Article

Chocolate Tahini Shortbread Cookies

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Illustration: Tram Nguyen

 

I try not to post too many cookie recipes on here, because cookie recipes = cookie testing = cookies lying around the house, and frankly I have no willpower in the face of freshly baked cookies. I am not one to deprive myself of treats, but I suspect it is less than healthy to eat a full batch of butter/flour/sugar/chocolate in a single sitting by oneself more than, say, once a month, and recipe testing usually requires making lots of batches of something in relatively short order. Because my version of restraint is by most standards, uh, pretty modest, I do my best to not tempt fate too often.

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Article

Someone Please Tell Me What to do With Preserved Lemons. (Also, a Scofflaw Recipe)

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Illustration: Tram Nguyen

 

There’s a great little Middle Eastern market in my neighborhood where I go to stock up on fresh pita, whole spices, and spinach pies. A few months ago, I threw a jar of preserved lemons and pomegranate molasses in my shopping basket. I’d never used either ingredient, but I had vague Nigella Lawson/kitchen goddess-related aspirations and she uses them a lot in her cooking. I took the lemons and molasses home, envisioning exotically-spiced poultry and complicated tagines in my future. Maybe I’d start referring to eggplant as “aubergine.” Maybe I’d even stop hating eggplant.

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Article

Not-At-All-Healthy Bacon, Cheddar, and Scallion Dip

Illustration: Tram Nguyen

Illustration: Tram Nguyen

 

Happy New Year! I know January is supposed to be all about health, and so far my record in this department has been more or less fine. In the last few weeks I have cooked myself a brothy chicken soup with rice noodles, a kale and zucchini frittata, and a shrimp vermicelli bowl. I drank a few spinach, banana and blueberry smoothies. I attempted to choke down some sardines, for Omega-3s. I have done yoga every day this month. I even took an exercise class that came dangerously close to jazzercize. (That last activity was terrifying.) All those things were fine! I feel good! But let’s be honest, healthy living is boring.  Read more