Articles

Cornmeal Sparkle Cookies

1 Mins read

Isn’t ”sparkle cookie” a great term of endearment? As in, “Ohhh my little sparkle cookie!” When I’m a grandmother, I’m absolutely calling my granddaugher that and making this recipe for her all the time. Until then, I occasionally refer to my friend Kat as “Sparkle Cookie,” and I made her a…

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Articles

What is that and why is it in your fridge?

2 Mins read

I’m sure you can guess a few ingredients in the abstract swirl of green above. Nonetheless, I continue this He Cooks She Cooks feature and ask, what is that and why is it in my fridge? It’s my version of chimichurri, a common condiment in Argentina but with many variations….

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Articles

Trial and Error with an Ice Cream Maker

2 Mins read

Fun story about how I acquired my ice cream maker: bored in class one day, I decided to peruse the classified section of the Columbia Missourian, where I work for school. Well just my luck, someone happened to be selling a 4-quart electric ice cream maker for $15. It definitely…

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Articles

Banh Mi with Marinated Pork

3 Mins read

I have finally had a banh mi! I first learned of the Vietnamese sandwich from the LA Times in November. Then it seemed everyone was talking about them. The NY Times, LAist and multiple foodbloggers. My sister said even my high school newspaper had an article about them. I loved…

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Comfort Me With Apples: My Introduction to Ruth Reichl

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I didn’t know anything about Comfort Me With Apples when I saw it at the school library. It was simply an orange hardcover without any summary or critical praise. But I knew Ruth Reichl was important in food and its journalism, and I figured I could learn from her writing….

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Peach and Bell Pepper Salsa

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More and more, I find myself needing to cook. Not because I want to eat but because I just feel like chopping and mixing. Getting a perfect dice on an onion? Rapidly slicing celery? Whisking a vinaigrette? Grinding spices? These are all therapeutic activities for me. And it just doesn’t…

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Mexican Chocolate Icebox Cookies with Dulce de Leche

2 Mins read

These cookies need a milk chaser, and that’s a good thing. I prefer desserts that demand a cold glass of milk. By that I mean, rich, dense and chocolatey. For me, there is definitely such a thing as “too sweet” — many commercially made desserts fit this category — but…

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Cherry Almond Brownies

1 Mins read

I used to have a pile of more than a dozen cookbooks near my bed. Most were library books, some were Michael’s, one was chef Mike Odette‘s. When the semester ended it was time to return them all. I was left with two books of my own: “Alone in the…

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Articles

Marinated Tuna Steaks

2 Mins read

I’m generally skeptical of eating fish in Missouri, a landlocked state more than 1,000 miles from a coast in either direction. But when I saw some perfectly pink tuna behind the glass of Hy-Vee, I remembered the tangy marinade I made when I was in Sydney last year. Michael wasn’t…

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Chorizo Taco Salad with Corn Salsa

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Last week I picked up a pint of beautiful cherry tomatoes at The Root Cellar. I popped a whole one in my mouth and it was like candy (which is a wonder because I didn’t even like tomatoes really until I got to college). I was so happy to finally…

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