I wrote earlier about how adding some pepper relish to meals like tuna salad can liven it up. Well, here's a recipe for that relish:

7½ C diced sweet red peppers
6½ C diced green peppers
6 C diced white onions
2 qt boiling water
3 C cider vinegar
2½ C sugar
1 tbs canning salt
2 tsp mustard seed
1 tsp celery seed

You will also need:
1 pressure cooker
8 or 9 pint-sized canning jars and lids

To dice the peppers and onions, it'… Continue

I was down in University City today, and come lunchtime, I walked over to the food court across from Van Pelt Library on Walnut Street.

Look, I admit what I did was stupid. I admit I should have gone for any number of other foods, from the vegetarian roach coach to even the Quiznos at said food court. But I just recently ate at a Quiznos, I didn't feel like burger or a pizza, and I didn't see any sushi around. It's no excuse, but it's an attempt at an explanation. I saw the Taco Bell, and said… Continue

Earlier this summer, Lansdale (where I live) started a farmers' market. Why they hadn't had one before is a little beyond me, since we're surrounded by farmland up here, both large agribusiness (i.e. Hatfield Meats, Rosenberger Dairy) and smaller, family farms. For all its faults, Pennsylvania does have a lot of good farmland.

Well, someone apparently thought as I did, and actually did something about it.

I love farmers' markets. When I was a… Continue

Spätzle* is a type of German boiled noodles which is much better than it sounds. It's a great side dish for German/Austrian meals, especially Wienerschnitzel, but it's also great with scrambled eggs.

Ingredients:
2 C flour
1 C milk
2 eggs
1 tbs. Nutmeg
1 tsp. Salt

Mix ingredients and boil water. When water is boiling take the spätzle maker (if you have one) and squeeze the mixture into the water. Boil for 10 minutes or until the noodles float. Remove them from the water, draining the ex… Continue

Sounds simple, no? The tuna fish sandwich, pb&j's nerdy bookworm sister, the staple of Lent in my Catholic high school, causer of bad breath. Why write about something so obvious, so simple? Well, naturally there are plenty of ways to dress it up beyond mayo and onion, and this is one of my favorites:

1 can tuna
1 (large) tbs mayo
1 half white onion, diced
1 stalk celery, diced
1 tbs pepper relish
5 large green olives with pimento, diced
salt & pepper to taste

Naturally, how much mayo… Continue

This is a very simple recipe for beef stroganoff that I got from my mother.

Beef Ingredients:
1½ lbs of beef, cubed
4 tbs flour
½ tsp salt
½ tsp pepper
½ tsp paprika
1 beef bouillon cube
½ C boiling water

Sauce Ingredients:
1 pint sour cream
2 tbs pureed tomato

1 chopped onion

Edit!
Mushrooms--equal amount with the meat.

Procedure:
Coat the beef in the flour, salt, pepper, and paprika. Brown in a Dutch oven, using a tablespoon of butter.

Put the bouillon in the… Continue

Den and I went down to the Tuckahoe Inn for Valentine's Day; if you ever go, definitely have the crab cakes. They were fantastic--all lump crab meat, Maryland style. And the clams casino appetizer was great too.

Oh, and really, you should have a reservation. Showing up at a restaurant on Valentine's Day and just expecting to walk in is stupid.

In a recent restaurant review on Yelp.com - someone wrote:

...The last time I was here it was an agonizing wait; granted it was a Friday evening but still for arriving at 7:40 and for 3 people to not be seated until 9 is just crazy. Maybe I would have gone elsewhere if they had been honest about the wait time, but they said 20 min...

My open question: In that situation, how long would YOU wait? Would you wait at all? I'm curious to read your thoughts - so please click and share your com… Continue

Christmas Plum Pudding is a traditional English dessert for this time of year. There are really no two ways of making it, though most are done a month in advance and stored, with brandy periodically poured on it. Well, I'm too lazy and forgetful for that, so instead I make it the day before and then put a hard sauce on it before serving.

For this dish, you will need two steam pots with molds.

Dry Ingredients:
¾ C flour
1 tsp salt
¾ tsp baking soda
1 tsp cinnamon
¼ tsp nutmeg
½ tsp mace

Fruits… Continue

Vindaloo was originally a Portugese dish, introduced to the Indian state of Goa some time during the early modern period. It can be made with any number of meats, but I'm partial to chicken or shrimp. It tends to be very spicy, but I've found, at least with this recipe, that the first day eating it isn't very spicy, but over the next few days, as it sits in the fridge, it gets spicier. Don't know why, but I do like it.

Ingredients
2 lbs. chicken thighs OR 3 chicken breasts, diced into 1"… Continue