Ann Mah's Blog, page 16

Cozy weekend links to love

I admit, I took this photo about a month ago during the big chute des neiges in Paris. Though there’s no snow predicted this weekend in Washington, I’m still craving coziness: the smell of cookies in the oven, a slow braise on the stove, a lazy afternoon on the couch with a good book. Ahhh… a good book! Here’s what I’ve been reading:

–In Z: A Novel of Zelda Fitzgerald, author Therese Anne Fowler traces the lives of tortured F. Scott and his daring, Southern belle wife. Like their marriage, the book is both tragic and thrilling and it made me want to read and reread Fitzgerald.

–As a follow-up, I’m now immersed in the callow adventures of Amory Blaine as told in Fitzgerald’s first novel, This Side of Paradise. Next up is Tender is the Night (did you know Fitzgerald used Zelda’s diary entries from her time in a psychiatric hospital to portray the character of Nicole Diver?). And I read again a few of his brilliant short stories – I’ve always loved ”The Ice Palace.”

–Have you ever wondered what it would be like to marry a man who grew up in a palace? What if the palace turns out to be a sprawling, moldy family manor on the outskirts of Delhi? Where the Peacocks Sing tells the story of my friend, Alison Singh Gee, who moves in with her Indian husband’s family. The memoir is National Geographic’s Traveler’s book of the month. My copy is on its way!

–Isn’t this book cover gorgeous? I love Randy Susan Meyers’s writing and she explores new territory in this novel about the collateral damage of infidelity. The good news? I’m giving away a copy on my Facebook page – just “like” and “share” the post to enter to win. (I’ll also be giving away several more books via Facebook in the coming months, so please “like” my page for future updates.)

–In between lengthy quiet reading periods, I also hope to make this banana bread, with chocolate chips added, of course! Question: I’ve been hoarding old bananas in the freezer and noticed they exude a lot of liquid when defrosted. Do you mix this in?

Bon weekend, tout le monde!

P.S. As soon as I posted this, it started flurrying! Extra cozy! xo

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Tuesday dinner with Wini Moranville

Phew! That was a long break! Apologies for my absence, mes amis. I was working on revisions to my new book, which meant the rest of my communication was limited to caveman grunts. I’ve been subsisting on crackers and peanut butter and my husband’s cooking (turns out he’s a genius with ground meat: chili, bolognese, sloppy joe’s). We celebrated Valentine’s Day (that is, Due Day) with leftover lasagna eaten in the glow of my laptop as I frantically finished editing the final pages. Romantic, eh?

But now, the final draft has been turned in! And, the draft that came after the final draft? That has also been turned in! I am free again to blog, and bake, and read novels, and respond to email that’s been sitting in my inbox since December. But before I start on all those fun projects, I thought I’d cook my husband a lovely dinner, the one I wanted to make on Valentine’s Day. And who better to advise me on bonne femme recipes, than the author of The Bonne Femme Cookbook, Wini Moranville? Today she shares an elegant Tuesday Dinner: beef filet in cherry and red wine sauce.

   

Wini is a food writer, author, and summer resident of France — every year, she and her husband rent a little apartment in a town like Collioure, in the Languedoc (pictured above). These warm-weather sojourns have given her the opportunity to dive into honest French cooking, as eaten by real French families. Wini has gathered these tips in The Bonne Femme Cookbook, which offers 250 recipes for simple, fresh ingredients prepared well. I’m delighted to welcome Wini and discover a few French housewife cooking secrets.

On whipping up an elegant French dinner in thirty minutes:

I am all about the “sauté-deglaze-serve” method of cooking. That is, you sauté the meat in a skillet, then deglaze the pan with wine and/or chicken broth. Stir up those tasty browned bits clinging to the pan, reduce the liquids, and then finish this fabulous pan sauce with a few flavorings, such as mustard and capers for pork chops, balsamic vinegar and red grapes for chicken, olives and tomatoes for lamb — I have about 35 variations in the book. Round out the meal with whatever veggies looks good at the market and perhaps my Any-Night Baked Rice — a riff on an old Pierre Franey recipe.

When in doubt, freeze it:

Many French stews and braises freeze extremely well. Generally, they make big batches, with plenty of leftovers. So it’s not unusual to for me to have Blanquette de Porc, Beef Bourguignon, Basque-Style Chicken, or another one of my recipes ready to reheat from the freezer. They’ll thaw and reheat in about the time it takes for me to pour and enjoy a Kir with my husband. Which I do just about every night.

Her favorite pantry staples:

–Wine. It’s the key to intensifying flavors, from quick pan sauces to long-simmering braises.

–Dijon mustard. On the busiest of nights, I count Dijon mustard as a fine sauce for pork chops, steaks, or smoked sausage.

–Shallots. Whenever I don’t know what I’m cooking for dinner, I start chopping a shallot, as something will come to me soon, and it’s generally a key ingredient in one of my pan sauces.

–Butter. I adore what a little touch of butter can bring to a dish in terms of flavor, richness, and intensity.

–Parsley. French cooks use both curly-leaf and flat-leaf parsley, and it’s just a great boost of freshness.

On being prepared:

Think of the “sauté-deglaze-serve” method of cooking a little bit like an Asian stir-fry — it’s a really quick process, so you’ll want to get everything chopped, measured, and ready to go before you start the recipe. It’s amazing how fast a meal can truly get to the table when you take a few minutes to get organized in advance.

Filet with Cherry and Red Wine Sauce

By Wini Moranville

Note from Ann: I loved this variation on a traditional steak dinner — the  sauce elegantly balances sweet and savory. I couldn’t find dried cherries, so I used a spoonful of sour cherry jam instead, which gave the sauce a lovely, luscious sheen.

Makes 4 servings

4 (6-ounce) tenderloin steaks (1 inch thick)

Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

2 tablespoons unsalted butter

1 large shallot, finely chopped (about 1/4 cup)

3/4 cup low-sodium beef broth

3/4 cup dry red wine

1/3 cup dried tart cherries

1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar

1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves

1. Season both sides of the steaks with salt and pepper. In a large skillet, melt 1 tablespoon of the butter over medium- high heat. Add the steaks and cook, turning as needed, to the desired doneness (10 to 12 minutes for medium-rare); reduce the heat as necessary if the meat browns too quickly. Transfer the steaks to a platter and cover with foil to keep warm.

2. Add the shallot to the skillet and sauté briefly, until translucent. Add the beef broth and red wine to the pan and cook,stirring with a whisk to loosen any browned bits from the bottom of the pan. Add the cherries and vinegar and bring to a boil. Boil until the liquid is reduced to 1/2 cup — this should take 4 to 5 minutes, depending on the heat and your pan size. Whisk in the remaining 1 tablespoon butter. Stir in the thyme. Season the sauce with additional salt and pepper.

3. Divide the steaks among four dinner plates, spoon the sauce over the steaks, and serve.

(All non-food photos courtesy of Wini Moranville.)

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New year’s greetings

Tomorrow is my last day in Paris. It’s been a lovely visit, albeit snowy and chilly, filled with long hours at my desk interrupted by brisk, inspirational walks and a few lovely evenings with friends.

Before January slips away (already!), I wanted to share our New Year’s card with you. I hope 2013 brings you lots of peas — and lots of other vegetables, too.

Also, just in case you missed it, here’s the Winter edition of my newsletter, which has information about a big book giveaway from seven of my favorite authors. I’m also giving away a copy of Kitchen Chinese to one of my newsletter subscribers — you can sign up here to enter to win!

I’ll be back with more blog posts when I clear this new book from my plate! Soon, soon (I hope, I hope)!

A très bientôt!

xxx

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Carte postale: Fifty shades of grey

I love Paris any time of the year, but lately the weather has been gloomy gumdrops: dark, grey, wet, cold — in other words, the perfect conditions for holing up inside and revising a manuscript. That’s where I am for the next few weeks, mes amis, and I apologize in advance for the paucity of blog posts. I’ll try to poke my head out from time to time to say hello. See you on the other side.

PS Very chuffed to be included in the New York Times roundup of The 46 Places to Go in 2013. Check out #44 for my suggestion!

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Carte postale: Here and there

Happy new year!

We have gone from this:

To this:

Bonne année, bonne santé, plein de bonnes choses pour 2013!

xoxo

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Kindnesses and links to love

Earlier this week, I had dinner with a friend who is a teacher. It was Monday, the first day of school after the Connecticut tragedy, and we talked a little bit about how the news had affected her class of sixth graders. She told us about the project she’d assigned: to perform 28 acts of kindness — one for each person lost — to record them on a list. As she talked, I realized that was something I, too, wanted to do, to honor life by spreading kindness, to keep a list to remember. Dear friends, will you join me? It can be the smallest gesture, like giving up your seat on the metro to someone who’s carrying a lot of bags, or holding the door for a dad pushing a stroller. It can be anonymous, like treating the person in line behind you at the coffee shop. It will probably take a few weeks to complete. I’ve already started my list and while I don’t plan on posting it here, I find myself thinking about it when I’m out, searching for opportunities to brighten someone else’s day.

Chers amis, I wish you a restful, peaceful week. And, if your holiday allows for some relaxing internet surfing, here are a few links to explore…

–Are you guys watching the TV soap, Nashville? This fall, I’ve fallen for its big hair, flashy costumes, whirlpool melodrama — and catchy country music. Even the New York Times agrees that the songs are “showstoppers.” All the performers are great, but the two real-life sisters who play Connie Britton’s young kids are amazing. They’re called Lennon and Maisy and they sing and play all their own music, like in this song from the show, or this awesome acapella and percussion number from their Youtube channel.

–As an avid reader of books about France written in English, I’m excited to learn about a new literary prize sponsored by the American Library in Paris.

–Have you ever wondered what book editors and publicists REALLY do?

–The Obamas’ dog, Bo, admires the White House Christmas decorations in this adorable . Also, I loved watching the White House pastry chefs recreate the structure in white chocolate (though Bo is strangely absent…).

–I loved reading about the holiday traditions of Asian-American families in this blog post from Pat Tanumihardja, author of The Asian Grandmother’s Cookbook. In my Chinese-American family, we always make sticky rice stuffing with chasiu, boiled peanuts and chestnuts. Yum!

–Speaking of  Pat and her blog, I was thrilled to chat with her about my first book, Kitchen Chinese, and share a recipe in this interview.

–And finally — one year (but not this year) I would like to make a bûche de Noël, the traditional French Christmas dessert. If you’re feeling up to the task, Saveur offers a step-by-step guide to creating a cake that resembles a log, decorated with meringue mushrooms. Or, if you’re lazy (like me) here are some pretty photos to admire.

As for me, I’m off to California tomorrow to spend Christmas with my family. I’ll check in while I’m there, but in the meantime I’m sending you wishes for love and peace.

xoxo

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Tuesday dinner with Pat Tanumihardja

Amid the longest days of winter — indeed, amid days that feel darker than usual — it seems more important than ever to gather with the people we love to eat something good once a day, to find comfort in food and recipes through passed generations. Perhaps no one understands this better than Patricia Tanumihardja, who collected the wisdom and recipes of dozens of grannies for her book, The Asian Grandmother’s Cookbook. Today, Pat shares her quick cooking tips and a beautiful recipe for Thai basil pork (or turkey, or chicken, etc).

 

Pat lives in Seattle with her son, Isaac (he loves the satay of his Oma, or grandma), where she balances her writing career with life as a mom and military wife. “We moved back to Seattle so that we could be closer to family while my husband is deployed to Afghanistan,” she says. “In this photo (above) are my parents, my sister-in-law, nephews, sister and brother-in-law. My brother is taking the photo. My mom is the queen of the kitchen. I owe my cooking genes and skills to her.”

On life as a single mom:

It can be a little hectic, especially since my husband is away! I’m rushing to put dinner on the table by 6 or 6:30 p.m. with a little munchkin hanging off my leg. Unlike my college days when I would sometimes eat cereal and milk for dinner, I tend to be a little more conscious about what I put on the dinner table these days because of my son.

Her pantry and fridge wouldn’t be complete without: 

–Anchovies, garlic and lemons with pasta.

–Eggs are great for omelets, pasta Carbonara, and egg salad sandwiches.

–Crushed tomatoes for pastas, rice and soup.

–Frozen peas and carrots for instant veggies. To make boxed mac-and-cheese a more “balanced” meal (I buy an organic brand under the delusion they’re tastier and healthier), I mix frozen peas into it.

–Shrimp makes for a quick cooking protein that goes with rice, pasta and noodles.

–Bacon injects flavor into just about any dish!

–And sometimes we have frozen pizza.

On her favorite kitchen appliance:

I utilize my oven a lot! I marinate meats the day (or several days) before and when I come home I pop the meat in the oven. While that’s cooking, I’ll make the side dishes. And I usually have a little time to relax with my toddler before dinner.

On making dinner appear, presto change-oh:

Save the roast meat from above and use it in other dishes the rest of the week. Do prep work on the weekends. Peel and cut carrots, cut broccoli into florets, etc. and bag them. Then you can pull them out during the week and save time. Somehow, if I rummage hard enough in the fridge I can almost always find some leftovers that I can cobble together to make a meal. Of course, I always do the sniff test.

  

Thai basil pork

From Pat Tanumihardja

Serves 4 to 6  as part of a family-style meal

Note from Ann: I loved this dish, so bright and fragrant with the flavors of Southeast Asia. I took a tip from Pat and used ground chicken to make this dish a little lighter. And — full confession — instead of fish sauce, I used the juice of a fresh lime. “Ground pork is usually paired with holy basil,” Pat says. ”However, Thai sweet basil is much easier to find in Asian markets in America and makes a worthy stand-in. If all else fails, substitute with any basil or a mixture of basil and mint for a bright, refreshing flavor. If you can’t find Thai chilies, substitute with 4 to 6 serranos or jalapeños, cut into large slivers.”

2 tablespoons canola oil

1 1/2 pounds ground pork

1 1/2 cups packed fresh holy basil or Thai basil leaves

6 cloves garlic, peeled and minced

3 small shallots (or 1/2 small onion), cut into thin slices (1/2 cup)

6 red Thai chilies, cut into rounds (or to taste)

2 tablespoons oyster sauce

2 tablespoons fish sauce

1 tablespoon soy sauce

2 teaspoons brown sugar

Dash white pepper or freshly ground black pepper (optional)

Preheat a 14-inch wok or 12-inch skillet over medium-high heat. Swirl in oil to coat the bottom of the wok and heat for 10 to 15 seconds until oil thins out and starts to shimmer. Stir in garlic and shallots. Stir 15 to 20 seconds, until garlic is light golden and fragrant.

Add pork, breaking it up with the edge of your spatula. Stir-fry until meat has just lost its blush, about 1 to 2 minutes.

Reduce heat to medium. Throw in chilies. Sprinkle oyster, fish and soy sauces and sugar, and toss to mix well. Add basil and stir until leaves are wilted and pork is cooked through, about half to 1 minute. Don’t overcook the pork.

Transfer to a serving dish and sprinkle with pepper. Serve hot with steamed rice.

Pat’s beautiful blog is a trove of information on Asian cooking — including many other quick recipes (check out her fried rice and shrimp in black bean sauce) — while her book, The Asian Grandmother’s Cookbook, would make a lovely holiday gift.

(Non-food photos courtesy of Pat Tanumihardja.)

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Shift change

At first I feared it meant something when I landed in New York City at shift change hour, that hellacious five o’clock period when all the taxis go off duty and you can’t hail a cab for love or money. As I wandered along Third Avenue in the gathering darkness, walking first one way and than the other, I had a sinking realization: the shopfronts had changed so much I couldn’t tell if I was heading north or south. I was walking west along 14th street, or was it east? Down along 2nd avenue, or was it up? The East Village, ten years ago my beloved home, felt strange, crowded with young people clad in ironic outfits from the Salvation Army. I felt foreign, I felt lost. I felt like my hair was too clean. I felt old.

After 45 minutes of hunting for a cab, I finally made it to Brooklyn, where I described my Third Avenue disorientation to a friend. “New York is like riding a bicycle. You’ll get it back,” she told me. I didn’t believe her. After so many years away, I knew New York had moved on without me. At some point, I’d made a choice — Paris or New York? — and I’d chosen Paris. I still loved New York, city of my youthful literary dreams, the place that taught me how to be comfortable in my own skin, the town where I’d met my best friends and, eventually, my husband. But New York was no longer mine. I couldn’t claim it.

  

Though my knowledge of the city’s restaurants had once been encyclopedic, now I had to rely on the suggestions of friends. Thanks to them, I discovered new favorites like sweet Buvette, a petit salon de thé in the West Village that’s like a fresh-faced American au pair in Paris, where a friend and I lingered over a mushroom croque monsieur and pot of mint tea. I stopped by Dorie Greenspan’s tiny, elegant cookie boutique, Beurre and Sel, to buy Christmas pressies and one oversized world peace cookie just for me. I moaned over Momofuku Milk Bar’s crack pie, and their compost cookie, and the corn cookie, and the bacon-cream-cheese-stuffed bagel bomb, and marveled at their staff’s chirpy, sincerely friendly helpfulness. A friend and I waited over an hour for a table at Mission Chinese, but we were underwhelmed by their modish take on Chinese food — perhaps because we’d lived in Beijing too long, or maybe the food was too spicy, or probably we should have ordered more meat (though I agree with another friend who deemed bacon a “culinary crutch”). I loved madcap Eataly, like a three-ring circus of all the best Italian foods: sausages, and hams, and cheeses, oh my! And I lost my heart to Alimentari e Vineria — or, rather, to their spaghetti carbonara, the crisped guanciale, the al dente pasta, the warmth of black pepper seeping across the sauce of creamy egg yolks — I felt transported to Rome, which is, after all, what New York does best: transport. Or transform. Or maybe both.

   

And you know what? After a few days of meetings and meals and reunions a funny thing happened. Staying in an apartment exchange in the East Village, just blocks away from my first New York apartment, I kept running into someone I knew: Me. Perhaps the city had moved on but I realized that a part of me was still there, drinking coffee from an oversized cup on Avenue A, hustling onto the crosstown bus at rush hour, tucking into a dark bar to sip vodka gimlets. The memories of my twenties ran on a loop in my head: the nights — sometimes lonely — the days — sometimes hungover — the suffocation of August in Alphabet City, the neon sign of the burrito restaurant that I couldn’t afford, the corner at 13th and 2nd where my husband and I first kissed, the bar where we sat and watched the snow fall before making angels in Washington Square Park. Turn right and you’re heading east, left and you’re heading west. I knew it without thinking. I knew it like it was mine.

I felt so comfortable in New York that at first I was a little guilty, like I was cheating on Paris. But my husband — who joined me for a weekend of bagels, books and movies at Film Forum — reminded me that the two are not in competition. They are, rather, like the yin and yang, the two halves of my personality: the appreciation of lingering meals versus the part of me that craves a to do list and a pen to cross things off. Or perhaps that’s too penny Freud. Maybe they are just two cities I love, two sets of of streets that I’ve strolled at 3am, two places soaked with so many memories that I will always know them and they will always know me. Two places on the list of places we call home, an open list that expands and grows.

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Tuesday dinner with Maria Speck

Sometimes, more than anything, it’s the idea of grocery shopping that kills my desire to cook dinner, the unbearable thought of stopping in one more place, of engaging in one more transaction, of lugging one more bag home. But this week I am excited to share a pasta pantry meal for Tuesday dinner, a bold recipe for spicy spaghetti with caramelized onions, anchovies and tuna from cookbook author Maria Speck.

The dish is from Maria’s beautiful book, Ancient Grains for Modern Meals, a collection of recipes that focuses on whole grains like barley, farro, polenta and wheat berries, to name a few. Maria is Greek and she grew up in Germany and as a result her food is full of twists — both bright, heart-healthy and Mediterranean as well as nourishing, Old World and cozy. This is a not just a book for the health-conscious — though there are plenty of healthy choices — nor for vegetarians — though there are several vegan-adaptable recipes among the meaty — nor for the gluten-free, though it strikes me that Maria’s grain salads, soups and stews would be satisfying for the flourless, while her polenta-crusted artichoke tart is a revelation for anyone who loves quiche — which, surely, is everyone, n’est-ce pas? This is a book for living well and eating more whole grains because they’re delicious. I love my copy so much I’m buying another to give away at Christmas (dear mother-in-law, pretend you never read that!).

I first met Maria when she generously shared her aforementioned artichoke tart recipe with this blog, and I’ve loved getting to know her via email and Twitter. Based in Boston, she balances work as a writer, journalist and cooking teacher with a life of bread-baking, gardening and Greek yogurt at home with her husband. Today, I’m delighted to reveal her quick cooking tips!

 

On making up time in the kitchen:

Like so many of us I spend a lot of time in front of the computer, forgetting the world around me, including dinner. When I finally get into the kitchen, I’m usually starved—which means dinner has to be on the table fast. But I love simple meals. I am very happy with an Indian-spiced red lentil soup — ready in 20 minutes — served with baguette. Or a grain salad, thrown together with leftover vegetables, some feta or goat cheese, maybe dried fruit and nuts.

On relaxing by cooking:

Weeknights are often very casual in my house—except when I’m testing new recipes for an article or a book. I am a lazy cook but I almost never feel like not cooking. I find preparing a meal relaxing—it puts a border between my often crazy-busy workday and the evening.

On the importance of a well-supplied kitchen:

I feel equipped to cook up a storm on the fly. You’re hungry? I’m ready! It gives me peace of mind—my husband thinks I must have been a squirrel in a previous life.

She always  stocks up on…

–Beans, herring, tuna, olives, nuts, and pasta in all shapes and forms.

–Did I mention at least a dozen different grains and beans, including whole wheat couscous and bulgur which cook up in no time?

–In my fridge four kinds of cheese are normal, three types of yogurt, cream, butter, smoked salmon or blue fish—you name it!

–Even my fruit and vegetable drawer are never completely empty. Homemade whole grain bread (always in the freezer!), cheese, butter, sun-dried tomatoes, dolma (stuffed vine leaves), and whatever else I can locate, especially radishes.

Cook large, be creative:

I’ve learned from my Greek mom to never cook small amounts of anything. Make a large pot of staples ahead, be it lentils, dried beans, brown rice, millet or wheat berries. I often do this on weekends. They can become hearty soups and salads during the week just by adding a few sautéed or roasted vegetables — whatever is in season — plus herbs and spices. Sometimes I add a pan-fried chicken breast, salmon, or grill some tofu under the broiler. And if I run out of ideas, I make vegetarian burgers from these nourishing staples, just like my Greek grandma, by adding cheese, eggs, herbs and spices. First class finger food—what’s not to love?

On pasta for all seasons:

A simple pasta dish is one of the great last-minute meals I always can do. In the summer, I might just chop up fresh herbs and garlic, add olive oil and Parmesan – voilà, dinner! In the winter, my spicy whole wheat spaghetti with caramelized onions, anchovies and tuna hits the spot.

 

Spicy spaghetti with caramelized onions, anchovies and tuna

From Ancient Grains for Modern Meals by Maria Speck

Serves 4

Note from Ann: I’m not usually a fan of canned fish, but there is something deeply savory and satisfying about this pasta’s contrast of bold, briny, oceany flavors with sweet cooked onions. And happily — since I’m always wary of reheating fish — these leftovers are actually delicious cold, like a pasta salad eaten beach-side in Positano. “I use tuna only as an accent here,” says Maria. “By all means, open two cans if you like more fish on your fork.”

3/4 lb/340 g whole wheat spaghetti

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 (2-oz/60-g) can oil-packed anchovies, drained, 1 tablespoon of the oil reserved, filets chopped

1 lb/454 g red onions (I used one gigantic), peeled and thinly sliced into rings

1 cup chopped green onions (about 7), the dark green tops chopped finely and reserved separately

2 cloves garlic, sliced

1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon red chili flakes

1 (6-oz/170 g) can oil-packed tuna, drained

1/2 cup oil-packed black olives, pitted and chopped

3 tablespoons capers, plus 2 tablespoons of their marinating liquid

Bring a large pot of water to boil and add the pasta. Cook until al dente, according to package.

Heat the olive and anchovy oils in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the sliced red onion and cook, stirring frequently until it starts to caramelize and brown at the edges, about 5-7 minutes. Reduce the heat to medium. Add the green onions, garlic, and red chili flakes to taste. Push the vegetables to the sides of the pan and add the anchovies to the center of the skillet. Cook, pressing on the filets with a wooden spoon until they disintegrate, about 1 minute. Add the tuna, olives, capers and their liquid; stir to combine and cook until heated through. Taste and adjust seasoning (note from Ann: I needed much less salt because of all the salty components).

Drain the pasta, reserving 3/4 cup cooking liquid. In the pot (or if your skillet is large enough) combine the pasta with the onion-tuna mixture and 1/2 cup of pasta cooking liquid. Toss to combine, adding dashes of cooking liquid to loosen the pasta, if necessary. Sprinkle with the finely chopped green onion tops and serve immediately.

(All non-pasta photos, courtesy of Maria Speck.)

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Carte postale: NYC

Greetings from New York City! The skies are so blue, the sun so bright, the food so delicious, the reunions with old friends so sweet. Yesterday morning I found myself on the L train at rush hour, squeezed into a car with all the commuting Williamsburg hipsters. There was so much vintage clothing, it smelled like the Salvation Army.

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