Food and Recipes

Plan for today: first, submit my votes for a thing I agreed to jury for — this one is quick, but I am increasingly convinced that such jury work should come with honoraria, so one of my priorities for 2018 is figuring out how to offer those to all the SLF jurors. Somehow — I […]

Owl and owlet.  These are made with my speediest form of decorating — make a six-second icing, color it, dip cookies and scrape off excess (takes a light touch to get the right amount off, but you get used to it), sprinkle with colored sugar.   These are quite time-consuming, adding these details, because you

Kavi just took Anand a little plate with his allotment of four apple-cheddar croissants. I told her she was a nice Acca, and she laughed and said, “I’m doing this so I’m not tempted to eat his too.” (Pillsbury crescent rolls wrapped around a slice of apple and some pre-grated cheddar, bake for about 12

This is a fiery, fruity accompaniment that will keep refrigerated for a long time — you can add a little to your plate of rice and curry whenever you want to kick things up a notch. It would also be tasty with cheese and crackers, or layered in a sandwich with roast meat.   2

‘Congee’ comes from the Tamil word ‘kanji,’ and refers to a rice-based porridge, eaten through Asia. This variation is a comforting way to start your morning, a traditional breakfast made either with fresh rice or leftover, and served with a little jaggery to sweeten it. It’s also good for building up the strength of recovering

The first time I started writing a Sri Lankan cookbook, it was meant to simply be a Christmas present for my mother — writing down some of her recipes. The book only offered a few dishes in each section, and featured sketches that a friend drew illustrating me and my mother cooking — “You cannot

(4-6 hours, served 8)   This is a dish of Dutch / Sri Lankan origin, perfect for a Sunday roast, when you have time for long, slow (yet easy) cooking. A great dinner party dish. Yummy with rice — also great in weekday lunch sandwiches on hearty Italian bread, or shredded into a pita or

(45 minutes, serves 6) For those afraid of okra, I promise you that this will not be slimy at all. A tender vegetable dish, with a nice toothsome chew to it. 1 lb. okra, washed and dried 1/2 t. turmeric 1/2 t. salt vegetable oil for frying 2 T ghee or oil 1 onion, sliced

Papadums are little lentil crisps, high-protein and good for you; they’re typically eaten with a rice and curry meal and lend a delightful crisp texture and flavor. Traditionally, they were fried, but many of us avoid frying these days, so I decided to make them three different ways to compare the results.   I’m afraid

Homesick The problem with going deep is that you can fall in. You find yourself reheating frozen food, a pale imitation of the real thing. Making other dishes over and over trying to remember decades-old cinnamon in the nose, lime on the tongue, chili heat lingering on your lips — a pain that you seek