Basic cookie, with pine nuts

My experiences in New York are always linked to a tiny little 2+ block radius in the West Village, where my cousin lives. It's where I stayed the very first time I visited New York at 17, where I stayed before I went up to Poughkeepsie for college, where I lived for several years thanks to the generosity of said cousin - in a cozy basement apartment, watching her adorable daughters grow up. When I visit New York now, I still end up there, where things have changed so much, and yet not at all.

Cauliflower, deconstructed

Ah... cauliflower.

Ever since I discovered the wonder that is roasted cauliflower, I have devoured it every chance I got. Roasting is still my first choice in how to prepare cauliflower, but a new craze of "cauliflower rice" had taken the food interblogs by storm, and I was curious.

A return to kale

I started this blog (so long ago!) with some posts on kale, which at the time was a recent discovery. Back then, I only cooked with it, meaning I always ate it cooked, either braised or sautéed or added to soups. I can say without a doubt that I had never tried it raw.

Then I moved to California. This was probably at the height of kale's popularity (or infamy?). I think everything people say about California is more or less true, especially the food - there is a lot of fresh, local produce, and everything is done to preserve that freshness. And so, for the first time, I had raw kale. Of course, this raw kale was massaged into submission with a Caesar dressing or with avocados and lemons - something to break up the rawness. The first 10 times, I thought it was so delicious, I would eat a huge bowl of salad for dinner. I started to get a little bored, so I would vary the flavors - an Asian-style dressing using sesame oil and rice vinegar. Or I would accessorize: large shavings of Parmesan and slices of apples, or persimmons and almonds. Then it was in smoothies, with apples and avocados and mangoes and pineapple. And then on popcorn! But after that, I just couldn't any more, with the raw kale. It was time for a break.

Not so underground anymore

Well hello!

The past few months have been - suffice it to say - nuts. I guess that is what moving across the country will do to you. It has been quite the roller-coaster ride - new job, new co-workers, new roommates, new routines... exciting and also - literally - unsettling.

And what suffered the most? My cooking, or lack thereof. And when I say "cooking," I mean so much more than just making food - it's a little bit food shopping, food prep, recipe browsing, Food Network watching, cookbook reading, and actually cooking.... Usually I am brimming with ideas and plans of what I will cook, but with all these changes going on in my life, any notion of cooking went out the window. As a result, I have been feeling somewhat incomplete.

Inari sushi

Ask and you shall receive. It is kind of crazy how this works out sometimes.

Inari sushi is one of those things that only Japanese and Korean people eat/like - amirite? I mean, try explaining what it is is to someone unfamiliar with it ("it's rice stuffed into a fried tofu pocket that has been soaking in a sweet liquid"), and just see if they will take a bite.

Accidentally vegan thumbprint cookies

I do not seek out vegan, or gluten-free, or even vegetarian foods (even though I don't eat beef or pork). And despite the name "vegan thumbprint cookies", these cookies appealed to me because they sounded really yummy and very easy to make.

And they were quite yummy - a lovely nutty, oat-y, soft yet crunchy base, perfectly balanced with the sweet and tart jam.