This soup started out as gazpacho, at some point in our cooking past. Maybe it could still be called gazpacho, I haven’t consulted with the Wordwide Soup Taxonomical Organization (if such a thing exists). It’s the ideal tonic at the end of a hot day, with its deep red color and a sweet/sour snap. True, you do have to generate a little heat roasting the veggies, but it’s well worth it, I’m telling you. (I can tell you because even though this is Valerian’s recipe, I’m writing it up today).

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This is the kind of thing you throw together when your fruit trees are producing more than you can manage, or if you’ve gone a little crazy at the farmers’ market. [Read more →]

If you’re looking for a soft, yummy, eggy bread recipe, this is the one. I have to admit failure here, though: I just can’t seem to get the stacked braids to stay upright when I cook them. I finally resorted to my old standby six-strand braid, and the results are much more attractive. [Read more →]

With our respective families 6000 miles apart, one thing Valerian and I have done together a lot is travel. And with two kids added to the mix now, we arm ourselves seriously when we head out to the airport: books, toys, changes of clothes, and of course, snacks. Lots and lots of snacks. When your kids start to get squirrely, sometimes a treat that would normally be off-limits is just what you need to get through the last hours of a 14-hour flight.

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Körözött is a Hungarian classic and every household makes it differently. It is kept in the fridge for moments when you do not have the mood to make lunch or dinner, or when your offspring is going to school and you just barely tumbled out of bed. You reach for a slice of bread and körözött. Eat it with good tomatoes and Hungarian wax peppers and you are instantly transported to the Hungarian countryside – close your eyes and you will find yourself on the beach of lake Balaton while staring at the sunset and soaking your feet in the lake’s warm water. And if by any chance you will hear your washing machine going trrrrrr, you and your bread with körözött might take you on a friendly Hungarian train ride, where snacks appear on the table as soon as the conductor blows the whistle. [Read more →]