a $17,000 blast chiller, a $4.99 app or a $1.99 spider skimmer? holiday gifts for your favorite foodie…

image from l.a. times

thursday’s food section in the l.a. times had some terrific holiday ideas for the home chef on your list. sous-vide machines, hand-held smokers and induction burners – cooking at home now has 5 star aspirations…i mean, how did i live so long without wanting (or knowing i wanted) a $600 vitamix pro 500 series blender?

much closer to reality is russ parson’s article about the cooking essentials that will be the go-to tools for any cook on your list. whether you buy them individually as stocking stuffers or do the whole kit and kaboodle in a gift basket (may i suggest a modernest bag?), these items will not gather dust on the counter and all are well below $10 each. personally, i would love a microplane grater (hint, hint irishman!)…

and finally, a list of apps that range from free to $4.99 (for mark bittman’s “how to cook everything” app…hint, hint, hint!…). for now, i’m going to install EPI, a free app from epicurious that puts 25,000 recipes from the archives of bon appétit and gourmet at my fingertips…how handy!

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meatless monday recipe: israeli couscous summer pilaf…

image from fatfreevegan.com

it is hot. it’s been over 100 degrees in the valley for the last couple days. that is hot. every year, i kvetch and complain and wonder how anyone in their right mind would choose to live in this kind of heat. every year, i seem to forget how hot it gets out here. maybe it’s some kind of survival amnesia.

the thought of cooking anything makes me want to keel over. seriously. so when i started poking around, looking for this week’s meatless monday recipe, i was thrilled to discover susan’s beautiful blog fat free vegan kitchen and her recipe for a fresh and colorful and chilled (hooray!) israeli couscous summer pilaf. this is a guest recipe from vegan cookbook author, nava atlas – but the rest of susan’s site is beautifully shot and chock full of terrific recipes, so i know i will be revisiting often…

we have everything on hand for the pilaf except for the israeli couscous (might have to substitute with quinoa) and the apricots (i usually don’t like fruit in my food, unless it’s an avocado, but many of the comments said that was what made this dish extra special). she also said i can up the lemon and reduce the olive oil, but since i’m not looking for a low fat dish, i will play it by ear/eye.

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like father, like daughter…george and mira nakashima…

ooh, thank you apartment therapy for starting my saturday off right with an introduction to the beautiful george nakashima woodworker website!

his daughter mira’s keisho collection (meaning “continuance” or “succession”)  uses the same artisans that were trained by her father. the website is worth exploring:  quiet, lovely and filled with love and and a deep respect for nature and craftsmanship…

and finding beauty in imperfections…

image from carnegie mellon design

there are sketches and family photos and stunning behind the scenes images of a true artist at work. beyond beautiful.

enjoy!

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new year, new goals, new garden?

thankfully, many people are making the decision to eat locally this year – and for some, this has inspired them to grow their own food. but what if you’ve never had a garden before? treehugger had an excellent post – kind of a gardening 101 – to help you get started on this most worthy and rewarding endeavor.

more advanced than that? then treehugger (seriously, one of my favorite sites!) had an interview with lee reich that is full of useful info as well as reading recommendations.

don’t have a yard? life on the balcony is a terrific blog for apartment and condo dwellers who want to garden in a small space.

and while we all can’t be martha, last week’s “iron chef america” showed us the bounty that could be grown just outside our door (in 7 months, the white house garden had produced 700 lbs. of delicious, organic veggies!).

but i thought the best line was when chef batali said to chef lagasse,

“this is how we should cook everyday.”

…truer words were never spoken on the food network!

in celebration of vegetables…

this article in today’s section of the l.a. times literally made me smile. in it, russ parsons talks about the sad little vegetable, outshined each year, at holiday tables by the roast or ham or whatever form of meat entrée that may be the star of your get together. and so,  in this season of practicality and – for the first time in a long time, a true appreciation of sharing – we should take another look at our friend, the vegetable side dish.

just as so many of us are making gifts and appreciating the small, quiet gestures of the holidays this year, so too can a beautiful vegetarian dish make our hearts (and tummies) swell. but for mr. parsons, it goes deeper than that:

And let’s face it, there’s no part of the Christmas dinner that is more overlooked than the vegetable. We have an uneasy relationship with them to begin with. There is always a taint of obligation when it comes to vegetables. No matter how delicious they may be, that pleasure is always somewhat undercut by the knowledge that they’re also good for us. It’s like getting slippers for Christmas, or a vacuum cleaner.

Well, maybe it’s time we grew up a little, huh? In the first place, I asked for slippers this year, and my daughter asked for a vacuum cleaner. So let’s not make any jokes. Practical gifts that give small pleasures throughout the year are not to be overlooked.

his recipe for a cauliflower and potato gratin is the one that got my attention. made from simple ingredients and easy to prepare, this will become a supper staple in our house – not just for the holidays, but throughout the upcoming year. the words of mr. parsons reminded me of the true spirit of the holidays – it truly is about the people around the table this year, more than ever – so here’s to veggie dishes, potlucks and slippers!

season’s gratins!