. Chee-lah-KEE-less! I mentioned I wanted to make chilaquiles to a Mexican friend the other day and you should have see the smile and look of rapture that come over his face. This is true Mexican comfort food, what your mom made you for breakfast when she had some stale t...
Nopalitos are the edible young paddles of the prickly pear cactus, grown throughout their native Mexico, the southwestern United States, and the Mediterranean (brought back by the conquistadores). The paddles are widely available in Mexican markets in the US, either whole (...
Years ago, backyard quince trees were common. People would cultivate them to harvest the fruit for cooking in pies or preserves. Inedible raw, and looking like a cross between a pear and a golden apple, quince cook up sweet, with a vibrant rose color and a floral aroma an...
Before there was edamame in this country, there were hot boiled peanuts, which according to my Southern friends, are a staple of the South. Boiled peanuts are just raw peanuts that have been boiled in salted water for hours. Great with beer or a cold soda, these salty soft...
We have a thing for greens in our family. Beet greens, collard greens, mustard greens, Swiss chard, kale. My mother even picks dandelion greens to add to soups, and mix in with other greens. The thing about most greens is that they tend to be bitter, and some, like colla...
Planning a holiday party? Consider putting these empanadas on your to-do list for appetizers. If you are not familiar with empanadas, they are basically turnovers, usually stuffed with a savory minced meat filling, and popular throughout the Spanish and Portuguese speak...
Please welcome guest author Jaden Hair of Steamy Kitchen who brings us this Chinese-American classic, . ~Elise After moving out of the dorms in college, I found an apartment to share with 3 others. My job was to cook, and as long as what I put out on the dinner table was...
Do you have an iPhone? Or a web-enabled cell phone? If so, you can now browse Simply Recipes with your phone, in a custom-built site, designed specifically for the itsy bitsy screens on mobile phones. When Apple came out a few months ago with their latest "3G" iPhone, ...
From the archives. One of our favorite cakes for the season that I first posted here over five years ago! ~Elise When it's apple season here in Northern California, we are picking and processing daily from our trees (3 trees, 15 varieties). Of the many apple recipes we ...
From the recipe archive, for Halloween pumpkin carving. Fall has arrived and with it, the pumpkin season. There are always plenty of pumpkins to carve up around Halloween time and a great way to make use of the pumpkin seeds is eat them, salted and toasted. Our prefere...
This pear pie by guest author Garrett of Vanilla Garlic scored major points with my parents. Great pie! ~Elise Every once in a while I see a recipe in a magazine at the doctor's office or in the reception room of my work and tear it out with all good intention of making...
We tried this thyme mint cream sauce from another recipe and loved it so much I decided to make it with chicken and pasta. Great flavor combination, and the kicker is that by the time the pasta water has come to a boil and the pasta is cooked, everything else is ready too, ...
My father found this Louisiana recipe for collard greens in the Wall St. Journal earlier this year that we've now made several times. Each time I wonder why we don't make them more often, they're so good! The combination of the bacon, onions, sweetened cider vinegar and h...
Don't you just love it when you put something together on a whim, and it works out the first time? My friend Garrett had a few extra pears from a baking adventure which I decided to poach in Marsala wine, with some sugar, star anise, cinnamon, and cloves. Star anise has a...
Stuffed bell peppers is one of those classic comfort food dishes that my family practically lived on when I was a kid. This recipe my mother got from Adele Davis as mom was teaching herself to cook in the 60s. Like so many of those early recipes, mom has modified them to h...