Normally Sundays mean eggs, pancakes, croissants and pots of tea to sip. But not last Sunday. I’d overindulged and was craving salad with one of my favorite dressings: miso. Fortunately I live near Hong Kong Supermarket where there are so many types of fermented soybean paste it’s not easy to choose! And the ginger! I [...]

Tapenade is one of those items I love having in my refrigerator for snack time. Because I work at home, it just makes sense to have dips and things around for quick lunches. And it’s so incredibly easy to make. What’s funny is that years ago I detested olives. That is until I tasted tapenade. [...]

What a joy to have warm, homemade flatbread (dusted with with nigella seeds, an unusual spice) to enjoy with two of my favorite dips: tzatziki and sweet potato/chickpea (both pictured above). Although it takes some time for the dough to rise, flatbread is otherwise very simple to make. Also great plain (or with a dab [...]

Titan Foods in Astoria is one of my favorite shops for Greek goodies, but I can’t believe I used to drive all the way there to buy tzatziki when it’s so incredibly easy to make. (But please do visit the store for other things, like the large variety of feta cheese and olives). I even [...]

What do to with the tagine I bought at Sur La Table that’s been sitting in my cabinet for way too long? Make the eponymous dish of course. What I love most about tagines is that you can easily get creative making them. For example, I hate raisins, and though a lot of tagine recipes [...]

When I pulled up to the base of Spoleto, a charming town on a side of a mountain in the Umbrian region of Italy I wondered, what is that white truck selling, the one with the long line? Before embarking up the cobblestones to visit an amphitheatre build in 1 A.D. I had to stop [...]

There is a glint in her eye when we walk into the baking store because there are magical elements here: colored sugars akin to an artist’s paints, cookie cutters of all sorts, tart pans, cake pans, pie filling, chocolate molds, Valrhona chocolate, whisks, doilies, fondant and flowers. My toddler and I are at the New [...]

On a walk through the West Village today I got the essential ingredients I needed to make beef stew. First stop: Ottomanelli & Sons Meat Market.

This butcher shop on Bleecker Street is one of those family-owned businesses that I hope won’t fade into the past because I enjoy that old-school feeling of asking the [...]

Stepping into Brooklyn Larder is like entering the fantasy version of a corner deli, albeit one with so many tempting provisions you may not know what to buy. There’s hand-crafted cheese (and a cheese room), meats like cured pancetta, country paté and lamb merguez (made on site), fresh stocks, pasta, olive oil, homemade pickles, cashew [...]

I have a thing for caramels, but I don’t like just any caramels. I like them made with fresh ingredients (i.e. not drugstore caramels). The Sweet Life has the best I’ve tasted, plus one of my favorite combinations: caramel with salt.
I also have a thing for high-quality baking chocolate, cashews (they sell ones flavored with [...]