Cooking in Real Time

This week I do a little brain dump about saffron, a treasured ingredient that feels fitting for spring. How to buy, what to cook with it, and so on. Plus an easy saffron recipe. Ambient noise of the week: subway. … Continue reading →

Your host is a little spaced out this week, but luckily it’s a quick and easy meal, learned from a Syrian doctor and single mom: a fast way to get all the satisfying flavor of much more labor-intensive stuffed squash. … Continue reading →

A short episode, for a very simple but surprisingly satisfying vegetable dish, optionally made heartier with lentils. From the Aegean coast of Turkey — but, honestly, from the Turkish Airlines inflight magazine! Eat as a side dish, or as a … Continue reading →

Cooking for virtual travel, starting with a little trip to Egypt through koshari, a combo of rice, lentils and pasta, topped with a tangy tomato sauce and crispy fried onions. It’s hearty and nourishing, with garlicky zing. No sides this … Continue reading →

A bit of a hybrid episode, focusing mostly on how to make a pie crust, plus a little about quiche. There’s a lot of misinformation in pie crust tips and recipes — this episode covers all I’ve learned in three … Continue reading →

Lentils with Moroccan spices are incredibly good and simple, and they stand up to a lot of substitutions. Alongside, a raw beet salad makes a sweet, crunchy counterpoint. Sound quality on this is pretty rough — our kitchen has been … Continue reading →

Schnitzel, cutlets, tonkatsu, milanesa: thin, breaded pan-fried cuts of meat are fun to make. Serve with a sweet-creamy cucumber salad and buttery potatoes (TBH, a little bit of an afterthought!). Yes, this episode is a sonic nightmare, and we’re slipping … Continue reading →

A short episode focused just on the principle of ladhera — Greek-style ‘oil-cooked’ vegetables, especially green beans. A good side dish, or a simple, satisfying dinner with bread and cheese. NOT-Shopping List Fresh green beans Tomato of some kind (paste, … Continue reading →

Alevropita is a quick baked pie with feta, done in about 20 minutes, and marouli salata (lettuce salad) is a very simple, very springy complement. Together it makes a good light dinner or lunch that comes together in less than … Continue reading →

A special short episode on the simplest and best way to prepare artichokes, which are in season now. Accidental music credit: Peter Moskos, practicing his autoharp downstairs. NOT-shopping list Globe artichokes Salt Vinegar Butter Mayonnaise Garlic Lemon juice Simplest and … Continue reading →

RIP, Southwest Airlines in-flight magazine, where I found this surprisingly delicious and easy pasta sauce recipe 20-plus years ago. Alongside: a very simple carrot-celery-almond salad. And DIY vinaigrette. It all takes a lot longer than it should, but hey, there’s … Continue reading →

By popular demand, Cooking in Real Time is back after nearly 11 years, with a pretty long and rambling session of cooking basic rice and legumes, with plenty of shortcuts and substitutions from limited pantries. NOT-shopping list rice, ideally basmati, … Continue reading →

This week, it’s a menu for winter doldrums. I’m nursing a light cold with some chicken soup–and adding chipotle chiles and garlic for extra health-giving kick. On the side: a baked sweet potato, packed with vitamin C. Shopping list 2 … Continue reading →

This week, we cook a little risotto–it’s not as complicated or as fussy as you think. And it’s a very adaptable dish. On the side, we roast up some wee brussels sprouts and douse them in garlic and anchovies–what’s not … Continue reading →