Onion cutting had always been a painful, eyeball drenching task for me, until I discovered this failsafe method: ski goggles. A matchstick in the teeth worked partially, but the issue is the chemical irritant onions release when their cell wall is breached. Basically onions are the vegetable equivalent of a skunk. But don a pair […]

Msemmen Flatbread for the Doctors Ellis

Congratulations, Dr. Ellis! Exciting times in the family, had a reunion this weekend in Columbus, Ohio to celebrate my brother’s becoming a doctor. I got to walk with faculty and hood him on stage, guh, such an honor. It’s a long road, but there is a large, delicious dinner at the end with all your […]

Turkish Pita and Stuff

Stuff is the worst. Possessions are one thing, shoes are treasures, but stuff is a curse. It would be great if there were a giant flour sifter, a big silver cylinder, and I could just squeeze a handle to capture all the treasures while losing the dust, the stuff, that clutters my floors and shelves. […]

Avocado, Feta and Cherry Tomato Salsa Flatbreads

Haiku #7 Since honesty kills drama, why not walk through each new day stark naked? Avocado, Feta and Cherry Tomato Salsa Flatbreads Adapted from Food and Wine 2 cups cherry tomatoes, quartered 1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for brushing 1 small shallot, minced 1/3 cup chopped mint 1/3 cup chopped cilantro 1 1/2 […]

Turcoman Sourdough Bread

For marriage counseling, KP and I did some group sessions with couples from Quest Church (Seattle). It was in one of these sessions that I met my first Turk. The way we all came to learn this about him: the group facilitator had asked us to share what ground rules we had thus far established […]

Afghan Snowshoe Naan

Got two or three inches of snow last night. I had hoped to find a pair of snowshoes in time for this recipe. I would stomp through the backyard posing intrepidly with today’s naan, but all I had was a pair of skates, hand-me-downs from Carol Sundholm. Luckily, the freezing rain from last week created […]

Afghan Home-Style Naan

Back to the once-a-week Amazing Race-esque world bread scavenger hunt. This time we go to Herat, Afghanistan for another tasty flatbread. I now own a real pizza stone and a bread peel thanks to my birthday, and this recipe tested them both. What a vast improvement over the Uighur naan from China! This flatbread is […]

Uighur Naan with Cumin and Onion

Pardon the interruption to our regularly scheduled programme with Baking Illustrated—I was recently gifted a “breads of the world” cookbook, Flatbreads and Flavors by an esteemed Calvary member, Greg. The authors describe themselves as “people caught in the grip of wanderlust” (and probably flour dust, I surmise). I’ll be making culinary excursions at the beginning […]