A Food Blog

Gluten Free Late Autumn Cake (With Pears, and/or Other Fruit)

I already forgot where I got this recipe, but I think this was its original title. I wish I find the original to add the reference to it. It definitely was not gluten free, but I wanted something quick and not fancy and in a smaller portion, as I was going to be the main consumer. So I found the recipe of regular easy fruit pie or tart, converted it to gluten free flour, cut in half, decreased…

I have two or three gluten intolerant friends, not counting myself, whom I have to take care for when baking. Along with the Thanksgiving Apple Pie I had to bring in some gluten free version for the potluck dinner. I already baked the regular pie and liked how it turned out, so decided to prepare similar dough with gluten free flour. (more…)

Most of you, my readers, can impress me with your version of omelette,  but there is a reason I want to share mine. Honey is not often paired with spinach in recipes. (more…)

Apple pie is expected to be on the Thanksgiving table and I wanted to take the challenge of baking it myself. But I never made it before and decided to train first. My first attempt ended in failure, though the pie was eaten, no one complained, but I was criticized by the family. (more…)

I have a favorite comfort food from your childhood, that grandma cooked especially for me, do you? I have several, and there is one I want to share today. I have to cook it for myself now and will cook for anyone I love and want to feel safe and comfortable just like my grandma long time ago. This is a rice and milk porridge called katnov in Armenian meaning “with milk”. Many cuisines combine…

The more green peppers ripen, the redder they turn, and become more  charismatic. I think that is one reason the cooks like to conserve their beauty. There are store marinated red peppers of different varieties, but I have an old recipe and it is so easy to make at home, I want to share it with you. The marinated ones in stores are made of smaller peppers. For this recipe, I take large bell…

Bushes of wild rosehip are rarely seen growing in California and the varieties here are more decorative than edible. The blooming rosehip is hard to pass by, it smells   unmistakably rose, but has more thin, delicate smell. By the autumn the bush covers with red berries, known to be edible and medicinal since the oldest times. Rosehip berries are full of thin, almost invisible needles. Though the…

I knew foe a long time that if I add tomato to savory dishes, or soup, or pasta, it will become much tastier. Then I learned that tomato have high levels of glutamic acid, or umami, which enhances the taste. My love towards tomatoes make me to notice any recipe that contains tomatoes. So when I noticed this dish in a recipe book, it looked so ordinary, I did not think of it to be tasty enough to…

Aragula is very tasty in green fresh salads, pairing very well with both sweet and savory ingredients. But it has, in my experience, one drawback – it grows very quickly. Because of that it is hard to get baby leaves both in farmers markers and grocery stores. The arugula leaves grow stringy but the tender parts are sensitive to trauma from spoon or dressing so you end up with stringy but damage…

Living our modern lives in our smart urban and not so urban counties we work hard to  embellish our houses. Everyone of us want very distinct, cool, high tech accessories for our dwellings. (more…)

I should have put a number in the title of this post, because there are numerous recipes called Red Lentil Soup with red lentils as main ingredient in them. Red lentil soup is commonly served in  Middle Eastern restaurants and resembles a soup puree. Red lentils are cooking so fast they start to puree in the first half an hour of cooking, and it is almost impossible to get a clear soup with red…

Sweet and Salty Cauliflower

I tried this dish once in Las Vegas in a high scale tapas place and loved it so much that decided to cook it myself. Since then, whenever I buy a cauliflower, I debate with myself whether I should prepare this way or try one of my other handy recipes. This one usually prevails, because it is both easy and tasty. Trio of unlikely ingredients meet together here to create a surprising combination…

Learning about food in different countries always interests me, the history, the ingredients, the process, the cooks, and of course the kitchens. I think the kitchen is a very special, personal place for any cook that bears his or her personality. I am happy that I had a chance to see and compare few kitchens in France. Though they were not in use now, I think they were showcasing a lot of…

Padrons, Shishitos and Others…

California farmers introduced these fancy small peppers a few years ago, and  they became instant favorites despite high price. One reason is instant cooking and tasty result. I remember the farmers patiently explaining every buyer how to use them, which was two words – fry them. Now I see them from late spring to almost December, and that is wonderful, because all you need is 5 minutes of frying…

Sorrel Lentil Soup with Sea Buckthorn Mandarin Tea in La Piazza

I found this pair in downtown Yerevan in a cafe called La Piazza. The place was busy and just like other places in other world cities, but I liked that the menu was part traditional Armenian, and part novelty. While in Europe sorrel soup is made from fresh young greens of sorrel plant, in Armenia  it tastes quite different. First, the sorrel variety is a bit different, and also the Armenian…

I was wondering what to pack for tomorrow’s lunch because if I snack instead of having a full meal, I will eat something sweet, and that will end with more calories. Being lazy to start cooking, I remembered one life saver,  ingredients for which I usually have at home: canned garbanzo beans, garlic, lemon, spices. I love hummus, but store bought hummus is too salty and too sour for my taste. I…

The Bridge of Sighs in Venice

From the countless bridges in Venice, each and every is distinct by itself. Every bridge from the ones connecting Grand Canal to the ones on small canaletto, is documented in history. Some are built by the state, some – by prominent families, and being related to the construction of the  bridge in any way was considered a great honor. Venetian bridges are open to air, and public, they are pieces…