Gilding the Lily since 2006
A match made in heaven, no? I’m not talking about tuna noodle casserole, though I ain’t mad at that; especially not when it’s made with home-canned albacore and fresh sweet onion-shiitake bechamel. I’m just talking about some pasta, some seafood, something green and something dairy. This …
The best thing about having a compost heap is not the smug satisfaction of reducing your household waste to a mere 10 gallons a month, or seeing healthy organisms thrive in your soil, or the idea that the nutrient cycle may be so poetically expressed …
I love salsa verde. Throw it into a pot with a pork shoulder and you’ve got chili verde, ready for stuffing peppers or enchiladas. Mix it with crème fraîche and use it as a sauce for grilled fish. Or just eat it in a warm tortilla …
A month or so ago, I did a cooking demo for Stonyfield yogurt, and ended up with 4 quarts of plain, nonfat Greek yogurt, with an aggressively impending expiration date. At first I tried just slipping it into everything: burritos! salad dressing! cornbread! But eventually …
I love fish cakes. There’s some casual thing about them, all getting sand in your shoes and an itchy sunburn on your shoulders, needing Noxzema and iced tea. Their beachiness could be as literal as the fact that cod comes from the ocean (our local chilly …
I hate talking about it, but I’ve been sort of counting my calories the past week or so. I should have started a few months ago, but we’ve only just started to have nice weather. Cloudy days were invented for chicken and dumplings, and we’ve …
Oh yes I did, and before you give me that look, let me just tell you that tater tots are basically hash browns and are therefore a perfectly acceptable breakfast food. So lower that eyebrow, you. Besides, this is only one store-bought potato product away …
Just a quickie post this time, because it’s canning season again, and I’m getting busy. My season starts with strawberries and other lovelies from California (mostly just halving and freezing to buy sweet time), but it’s also a great time for pickling the early birds. …
Dutch babies are a signature dish of one old Portland institution, the Original Pancake House. When you order one, they bring it out all puffed up on the plate, sprinkled with powdered sugar and with a little carousel of toppings: whipped butter, lemon wedges and …
Yes, spring is here in Portland, but hanging-on cloudy days have me clamoring for earth tones. I’ve always preferred muted earth tones and rich jewel tones, and even though I should be eating piles of sweet green pea tendrils and fennel bulbs, I don’t mind …