Miso Honey Butter Corn

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I had discovered the wonders of miso and now was on the lookout for how else to use it.

I’ve lost count of how often I have made this addictive recipe - even with frozen corn now that the corn harvest has ended. If you have all the ingredients on hand, you can pull this together quickly as a side or a snack.

Great warm or at room temperature.

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Carrot Kohlrabi Sauté

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I love the look of coloured heirloom carrots. Clearly, they can be cooked in any way, but I needed a stove-top method.

This is a simple recipe with respect to instructions and is ready to serve in about 10 minutes. Cutting the vegetables into matchsticks can be a bit time-consuming but can be done ahead of time.

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Cardamom Delicata Squash

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I’d be happy to eat squash every day. There are so many varieties and variations, You can get fancy, but there’s nothing wrong with a quick toss in oil, some salt/pepper and an oven bake.

This recipe is a tiny bit more interesting, and includes cardamom. It also works best with Delicata Squash - which has an edible skin - translation - no need to peel the squash!

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Zucchini Parmesan Crisps

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I’m posting this just after peak zucchini season, but zucchini are available all year so you can make this great veggie side dish anytime!

I have to admit that the prep is a wee bit fiddly. You have to slice the zucchini thinly and then coat each in crumbs. Just go into Zen mode and you’ll be a half hour away from a heavenly treat.

I have now made them several times, so will share the variations and what worked for me!

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Creamy Coleslaw

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If you Google "coleslaw" you'll get 17 million recipes. "Creamy coleslaw" refines the search results to only 1.25 million.

So why should I share a coleslaw recipe?

Because one goal of this blog is to record family favourites, and this is the coleslaw I used to make.

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Red Cabbage Salad with Apples and Walnuts

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This recipe comes from Chef Kurt Gutenbrunner - the talent behind my most favourite cafe in NYC - Cafe Sabarsky at the Neue Galerie.

The idea of mixing crunchy red cabbage with lingonberry preserves caught my attention right away.

This almost turns red cabbage into candy - though the more sophisticated palate of the chef / author stresses that there is a subtle sweet-sour balance that makes the salad distinctive.

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Quinoa

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Quinoa is considered to be an ancient grain - though experts hasten to point out that it is actually a seed. They are considered to be a protein and are gluten-free.

This "Moroccan" Quinoa pictured here is perhaps unusual for a side dish accompanying chicken. It is enhanced by the use of butter, honey, cinnamon and pistachios - almost sounds like a dessert, right? In truth, I think it would be a great breakfast!

If you haven't yet added quinoa to your menus - for breakfast, salads, dinner or desserts - read on.

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Liver Stuffing / Dressing (Májas Töltelék)

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Probably every family has a beloved turkey stuffing - and from what I have read, some of those recipes go to the grave with their creators. I am rescuing our family's dressing recipe from that fate. 

This family classic / tradition was always much enjoyed, but for a time it disappeared from the menu, and was very much missed. It used to be my favourite post-xmas snack - I liked nibbling on it more than leftover turkey. It was made first by my grandmother, then my mother, and now I hope the tradition will continue!

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Bulgur with Cumin-Scented Sweet Potatoes

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Have you embraced whole grains? Are you using bulgur, millet, quinoa, wild rice - maybe even farro or amaranth more often? 

I almost always have both bulgur and super nutrisious sweet potatoes on hand so this is an easy go-to recipe.

You can have this on the table in half an hour as a side, or a main with an over-easy egg on top. I have served it warm, or room temperature as a picnic salad.

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Rouladen

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Enjoy the bliss when dinner guests rave about this meal, but never save the best only for guests.

These are easier to make than you'd think, and after an hour and a half oven time you have a gorgeous dinner!

You may wish to serve it with Hungarian tiny dumplings, called Nokedli - and I'm happy to share that recipe as well!

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Quick Pickle Chips

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I have no idea if anyone tracks(ed) the preserving trend, but it seemed to be on the uptick in the last ten years. Some credit the trend to hipsters in Brooklyn and journalists pondered if pickles were the new cupcakes? 

Since many young'uns today live in tiny apartments, small batch preserving has also become popular. Though I have the fruit cellar and the jars - small batch is what pushed me to pickling. (And this is really small batch - a 1 pint jar of pickles.) Also appealing in this case is that there is no processing. These are fridge pickles That take 10-15 minutes to make) and that last up to six weeks - though so far they've been eaten before then.

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Mixed Bean Salad

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Google 'bean salad' and you get over 7.5 million results, but this is from a recipe notebook I began in 1983.

Despite the preponderance of combinations, this bean combo has persisted, and something like it can still be seen at many salad bars.

You can get creative with variations, but I often prefer the "taste memory" of this salad - even though I suspect the taste memory has something to do with sugar... (just a bit of sugar...)

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Hungarian Peppers and Tomatoes (Lecsó)

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The arrival of Hungarian Peppers at markets results in a rush to the kitchen to make this classic dish.

Lecsó can be a main or a side at any meal - or can be used as a garnish on a schnitzel sandwich, or even as a "sauce" over pork chops.

Once hard to find, these peppers are now easy to find and are a treat to eat raw with salami and rye bread. But first you need to make lecsó!

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Moroccan Chicken on Quinoa

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A delicious meal using quinoa - ever popular partly because it is considered to be a protein and gluten-free.

The butter, honey, cinnamon quinoa pairs well with the Moroccan spices (cinnamon, ginger, turmeric, coriander) that flavour the chicken. You'll make this time and time again!

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Hungarian Creamed Squash (Tökfőzelék)

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The summer squash called "vegetable marrow" is appearing at markets (mid-August) and there's still time to make this iconic Hungarian dish. 

"Creamed vegetables" - called főzelék - is classic Hungarian home-cooking. They can be used as sides, or as the main course served with eggs or Hungarian meatballs (fashirt). 

There's a fairly long list of vegetables that are creamed - the most common in my own experience being yellow waxed beans (babfőzelék) and this vegetable marrow (tökfőzelék). So good!

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Ginger Fried Rice

In the KB kitchen this is usually dinner, but I can also imagine heating it up for breakfast. Serve it as a side, or with an egg.

This is a Mr. KB recipe. He stumbled across it in 2010 and made it part of his cooking repertoire. I have eaten it countless times - always extra delicious since I have never been the one who made it.

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Amish Potato Salad

It's Spring, and eggs abound - but it's not chocolate eggs I'm craving. It's real eggs. I can't seem to wait for a summer picnic to have potato salad - that creamy combo of eggs and potatoes. 

Not recalling the exact recipe of my mother and grandmother I did some research and have found an easy version of a traditional Amish cooked dressing. Am loving it with the Easter ham!

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Deviled Eggs

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It's almost that time of Easter bunnies and chocolate and egg hunts. One of many cultural celebrations heralding the progression from Winter to Spring and it's hard to imagine anyone who bemoans this seasonal transition.

Easter is late this year, so you still have time to consider adding deviled eggs to your menu - especially if you plan to have an Easter ham.

Click here for the recipe page, which links back here if you wish to leave a Comment or ask a Question or add a LIKE! What's your favourite way to prep deviled eggs??

Caramelized Cauliflower

My recipe quests arise from attempts to match an old taste memory, or a new taste experience. In this case, it's new. Cauliflower is more reasonably  priced this Winter - and that's good because I can't seem to get enough of this super healthy vegetable (vitamins C and D). It's one of those veggies with an ancient history that seems to originate in Syria. I could eat these every day! See if you agree...

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