Sesame Soy Sauce Spinach is a Super Simple Side Dish

For all the complicated history between Japan and Korea, the cuisines of the two countries have commonalities, and they've trickled down to our respective -American kitchens. It's not uncommon to have a combination of soy sauce, sugar, rice wine and sesame oil as a marinade, a sauce, or a dressing. My grandma used to make…

ByMichelleMarch 12, 20180Comments

Recipes Salads

CELERY SALAD WITH POMEGRANATE WALNUTS AND DATES

We've reached that point in the winter where I'm just about to my limit with kale salads. I had to go in a completely different direction, but still wanted a distinct crunch. The answer was obvious and not-so-obvious at the same time: celery. I've made a celery salad before with honeycrisp apple, and while delicious,…

ByMichelleJanuary 6, 20180Comments

Recipes

5 DELICIOUS WAYS TO EAT KALE

There's a lot of eyerolling and sighing when someone mentions kale. But the fact is, we eat a lot of it in the fall and winter. Already, we had a kale salad last night with a tahini yogurt dressing. I made crostini last week with red Russian kale and delicata squash. If you stop worrying about…

ByMichelleOctober 13, 20170Comments

Appetizers Recipes

Delicata Squash and Kale Crostini is What You Wanna Eat Now

This balsamic delicata squash and kale mixture is what to eat now. Are you ready for kale? It's been a gorgeous long summer of tomatoes and cucumbers and peppers and whatever else, but now I feel it. The chill is in the air, the flannel shirts are out of their long sleep, it's time. It…

ByMichelleOctober 9, 20170Comments

Recipes

Six Delicious Summer Dishes from Josh McFadden’s Six Seasons

Israeli-spiced tomatoes with yogurt and chickpeas from Joshua McFadden's Six Seasons cookbook. I first cooked from Six Seasons, Josh McFadden's vegetable-centric cookbook, before it came out in May. Spring took its time getting here in the Pacific Northwest and I only had a chance to cook a few recipes before summer came on full force. I'm…

ByMichelleAugust 29, 20170Comments

Pizza Recipes

Make this Tonight: Zucchini Pizza with Feta and Garlic

We're deep in the heart of the summer and zucchini is getting cheaper every week. We're talking 99 cents a pound cheap. And if you've got a neighbor growing zucchini, it might just be free. This zucchini pizza with feta and garlic was inspired by Yotam Ottolenghi's latest Guardian column in which he celebrates his love for…

ByMichelleAugust 1, 20170Comments

Recipes Salads

Grilled Panzanella Salad a la Tom Douglas

On a recent episode of the Seattle Kitchen podcast, Chefs Tom Douglas and Bridget Charters were talking summer grilling tips and Tom mentioned panzanella salad with grilled flank steak as a perfect one dish meal. Everything about it sounded delicious -- greens, mozzarella, asparagus, basil vinaigrette. It was all the suggestion I needed. We ate a…

ByMichelleMay 31, 20170Comments

Recipes Salads

Louisa Shafia’s Rhubarb, Radish and Strawberry Salad

Do you have any idea how sour raw rhubarb is? Until I found this Strawberry, Rhubarb and Radish salad in Louisa Shafia's New Persian Kitchen cookbook, I'd never thought to eat it raw. Thinly shaved it adds an acidic tang, but be forewarned, it's astringency can give you that dry tongue feeling, which some chalk up to…

ByMichelleApril 19, 20170Comments

Recipes Side Dishes

Fast and Fabulous: Minty Smashed Peas

The first time I had minty mushy peas was at a pub in Sydney. Served alongside a beefy pot pie, the combo of mint and peas was bright and just a tiny bit sweet, making it a perfect match for the rich sauce in the pie. But the name just put a damper on the whole…

ByMichelleApril 6, 20170Comments

Recipes Side Dishes

Roasted Asparagus and Sugar Snap Peas with Mint

Roasted asparagus is my go-to preparation the moment those green stalks hit the supermarket. Year-after-year, it's the first thing I do, even if you can wrap them in proscuitto, put them in quiche, or even make asparagus tamales. It's easiest to just snap off the bottoms, toss them in olive oil, salt and pepper, and crank…

ByMichelleApril 4, 20170Comments

Sesame Soy Sauce Spinach is a Super Simple Side Dish

CELERY SALAD WITH POMEGRANATE WALNUTS AND DATES

5 DELICIOUS WAYS TO EAT KALE

Delicata Squash and Kale Crostini is What You Wanna Eat Now

Six Delicious Summer Dishes from Josh McFadden’s Six Seasons

Make this Tonight: Zucchini Pizza with Feta and Garlic

Grilled Panzanella Salad a la Tom Douglas

Louisa Shafia’s Rhubarb, Radish and Strawberry Salad

Fast and Fabulous: Minty Smashed Peas

Roasted Asparagus and Sugar Snap Peas with Mint

Book Review: A Ghastly Catastrophe by Deanna Raybourn

The Fourth Princess by Janie Chang

26 New Asian and Pacific Islander Books for your 2026 TBR