Robin: While I was growing up, rhubarb wasn´t really part of my life. I´d heard of it, tried it a time or two in pie (and hadn´t thought particularly highly of it), but it just seemed like a boring olden days thing that old timers talked about. I guess it didn´t help that said old…
No-Bake Pineapple Coconut Balls (“Snowballs” or “Bunny Tails”)
Robin: These two-bite balls of goodness call for only 3 or 4 ingredients and are super easy to make, but they are full of tropical-flavored deliciousness. They are cute enough to offer guests on a special occasion (call them “snowballs” if it´s winter, “bunny tails” in springtime, etc.), yet simple enough to make for a…
Stuffed Jalapeño Peppers
Robin: Jalapeño peppers may be famous mostly for their piquancy, but, like other peppers mild and hot, they also have great flavor. It’s sad that many people only think about fresh jalapeños when making, say, pico de gallo, because these chiles have so much more to give. Jalapeños are delicious stuffed, much like their larger…
Victoria’s Tuna and Potato Salad
Ed: To me, a comfort food is like a hug from my mom in any season of the year. Eating this dish feels like getting a big embrace from her. Mom´s middle name was Victoria, and she would serve this salad as a first course. It’s one of my favorite foods, and I am excited…
Easy Pickled Jalapeño Carrot Slices
Robin: Many times a jar or can of pickled jalapeño pepper slices will contain 3 or 4 tiny slices of carrot, usually right on top as you open the container. These spicy carrot slices are considered by many to be the very best part of the whole pickled pepper experience. Lucky is the person who…
Southwest Salad
Robin: Despite its appearance at first glance, this is not your average “salsa.” Question: Is it a salad, a dip, or a relish? Answer: Yes. Southwest Salad is amazingly versatile: eat it with tortilla chips, chicharrones, or even thin slices of jicama, or mixed with lettuce in a bowl, or on the plate with grilled…
Pork Chops a la Veracruzana
Robin: Veracruz port, on Mexico’s gulf coast, was for many decades the main hub through which people and goods passed on their way between the land of the Aztecs and other continents. It didn’t take long for resourceful cooks to adapt techniques and ingredients native to Mexico with those of Europe, Africa, and even the…
Peruvian Pumpkin Stew (Locro de zapallo)
Robin: Peru is a great country for comfort foods. It is, after all, the birthplace of the potato, a tuber that is high on most people’s list of soothing ingredients. Inhabitants of the Andes are also the creators of many one-pot, carb-rich meals, and what could be cozier than that? A locro is a warming,…
Banana-Blueberry and Banana-Cherry Breads
Robin: Last week somebody someone at work gave me some leftover bananas and half-jokingly said, “Here, make some banana bread.” So I did. It had been many years since I´d made any. Maybe decades. I mean, I do occasionally bake a killer pumpkin bread, and I love these zucchini-bread-like chocolate chip cookies, so quick breads…
Sweet and Sour Pasta Veggie Salad
Robin: I could very well have named it “surprise salad” to reflect the way people often react when they first taste it: despite its rather insipid appearance, this pasta salad is loaded with flavor. Folks see a mild-mannered pasta salad and expect something, well, ho-hum at best—but once they take a bite, it’s a party…