From the outside, fasting holidays seem like a hardship to be endured, yet for those who observe, they can be times of great joy. While neither of us observes Ramadan, the month-long daytime fast of Islam, our friends who do emphasize how much they enjoy it, not how much they suffer. While abstaining from not… Continue reading Chicken Tagine & Kofta
We discovered this Sikh holiday when we were fangirling Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on YouTube (doesn’t everyone do that?) and stumbled upon his heartfelt Vaisahki message of fairness, respect and equality for all. He had us at respect. Each April 14, this holiday celebrates the founding of the Khalsa community within the Sikh faith.… Continue reading Butter Chicken & Mango Chutney
Have you heard about “slime”? If you have children under 14, we’re pretty sure we know your answer. This goopy concoction of cornstarch, glue and food coloring is all the rage with the preteen set, who seem to be on a campaign to fill every last tupperware in the world with varied shades of slime.… Continue reading Vanilla, Matcha & Chocolate Marshmallows
Like little girls who decide they don’t love pink anymore–even if it was the only color they would wear for years–we went through a stage of not loving heart-shaped things. They seemed too sweet, too silly, too obvious. Luckily, we got over ourselves, and are now big fans of this lovely, light dessert which translates… Continue reading Coeurs à la Crème
It’s the rare person whose birthday is celebrated by an entire country 259 years after the fact. Even harder to believe is that this unusually beloved person achieved long-lasting fame as a poet, not to mention that he wrote much of his poetry in a dialect that is, to say the least, challenging for modern… Continue reading Scottish Beef Stew & Chocolate Whiskey Cake
For Martin Luther King Jr. Day, we had a bit of a conundrum: could we try to acknowledge such an important man and movement with food? And how could we pull it off without seeming shallow or stereotypical? A quick search revealed that King’s favorite dishes were traditional Southern ones: fried chicken, macaroni and cheese,… Continue reading Macaroni and Cheese with Cauliflower
Last winter, we held a tamale-making party which confirmed our opinion that cooking parties rule: you get to talk, cook, eat, drink with your friends around you, and then you get to take home bags of deliciousness (it’s even better when the fruits of your labors can be frozen and enjoyed for months to follow).… Continue reading Dumpling Party
Every year around the holidays, when we see adorable pictures of cute children decorating sugar cookies on social media, it reminds us of the baking projects we’ve done with our own families, as well as the ones we’d still like to do. A quirky series of events fortuitously led us to a new project with… Continue reading Kransekake
There’s a love for all things Scandinavian these days. We aren’t sure whether it’s our current political situation that has some longing for utopian socialist democracy or simply the timeless appeal of concepts like hygge, especially as the winter sets in (hello, first snowfall of the season!), but it is all around us. One of… Continue reading Swedish Meatballs & Ginger Snaps
Remember when Sarah Palin claimed she could see Russia from Alaska? Turns out she may have been right…well, kind of. Russia and Alaska are divided by the Bering Strait, which is about 55 miles across at its narrowest point, and some say on a clear day you can see the Russian mainland from the tip… Continue reading Salmon Tartare with Homemade Potato Chips
