more veggies, please!

A great snow day recipe! These will be gone in minutes. 40 minutes – serves 2 to 3, makes 12 pancakes 1 pound (about 2 medium) zucchini 1/2 large yellow onion, sliced thinly 1 1/2 teaspoons coarse or Kosher salt, plus extra to taste 1 large egg, lightly beaten Freshly ground black pepper 1/2 cup all-purpose flour 1/2 teaspoon baking powder Olive oil 1. Preheat oven to 200 degrees F. Have a baking sheet ready. 2. Trim ends off zucchini and shred in food processor. 3. Toss zucchini with 1 teaspoon salt and let sit for 10 minutes in a colander. Squeeze out the liquid by pressing shredded zucchini against the sides of the colander with a wooden spoon, and then squeeze out small handfuls at a time, transferring wrung-out handfuls to a medium metal bowl. 4. Add ½ teaspoon salt. Stir in onion slices, egg, and some freshly cracked black pepper. In a small bowl, stir together flour and baking powder, then stir the mixture into the zucchini batter. 5. I...

1 hour – serves 4 1 3 pound spaghetti squash, halved lengthwise and seeded 3 tablespoons olive oil ¼ cup sliced almonds juice of 1 fresh lime 1 tablespoon honey ½ teaspoon ground cumin 4 scallions, thinly sliced 1. Heat oven to 400ºF. Place the squash on a rimmed baking sheet, drizzle the cut sides with 1 tbsp oil, turn cut side down, roast until tender, 40 to 50 minutes 2. Meanwhile, spread the almonds on a second rimmed baking sheet and toast in oven, tossing occasionally, until golden brown, about 6 minutes. 3. In a medium bowl, stir together the lime juice, honey, cumin, 2 tbsp oil, 1 teaspoon salt and ¼ teaspoon pepper. 4. With a fork, gently scrape the strands of squash flesh into a bowl and toss with the lime juice mixture. Sprinkle with the almonds and scallions. from my mom’s magazine clippings

3 ½ hours total – makes 2 medium pizzas ½ cup extra olive oil, plus more as needed 4 garlic cloves, finely minced 1 cup freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano 2 cups fontina, diced (12 oz) 1 ½ cups fresh ricotta (12 oz) 4 cups mixed fresh wild mushrooms, brushed clean and sliced 2 potatoes, scrubbed clean and thinly sliced optional: 4 eggs whole wheat pizza dough (see below) 1. Prepare pizza dough the morning before you plan to make your pizzas. Divide dough into three rounds, save one for another time as this recipe is for two pizzas. 2. Place pizza stone (once I pay off all my grad school tuition) or baking sheet  (that’s more like it) on the lowest oven rack. Preheat oven to 500ºF and let the stone get very hot. 3. In a small bowl, combine the oil and garlic. 4. Form pizza crust. For the next steps, divide ingredients among the two pizzas. Spread the Parmesan and fontina on each dough round, then crumble a quarter of the ricot...

I’m still trying to figure out a recipe to match the amazing salad served at Golden House in San Francisco. 40 min – makes 4 servings Nuoc Cham Dressing ¼ cup warm water 1 ½ tablespoons sugar ¼ cup rice vinegar ½ tablespoon fish sauce (optional!) 1 garlic clove ½ tsp chili-garlic sauce ¼ tsp salt 1/8 cup shredded carrots Salad 1 package cooked vermicelli noodles 1 cup mung bean sprouts 1 cup shredded carrots 1 cup sliced cucumbers ¼ cup chopped cilantro ¼ cup chopped basil ½ cup chopped peanuts ½ cup chopped green onions juice of 1 lime salt to taste 1 package frozen veggie spring rolls 1. Mix the warm water and sugar in a small bowl until sugar is dissolved. Add the following nuoc cham ingredients and set aside. 2. Preheat the oven to the temperature provided on the spring roll package. Drizzle a little oil on a cookie sheet and roll the frozen spring rolls in it. Bake the spring rolls and chop into ½ inch pi...

In the fall, I went home to take care of my father and brother after they were hospitalized. I tried my best to make them comfortable once they were home. One evening, my dad asked me to prepare a leek tart for dinner. I thought he was going to recite a simple recipe for me to follow, but found out he had never baked a leek tart before. So, I had to make do with the few recipes I could find on epicurious.com. This is what I came up with. The tart was gone in minutes. I hope you like it, too. 50 minutes – serves 6 Savory pastry dough: pâte brisée or feuilletée 1 tablespoon duck fat or olive oil 4 large leeks 1 teaspoon finely chopped thyme ½ cup gruyere, grated 2 eggs ½ cup milk ¼ cup cream 1. Line a pie pan with pastry dough. Prick the pastry all over with a fork, cover with aluminum foil and fill with dry beans or pie weights. Chill in the freezer for 20 minutes. 2. Preheat the oven to 400ºF. Slice leeks in half lengthwise, through the tender light green part. Finely chop leeks, rinse...

20 minutes – serves 6 2 pita breads 2 cloves garlic, crushed juice of 1 lemon 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil 1 teaspoon salt ½ teaspoon cumin 1 teaspoon sumac powder, plus more for garnish 1 teaspoon pomegranate molasses 2 heads Romaine lettuce 2 plum tomatoes, diced 1 large or 2 Persian cucumbers, diced ½ small red onion, thinly sliced ½ bunch radishes, thinly sliced ½ bunch fresh mint leaves, chopped 1. Preheat oven to 400ºF. Split each pita into halves, along the side seams. Stack the halves, textured side up, and slice into 6 triangles. Toss onto a baking sheet and toast in the oven until golden brown and crisp. 2. In a large salad bowl, mix garlic, lemon juice, olive oil, salt, cumin, sumac, and pomegranate molasses. Whisk together to make dressing. 3. Remove Romaine lettuces’ outer leaves, and trim dark ends. Wash and dry with a dish towel. Cut Romaine leaves into thirds lengthwise, then turn and chop crosswise into bite-size pieces. 4. Add lettuce, tomatoes, cucumbers, oni...

While I studied abroad in college, I decided to visit Eastern Spain for a couple of days. The most ubiquitous vegetarian option was tortilla española. Unfortunately, the slices I was served were always on the cold side of room temperature, a little hard because they were cooked hours beforehand, and generously sprinkled with paprika as an excuse for their mediocrity. I hadn't had tortilla española since, until Hurricane Irene passed through New York. Dave was in full emergency mode, duct taping things shut, and filling up our bathtub and every other receptacle in the house with tap water. He also insisted that we cook everything in our fridge. All I wanted to do was watch Edward Scissorhands and take a nap. But he looked so busy and earnest, I couldn't not help him. Our perishable items were eggs, butter, and potatoes (these are not really perishable; we could always save them to grow a victory garden after the zombie apocalypse). Anyway, all the grocery stores were closed, so...

i am not salad's #1 fan. i don't like that americans consume salads as their entire meal. i detest the idea of bottled non-refrigerated dressings. actually, i don't like dressings in general. and i don't like that the main ingredients in salads are usually flavorless lettuce, mealy tomato slices, and then who the hell wants to eat black olive slices from a can? now that i've gotten that out of the way, we can get on to what's important. this morning, my cat friend, lucy, woke me up and led me to the kitchen. in the fridge, i found three zucchinis whose skin was beginning to pucker, along with some gorgeous basil in its ziploc terrarium (see note below). what could i do? luckily, i always have parmesan, some sort of citrus, and pine nuts on hand. epicurious.com helped a sister out and i had exactly everything i needed for a perfect summer salad, with no lame lettuce, terrible tomato or canned kalamata. 40 minutes – serves 6 1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oi...