Do Chua Salad

Cookbook Club – Appetites: A Cookbook This year we lost a titan of the food world, so in Anthony Bourdain’s memory we used his Appetites: A Cookbook for our October Cookbook Club. Anthony Bourdain captivated so many people with his fearless travels, so it’s no surprise that this book of his personal favorites includes recipes…

Crunch and Squash Salad

I like a hearty salad that really gives you something to chew on and fills you up. This is one such salad – with crisp and crunch from the cucumber and jicama, creamy avocado, and roasted squash that adds an almost meatiness. You can of course add in other veg that you like and change…

Miso-Mustard Dressing

Cookbook Club – Salt Fat Acid Heat For September’s Cookbook Club, we used Salt Fat Acid Heat by Samin Nosrat. I’d call it more of a book about cooking than a cookbook… you don’t actually get to the recipes until the second half of the book, but the first half is full of information essential…

Spicy Sweet Roasted Squash Seeds

I’m a big proponent of minimizing food waste by using as many parts of produce and animals as possible. So next time you cook with squash, don’t throw those seeds away! Roast them for a tasty snack. You can do this simply with olive oil and salt, but I like to zing it up a…

Broccoli in Creamy Garlic Sauce

My grandma taught me this Chinese method for making a creamy garlicky sauce using cornstarch and egg. I love it on broccoli that has been parboiled so it’s bright green and still crunchy. It’s a quick and easy dish that tastes rich and full of flavor. Guessipe 1/2 lb broccoli florets 3 cloves garlic, minced…

Bok Choy Salad

Most people think of Bok Choy as a vegetable that you eat stir-fried, but did you know that it’s got crunch and sweetness that makes it great for eating raw? This is a Bok Choy salad that I whipped up for a pizza party that needed a fresh and bright side as a counterpoint to…

Cucumber Dill Blueberry Salad

The base of this recipe was inspired by a cucumber dill salad that my mom used to make when I was growing up. I freshened it up with the addition of red onion for a bit of bite and blueberries for a sweet pop. So good on a summer day! Guessipe 4 Persian cucumbers, sliced…

Green Bean Salad

It’s summertime, when I like a cool veggie side, but want something more substantial than a leafy salad. This green bean salad fits the bill, with lots of crunch from the beans, the nuttiness of toasted almonds, and egg for more substance. The dressing completes this simple tangy dish. Great for bringing to a summer…

Japanese Restaurant Dressing

You know that salad you get at the start of a meal at so many Japanese restaurants? And somehow they all seem to have the same dressing (which I’m not complaining about, because it’s sweet gingery deliciousnous)? Well, I always enjoy that salad, and found myself wondering why I couldn’t have it more often. So…

Roasted Acorn Squash with Hazelnuts, Brown Butter and Rosemary

Cookbook Club – Gjelina: Cooking from Venice, California Our April Cookbook Club book was Gjelina: Cooking from Venice, California by popular LA chef Travis Lett. You can see our whole recreation of the Gjelina experience on my Cookbook Club site. For now – my dish! The idea of brown butter, hazelnuts, and rosemary immediately conjured…

Ramen Salad

I’m not gonna lie… instant ramen is delicious. It was one of my favorite snacks as a kid, and it was only later in life that I discovered it has almost no nutritional value. But it’s still delicious. So use it to make this super easy salad, and you get the flavor you love in…

Honey Lime Yogurt Dressing

A friend of mine recommended a restaurant to me, raving in particular about a salad she had with an incredible yogurt dressing. I was skeptical that said salad could really have been the star of the show, but the rest of the food she described also sounded quite good, so I decided to give the…