The Other Woman Cooks

Cooking fabulous cabbage dishes crosses just about every cultural divide. From continent to continent, cabbage is a cross-cultural culinary staple. It’s inexpensive and with a few added ingredients, you can whip up delicious and healthy main entrees, sides, and even dessert. If you’re daring, Hungarian Sweet Cabbage Strudel makes for an interesting sweet treat.   Cabbage is an economical vegetable; easy to find in any supermarket and it gives you a big nutritional bang for your buck. Cabbage possesses phytochemicals including sulforaphane, which studies suggest help protect against cancer-causing free radicals, and indoles, which help metabolize estrogens. Packed with vitamins K and C, it’s also an excellent source of dietary fiber, vitamin B6, folate, manganese and Omega 3 fatty acids. Farmer Paul’s cabbages are early this year. Our entire garden has had an accelerated harvest because of the heat. There’s only so many golumpki I’m willing to roll in an evening and w...

This panfried smashed potatoes recipe is my interpretation of the flattened lemon oregano potatoes served at Oleana in Cambridge. Chef Ana Sortun’s cookbook, Spice , is sold at the restaurant but alas has no flattened potato recipe. So here’s my version, and of course, me being me I added my own twist. Crunchy potato skin, spicy oregano, flavor-boosting parsley, freshly cracked black pepper, course ground sea salt and a squeeze of lime…every ingredient plays a big part in the flavor department.  By the way, I loved the restaurant and the food was amazing. Thanks to my pal Amy for introducing me to Oleana's magical garden patio dining experience. I am not at all sorry about buying the cookbook. There are lots of great Arabic influenced dishes worth trying. Judging from the looks of our backyard garden, the eggplant souffle recipe on page 265 will come in handy by the middle of next week!   PANFRIED SMASHED POTATOES 1 1/2 pounds skin on whole baby white or gold p...

The history of food has always fascinated me amd the wide variety of recipes from countries spread around the globe using basically the same main ingredient. Potato salad is a universal party food and different versions are served at different temperatures. Most potato salads are served at room temperature or chilled, though a popular German recipe is served warm. In the United States we like our potato salad refrigerated in advance and served chilled. Mayonnaise is a favorite ingredient. Brazilian potato salad is called batata calabresa, named after a spicy ingredient, the pimenta-calabresa -- a South American chili pepper.  Bulgarian potato salad is made with potatoes, leeks or onions, oil, salt and black pepper. Slovakian potato salad is part of the traditional Christmas meal as a side dish to fish. It contains potatoes, carrots, green peas, pickled cucumbers, celery, yogurt, eggs and onions.  German potato salad is generally prepared with vinegar and ...

Forget the grilled steak on a starry July evening ... there's nothing quite as satisfying as an elegant cold summer supper of shrimp cocktail, lobster salad and a creamy version of French potato salad, delicately herbed with fresh chopped tarragon and parsley. Add a crusty baguette, a refreshing pinot blanc. Relax with the one you love while gazing at the constellations. Fireworks, anyone? CREAMY FRENCH POTATO SALAD 3 pounds Russet potatoes, peeled, cut into 3/4-inch pieces 1 hard-boiled egg, chopped 1/4 cup chopped celery 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley 1 tablespoon chopped fresh tarragon 3/4 cup mayonnaise 1/2 tablespoon fresh squeezed lemon juice 1/4 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper Cook potatoes in large pot of boiling salted water just until tender, about 12 minutes. Drain. Transfer potatoes to large bowl. Cool to room temperature. Mix egg, celery, parsley and tarragon into cooled potatoes. Whisk mayonnaise, lemon juice and ground pepper in a medium bowl...

Next week, the only multi-state agricultural fair in the United States will open in West Springfield, MA. The Big E is billed as "New England's Great State Fair" -- it's the sixth largest agricultural fair in the nation and the largest in New England. Each state has a small-scale replica of their state capital on the Avenue of States . The star attraction? Food. Vermont has maple syrup, Ben and Jerry's ice cream and lots of cheese. Rhode Island offers clam fritters and Massachusetts' apple pie washed down with, of course, cranberry juice. Connecticut has Italian ice and New Hampshire's chocolate fudge is amazing. Then there's Maine -- the building everyone flocks to. Sure, they have lobster rolls. But it's Maine baked potatoes (move over, Idaho!) that draws hordes willing to wait in long lines for a taste of hot, buttered, sour-creamed spuds. Did I mention they weigh at least a pound each? What about the leftovers...

The old expression originated from farmers who tossed the little ones aside as not good enough to please discriminating potato shoppers. Times sure have changed. Fingerlings, baby reds, gold and purples are all the rage. Have you priced small potatoes lately? As a little girl I wanted to be Heidi -- you know, THE Heidi. Living in the mountains with her grandfather and eating porridge every day. What in the world does a childhood fantasy have to do with potatoes, you ask? Well, porridge was actually oatmeal and I wasn't too keen on having oatmeal for supper, so I convinced my mother that Heidi (AKA me) much preferred mashed potatoes. I ate nothing but mashed potatoes with peas every night for weeks. And I still love creamy whipped potatoes. Someday I'll tell you about being six years old with dreams of becoming a flamenco dancer. Suffice it to say, the Heidi phase was far less challenging for my poor mother, who was totally determined not to snuff the creativity from a lively li...

I've been thinking a lot about the Canadian half of my family this week. An invitation from my cousin Herve and his wife for their daughter's wedding came in the mail, my cousin Jim, a good guy with a bad problem, died suddenly two days before Christmas, and I saw my cousin Lisa and her family at Mass over the holidays. New Year's Eve and New Year's Day are more vivid memories than Christmas for me. My Canadian immigrant grandparents doled out little gifts on New Year's Day as was their tradition. Lipstick or pretty soaps for the girls, Matchbook cars for the boys and a dollar for the older kids. When I think about it now, several dozen grandchildren meant a big expense at a dollar each back in the 1950s and 60s. The family was big, the laughter loud and the food delicious! MEMERE'S POTATO BAKE (POMME DE TERRE AU GRATIN) 2 pounds all-purpose white potatoes (5-6 medium size potatoes) 1 cup milk 1 cup light cream 1 tablespoon butter 1/4 cup grated cheddar cheese B...