Vegetables – The Kitchen Tourist

Green Bean Casserole with Mushroom Cream Gravy

This is not the “authentic” American pantry casserole with condensed canned soup and bland canned vegetables. This uses fresh vegetables and rich butter and cream and ok, some canned fried onions.

Puerto Rican Rice

We’re serving a big Puerto Rican feast again this weekend and working on meal planning. I came here to grab our standard Arroz con Gandules recipe and realized I somehow had never posted it. Most people I know who’ve tried this dish absolutely love it. I’ve had so many people ask for the recipe, some more…

Hungarian Baked Cauliflower with Swiss Cheese – Rakkot Karfiol

I have nothing against plain cauliflower, but adding a light gravy and a good quantity of swiss cheese and breadcrumbs gives it a creamy-crispy golden deliciousness that’s pretty great. Also useful as a vegetarian foil to the sauerkraut and all the pork possible casserole I’ve already posted. Separating the cauliflower out into bite-size pieces is…

Baked Sweet Potato “Fries”

So delicious, so easy, so colorful – even healthy too! The only problem is having enough – and it becomes slightly more labor intensive if you do it in very large quantities. I recommend recruiting/enslaving some scullions. Or volunteering, if you feel very nice. We’ve made these for everything from summer birthday picnics to Thanksgiving….

Fish Tacos & Strawberry-Mango Margaritas

I’m on vacation in California, making fish tacos with homeade roasted tomatillo salsa and mango-strawberry margaritas. Yum!

Delicious Summer Salads

I love salads that are packed with colorful fresh fruit or vegetables, but easy to make ahead and keep in the fridge. They’re handy for events or just when you want to make them to eat for several days. These salads, Tropical Fruit with Honey-Mint Dressing and Black Bean Corn Salad with Cilantro Lime Dressing,…

Cucumber Kimchi – Oi Sobaegi – 오이소박이

Cucumber Kimchi uses the same techniques as Cabbage Kimchi but takes less time to be ready and isn’t something you store long-term. Don’t make it in huge batches! Just enough to serve as a side dish. You will want to use small, firm cucumbers. The filling ingredients are up to you – chives, radish, and…

Quick & Easy Homemade Pickles

Jump to recipe I first tried this recipe as part of the Amish menu for our Amish vs. Cyborgs party. I’m not sure it quite qualifies – it doesn’t involve any arcane traditional canning methods, just a bit of slicing, stirring, and sitting in the refrigerator. The only problem with making this recipe and sharing it…

Corn Salsa Flapjacks

I’ve been making these flapjacks for years. They’re a family favorite recipe, easy to make with pantry ingredients and cooking up quickly. My only problem is not eating half the stack hot off the griddle before I serve them for dinner.

Cheeseburger Soup

This is definitely Midwestern American “comfort food”: a hearty potato soup fortified with hamburger and American cheese and other ingredients that make it rich and satisfying, if not the healthiest recipe in my repertoire. Perfect for cold nights when you’re craving something warm and familiar.

Moroccan Chickpea and Carrot Tagine

This recipe has everything going for it: it’s cheap, quick, colorful, healthy, and delicious. It’s from an interesting cuisine I want to learn more about, yet I can keep all the ingredients in our pantry. Plus it’s vegetarian/vegan friendly so I can serve it to anyone on short notice without worrying about dietary restrictions.

Roasted Red Pepper Risotto

Risotto requires a bit of patience, something I’m usually in short supply of on a Monday night. But a last week – when I first said I’d be “restarting this blog” – I came home on a cold dark evening to find no one would be home for a while. I was hungry and felt…