While I am not religious per se, making matzah is certainly a spiritual act for me. The fact that this type of bread has been prepared for thousands of years makes it an act that connects us to so many generations of our ancestors in such a profound way.
Category: Cooking
Once you master the simple and ancient process of nixtamalization, it’s easy to whip up your own tacos, memelas (see recipe below!) sopes, tamales, or pozole. Masa (nixtamalized corn) is the base preparation for all your Mexican and central American favorites. The Nixtamalization process softens the corn and makes b vitamins (Niacin)nutritionally available. Warning, once you have the real deal, there’s no going back to the industrialized imitations found all over!
With the refreshing taste of yogurt, and the subtle tang of citrus and herbs, Tzatziki is a simple but stunning compliment to hummus and pita bread, as a topping for grilled meats and vegetables, and a dip for raw veggies.
Char Siu is a celebrated Cantonese dish made of honey-glazed roast pork, marinated in red rice fermented tofu, hoisin sauce, five spice, soy sauce and honey. In the fast food industry, red rice tofu is often replaced with red food coloring, but the traditional flavors are of course far superior (and non toxic). Many cuts of pork can be used, although I recommend pork butt or shoulder.
For years, I thought that hummus wasn’t hummus without chickpeas, then I learned that in some parts of the middle east and north Africa, hummus is traditionally made with fava beans – an entirely different species of bean altogether. My eyes opened to the wider world of hummus, I began to experiment with our own local heirloom beans, and the results did not disappoint!
Known as gua bao in their home country, these delectable Chinese buns are super easy to make, and even easier to eat! Traditional Chinese filling include braised pork belly, thinly sliced vegetables, pickled mustard greens and chopped peanuts, but you can fill them with almost and combo of meat and veggies you can dream up. The cabbage used to line the steamer basket also makes for a sweet, tender addition.