kitchen adventures
While it hasn’t been an especially cold winter, so far, it’s often been dank and grey. In my kitchen, the best remedy for the winter blahs is a pot of soup. Recently I experimented with a Polish dill pickle soup – and found a new family favorite. What a winner!
What’s a magic lemon cake? I’m so glad you asked. I wanted to tweak my family’s favorite snack cake – Magic Chocolate Cake – and make a lemon version. What’s magical about it? This is a cake that tastes great, is dead simple to make, uses pantry ingredients, and only one bowl. There
Green tomato spice cake: if you didn’t tell people what was in there, they’d never guess. This is a simple spice cake, that ordinarily would be stuffed with nuts and various dried fruit, including citron. I substituted raisins and green tomatoes, and found a new keeper! Preheat oven to 350ËšF
Delicious and creamy, simple chocolate truffles – a little heavenly bite – can be the end of a perfect meal, a tasteful gift for a friend, a secret trove of indulgence. Fine chocolatiers make and sell truffles, sometimes at exorbitant prices. They’re often enrobed in tempered chocolate, but they’re also very,
When the weather turns chilly, I turn to hot chocolate. I hate powdered mixes, though: they never completely dissolve, and just don’t taste right to me. Many recipes for homemade chocolate syrup call for coffee. I purely hate the taste of coffee. For me, even a hint will completely ruin
Brunch is a lot easier at my house since I’ve been making overnight cinnamon rolls. Everybody loves them, and you can’t beat the convenience. Who wants to get up early and fuss a lot? They’re perfect as the weather turns cooler, or for any day when you might expect a
I love a good tart, don’t you? This chocolate raspberry tart is a wonderful example of something that’s simple but delicious, and it’s especially good when made with local berries. I like to make a small 5-6 inch tart. This will give you 4 servings, or 3 if you are
My grandmother’s answer to hot summer weather was a cold supper, and it always included a potato salad. In general, I’m very much in favor of the cooking of grandmothers, but I’ve found that I prefer a lighter version. This recipe for a lemon dill potato salad is adapted from
In summer, there’s very little that’s more refreshing than a Japanese cucumber salad (sunomono). You’ll need seasoned rice vinegar – look for it at a grocery that carries a large selection of Asian ingredients. If you have only plain rice vinegar, then add a bit of sugar and a bit of soy
During the Midwest summer, it’s generally hot and often humid. I simplify my cooking in the hot weather: big salads, piles of corn on the cob, bowls of cool fruit, grilled meats. I’m a big fan of lazy summer cooking. Sometimes we’ll get a burst of cooler air, and for
Old kitchen wisdom: “If it grows together, it goes together.” This potato, tomato, and squash tian – a Provençal dish – is a very tasty example, using the super fresh vegetables of summer. A tian is both a food and the vessel it’s cooked in: either a dish of vegetables baked together,
It’s full-on summer here, which means it’s (usually) hot and humid. Terribly, awfully, stickily humid. Even with modern air conditioning, for which I’m grateful, hot days mean cold suppers. Shrimp and avocado salad is a blessing on a sticky hot day: it’s cool and delicious, and also quick and easy to
I’m Maurita Plouff, and I write about cooking and preserving the local harvest in Southeast Michigan. Any recipe you find here is something I have cooked myself, and enjoyed, and think you might like too. I invite you to try the recipes, and leave comments.