For the first few years I moved away to the US, my family would always ask me to bake brownies when I’d come back to visit. There is a little of an unspoken love affair for that simple square of dark chocolate, sometimes studded with nuts, sometimes often adorned with a scoop of ice cream. Almost always with a short cup of espresso. I can’t even recall where I found my first recipe for brownies and I admit I go through what B. dubbed my... 

I have not been here a week yet and my heart is already replenished and my eyes filled with beautiful memories. I keep catching myself throughout the day thinking “I can’t believe I am here”. It’s good to go home and see all my cousins for a joyous occasion for once. I’ve been enjoying my mom’s wonderful cooking, let my nose take me to the cheese box and renewed my love affair with the most fragrant cantaloupes, Saturn peaches,... 

Green Gumbo, with Andouille sausage and bacon Earlier this week, we had a few days that were drizzly and dreary here in New York City. It’s a bit early in the year for the sun to retreat into hibernation, but the cooler weather was a welcome respite to the penetrating heat. Although the weather has cooled down, it’s still summer, and the markets were flush with greens of every variety. After bagging some lithe, fuzzy okra, a bunch... 

I grew up believing that simple foods are often the best. This minimalist philosophy is perhaps most evident in summer, when the greens are greener and the berries sweeter. I often jest that my recipes are simple because I’m lazy, but in all honestly, it’s because I believe that good ingredients need little embellishment. As a marketer, I know that the key to selling more product is to evoke an emotional reaction from your consumer.... 

I am home. Or what I like to call “my parents home”. I have always been happy where they live now but I left my heart in the South when we moved to be closer to my grandparents. I do however like their present close proximity to Paris and the surrounding areas. I am spending a week there in the lush and cool climate of the Yvelines before heading down to Provence where I grew up . As I was heading out to the Boulangerie-Patisserie the other... 

I asked you to show me your best rice dish for a chance to win a Zojirushi Neuro Fuzzy rice cooker, and show me you did. We received entries representing Mexico, Italy, India, Thailand, Korea, Japan, and some that were unique creations. Now comes the hard part. The judges ( Bee , Alice , and I) will spend the next couple days deliberating, and have the tough job of deciding who has the most delicious looking/sounding dish. In the mean time,... 

If you’ve eaten at a sushi restaurant before, you’ve probably seen shiso. Shiso (also known as perilla ), is a member of the mint family with broad jagged edged leaves. The green variety is often used as a garnish, but it also makes for a great herb, with a unique aroma, vaguely reminiscent of mint and cinnamon. Read more » All text and photos © 2010 [ No Recipes ] |  Read More →

I really did not mean for it to be this long in between posts but this week really got the best of my time. Deadlines and meetings crept up all of a sudden when clients realized I may not be online as much in the next couple of weeks. But work is good. Vacation? Finally! Yes. I am taking a vacation. The first…  Read More →

You may not have won the first rice cooker , but I still have one brand spankin’ new 5.5 cup Zojirushi Neuro Fuzzy rice cooker to give away. This one goes to the person who sends in the best sounding/looking rice dish, that could be made in the Zojirushi. To enter, just send me an email at giveaway@norecipes.com with the following info. Read more » All text and photos © 2010 [ No Recipes ] |  Read More →

Maybe it’s the Asian part of me, but I love getting a good deal. This especially holds true when it comes to high quality food, like the produce they have at the Union Square Farmer’s Market. So how does one go about getting a discount at the farmer’s market you ask? Don’t worry it doesn’t involve haggling, we’re not buying a car here after all. Just plan to arrive about 15-20 minutes before the market closes... 

I realized too late last week that I had forgotten about the “French Word A Week”…again. You’ll have to excuse me, it’s a full, packed and pretty awesome summer. One busy making good use of all the produce around me too. Peach jam especially. Let’s remedy my short term memory lately with this week’s French Words: confiture de peche (click on the words to hear the pronunciation). Beside working, I must... 

Before I tell you who won the rice cooker, I have to say that I really enjoyed reading all of your responses to my question “Why do you like rice?”. The thoughts, memories, and insights that you all shared made me realized that there’s more to rice than the sustenance it provides. For some people, it conjures up an image from their past, for others, it’s part of their identity, and for others still, it’s an addiction,... 

Cookies. Milk. Afternoon showers. Looking at the shoreline through the window. That was just the medicine needed the other day. Even if just for the enticing aroma of warm chocolate wafting through the house . I did not know the power of chocolate chip cookies until I moved to the US though. We don’t really do those back home. We have eclairs , macarons , financiers . These I knew as my pick up-feel better-never let me down treats. Until... 

It’s the middle of summer and over 90 degrees outside, but I had to make French Onion Soup as a prop for a photoshoot… And it was worth every drop of sweat. Sure, I could have mocked something up with watered down coffee, bread, and cheese, but a fake dish never looks quite as delicious as the real thing and I figured if I was going to take the time to fake something, I may as well take a little more time and do it right. A good... 

While nothing beats the flavour you get out of cooking rice in a clay pot (mainly due to the caramelized rice you get at the bottom), having a rice cooker is a must, if you eat rice with any frequency. Until recently, I’d been using a small three-cup rice cooker that my mom gave me when I went away to college. Last Christmas that trusty old companion moved from its prized spot on my counter to the donate box, when L gave me the Rolls Royce...