

Wasabi with tahini?
"Embrace the wasabi and think of it as a hot mustard." Sue Li/New York Times The above photograph of Chicken and celery salad with Wasabi-tahini dressing by Sue Li comes from one of my desktop calendar pages, the recipe for which and a longer introduction, can be found on the Seattle Times website. As you probably know by now I'm not really into salads, but this one looks like a possibility - but wasabi and tahini? My first reaction was 'weird'. Why would you do that?
Dec 16, 2025


Bananas and butter - a surprise ramble
"Yes!! Why? Because bread is tasty, butter is tasty and bananas are tasty!" Neat_Expression 5380/reddit I've really enjoyed this little ramble around the net, which just started out with bananas and butter and ended up with all sorts of weird and wonderful sandwiches via America's deep south in the Depression, New Orleans, Japan, the Minions, Hitler and Elvis. Perhaps I should stick to the route I took, which began with bananas and butter, inspired by my fairly regular open
Nov 23, 2025


Tomato and corn pies (and tarts)
"The problem more often than not is a basic one: tomatoes are very wet and tart crusts need to stay fairly dry" Deb Perelman/Smitten Kitchen I needed something that wasn't going to take long because I had already used up half of the day on reading a book group book and trying to speak Italian in my Italian class. Very depressing. So I decided I would pick a recipe - and then just ramble - and this was it - Deb Perelman of Smitten Kitchen's Tomato and corn pie I'm not exactl
Nov 11, 2025


Uneasy and undecided
"Improvisation is the ability to talk to oneself." Cecil Taylor It's the same old question. What shall I cook for dinner tonight? And...
Oct 12, 2025


Lentils and pasta - minestra?
"Perché la minestra si fredda (because the soup is getting cold)" Leonardo da Vinci Those words are sometimes cited as Leonardo's last...
Oct 11, 2025


Contrasts and a bit about layers
"Sweet meat must have a sour sauce" Ben Jonson (1572-1637) Opposites attract they say, although I'm not at all sure that this is true...
Sep 17, 2025


A perfect match - zucchini and pasta
"Dishes that, when followed by a salad, piece of cheese and accompanied by a bottle of wine, can feel like an everyday feast." I have now...
Jul 22, 2025


Pomegranates and pasta?
"The unexpected joy of combining pomegranates with traditional pasta" WIX AI post title suggestion This is the nearest I could get to an...
May 8, 2025


Broccoli, pasta - ordinary - but ...
"What’s courageous about the timeless combination of broccoli and pasta?" Deb Perelman/Smitten Kitchen The answer is nothing of course. ...
Apr 22, 2025


Cabbage and pasta
If Johnny Depp were a cabbage he would be cavolo nero whilst Jude Law would be an easier, accessible, sweeter but frankly rather boring...
Feb 3, 2025


An AI suggestion
"The unexpected joy of combining pomegranates with traditional pasta" Wix AI Wix has taken to generously providing me with three AI...
Dec 21, 2024


Watermelon and pomegranates
Yesterday's painting of the day from Cézanne was the above - Watermelon and Pomegranates. Well it's food isn't it, so this is my today's...
Dec 19, 2024


Guilt leads to pistachios - and pasta
It's a long time since I've done a lucky dip. I had one sitting on my desk - Charmaine Solomon's Encyclopedia of Asian Food was the...
Dec 7, 2024


Chicken and green peppercorns for dinner
“It was there all the time: That small, green, aromatic, fresh berry that eventually becomes our common black or white peppercorn was...
Nov 30, 2024


"Potatoes cooked in olive oil or butter"
"Because they absorb a good deal of whatever fat they are cooked in, it follows that the fat should always be the best possible." ...
Oct 19, 2024


Robert Carrier, chicken and grapes
"The grapes will soften, relax and caramelise into the winey sauce at the bottom of the pan. The sweetness compliments the chicken, and...
Oct 7, 2024


Cool as a cucumber
"Pert as a pear-monger I'd be, If Molly were but kind; Cool as a cucumber could see The rest of womankind" John Gay 1732 I was going to...
Sep 26, 2024


More mayo - this time with pineapple
"a pineapple sandwich is one of those foods that it seems only Southerners love and appreciate." Southern Living This one began with a...
Sep 17, 2024


Caramelised onion chutney - dinner?
"Improvisation is the art of being completely O.K. with not knowing what the f— you’re doing" Mick Napier It's one of those...
Aug 31, 2024


Odd couple? - Smoked trout and carrots
This is one of those musings on what to do with what I've got in the fridge - and this time it's not a really obvious pairing - smoked...
Mar 28, 2024

