Tachin: Crunchy Baked Saffron Rice
The pinnacle of golden crispy edges.
For special occasions, I make this dish. It holds such a presence on the table that it elevates even a simple roast veggie meal to a regal feast. I love to triple the recipe and bake it in a beautiful crown bundt pan. The golden crispy edges contrast with the soft creamy-like center and I guarantee it will have you looking for more.
Gluten Free Rhubarb Crumble
Tangy red deliciousness studded with crispy crumble and topped with creamy melty ice cream. #dessertwinning
While I love to tell everyone that there is so much more to rhubarb than just an ingredient for desserts, I have to say, it sure does shine laced with vanilla, lemon zest, and sugar and baked until bubbly delicious. I love tangy desserts, so you will find this is not an overly sweet recipe. It would probably be bordering too tangy even for my taste, but this is where the ice cream plays an important role. You can alternate bites of sweet melty ice cream and tangy crunch crisp, and the pair is fabulous.
Jalapeno Cheddar Cornbread
All cornbread is authentic—as long as it’s good, served hot, and made with love.
A happy childhood memory of the morning light streaming in through the kitchen window. Woken up by the smell of something delicious baking, I stumbled barefoot and butt-ass naked to the kitchen. My momma handed me a little slice of cornbread hot from the oven with a pat of butter and some honey drizzled on top. Happiness.
Garlic Scape & Stinging Nettle Pesto
Earthy and spicy goodness.
Earthy and spicy goodness.
Roasted Pumpkin Pasta
Real Pumpkin. Not pumpkin spice.
Pumpkin spice is not what pumpkin tastes like. There is an entire food industry built upon convincing people that pumpkin tastes like cinnamon, cloves, ginger, allspice, and nutmeg - let me tell you, it does not. There is this (typically) orange-fleshed vegetable that grows on a vine and it is delicious. It makes a beautiful pasta, which is a wonderful way to celebrate the “real” pumpkin flavor.
Lemon Poppy Seed Oatmeal Pancakes
Citrusy, fluffy, and packed with protein.
It is not very often, but sometimes I just wake up with that craving for some pancakes, you know what I mean? These are my go-to. I love serving them topped with greek yogurt, rounds of blood oranges, and a drizzle of fennel seed infused honey. They hit the spot without leaving me feeling heavy and gross. Sometimes, they even make it to a plate to eat like a civilized person, and sometimes, I eat them straight out of the skillet.
No-Knead Sandwich Bread
Flour + Yeast + Salt & Time.
I know you have probably heard of Mark Bittman’s No-Knead Bread recipe. It makes a great loaf, and for many people, the recipe revolutionized their beliefs about the quality of bread they could produce at home. With one loaf, they understood that they too, the home baker, could make beautifully crusted bread with an open crumb, at home, in their own oven. I love it.
This process is an adaptation of his loaf.
Habanero Hot Sauce
Turnin’ up that heat.
This week I decided to make a batch of habanero hot sauce with some of the habaneros I have sitting in the freezer from last season. I use this master hot sauce recipe as a guideline to make almost all of my hot sauces because I believe it creates the perfect base for you to create your hot sauce masterpiece.
Kombucha Fruit Leathers
Probiotic zing in roll form.
Surprisingly delicious, unless told, most people have no idea that these fruit leathers are that different from the store-bought ones. Maybe they have a little bit more sourness and zing to them, but honestly, I find them way better than that over-processed, dyed, sugar-filled store version. The tangy flavor and chewy texture of SCOBY is perfectly suited to these on-the-go probiotic-rich snacks.
Tomatillo Chicken Pozole
Tangy, funky, and hearty
The week before Aki and I moved, I made this soup and put it in the freezer. Let’s just say, as I was happily and excitedly stirring this pot of pozole, I had no idea that basically everything that could go wrong in terms of moving in the week to come, would.
Cream of Nettle Soup
Emerald green deliciousness in a bowl.
One of my absolute favorite springtime soups, this bowl of emerald green feeds my soul.
Stinging Nettle Pasta
The prize of springtime wild harvesting.
I dropped a batch of homemade pasta off at a friend’s house, and her wife answered the door. She looked incredulously at me as I told her the pasta was made with stinging nettle. She is a huge trail runner and only knew the plant as something you didn’t want to stumble in. She almost looked like she wanted to hand the container back, and I don’t blame her, but I urged her to try it. Later I got the text. “Rachel, the pasta, it’s so incredible.” I felt like I had just won the plant a new friend, and put a huge smile on my face.
Overnight Oats
Set yourself up for success.
I have noticed that if I eat a proper meal for breakfast, I do a much better job with the rest of my day. More often than not my morning time becomes jam-packed and unless I plan ahead, breakfast is often the first thing that gets compromised…
Farm Girl Carnitas Recipe
How to feed a crowd, where everyone leaves happy.
I show my love through cooking for others. So if I wanna get a group of us together, it’s often, “Come over. Let’s eat tacos.” Everybody loves tacos. Without any extra work on your part, people can make them vegetarian by leaving off the meat. Or your guests can just not use the tortilla and eat fewer carbs. Serve them with corn tortillas, and poof, they are gluten-free. Whatever their diet, they can find a way to eat them.
Fennel Seed Infused Honey
A versatile savory drizzle
I love infusing honey with different savory elements. It elevates what could be a cloying sweetness by adding body and complexity that gives your dish that “oh, that’s good” double-take.
Polenta
All day’s work kinda fuel
I have happy memories of standing barefoot in the kitchen stirring pots of bubbly lava. Up there with melted cheese and boiling syrup, making polenta can be a dangerous affair. Though, it is well worth the effort. After a long hard day’s work, nothing refuels the body like a bowl of this creamy yellow deliciousness.
Roast Chicken with Sumac and Rhubarb
Rhubarb. More than just pies.
I know rhubarb is called in many places in our country, the pie plant. But trust me. It has so much more to offer than just pies. For example, rhubarb can be the shining star in this roast chicken recipe from Melissa Clarks cookbook Dinner: Changing the Game.
Pea Shoot Pesto
Earthy delicious.
Pesto, to me, is one of the most versatile sauces. Wait, is it a sauce? Or is it a dip? I actually don’t know what I would classify it as, other than a combination of ingredients that have the possibility to be simply delicious.
As controversial as it may be, basil pesto, while very good, is not my favorite.
Have dried tomatoes? Make dried tomato pesto. Garlic scapes, stinging nettle, or in this case, pea sprouts… give it a try.