German for “best pancake ever.” When you go to order this at the Magnolia Haus in San Antonio, the friendly wait staff are trained to spot you trying to say “Munk-nih–” and they finish pronouncing it for you, so quickly you want them to say it three more times. It’s really German for “Munich Apple Pancake” and it claims to be “an authentic taste of Bavaria” translated from Oma’s cookbook. I believe it. If you don’t feel like waiting in line for an hour to get a seat in one of MH’s hard little wooden gingerbread booths (is this authentic German too?) to eat this, you can make it at home, in your pajamas, with a pot of coffee. This place was featured last…
Posts from the “vegetarian” Category
I am almost finished reading a book about the history of the taco, which of course involves the history of tortillas, and therefore the history of corn and wheat flour, and has much to do with the history of the industrialization of food, as well as mining in 19th century Mexico, the lost chili queens of old San Antonio, taco night in Norway, surfer’s running taquerias in Amsterdam, how to make mole in France… a couple of wars and revolutions, colonization, nation building, ranching, tequila making… I’m working up an appetite. The history of foodways might seem like some obscure thing to read about, but it really is reading the history of the world. In fact it might be the most inter-sectional and materialist…
When I was a kid, I remember taking a bite of mince meat pie wondering why this would be a dessert, and being very surprised at how yummy it was. I am sure it was some frozen store-bought version, but I thought it was just so amazing that they had made meat taste like fruit and spices. (Little did I know it had no meat whatsoever in it.) The mixture of fruit and meat with strong spices was brought to England from the Middle East during the crusades. It became a Catholic custom to eat it at Christmas, and during the English Civil War, was outlawed by Puritan leaders. According to an excellent wikipedia page on Mince Pie, in his History of the Rebellion, Marchamont Needham wrote…
When it came to Christmas cookies in my family, there were traditions upheld out of the sheer belief that we needn’t make any new cookies because the ones we made year after year had risen to the top of the cookie food chain, and were clearly superior to all other cookies, hence their being elevated to a Christmas cookie, from just an any-old-time-of-year cookie. Some of these cookies required a good deal of extra labor, but they were not overly complex endeavors. In fact, what made them so impressive was their simplicity. The end result is something that requires work, but is deceptively elegant in ingredients and flavors. Last year, tsp’s first Christmas season, I introduced you to the greatest cookie recipe ever devised, and it…
Categories: recipes, vegetarian
Tagged: apple, baking, cardamom, carrot, christmas, cookie cutter, cookies, dessert, food, holiday, recipe, semolina, shortbread, whole grain
I was lucky enough this week, so far west of the Mississippi, to snap up some organic Cortland apples in superb condition. These apples have a deep red color, with flashes of green, and snow white crisp flesh. They are sweet-tart, and make a good baking apple. I wanted to make an apple cake, mostly because I kept stumbling upon them online here and here. But I wanted to keep it simple, and make sure the apples were center stage. I did not want to have to use a special pan. I did not want too much spice, or too much sugar. Again, the apples. I found some recipes for Italian apple cakes, particularly this one, written charmingly by an Italian student new to…
Categories: recipes, vegetarian
Tagged: apple cake, cortland, dessert, food, recipe, rye, torta di mele
There are some things that should not come in your coffee drink as a “flavor shot” and I feel that “pumpkin spice” is one of them. Maybe I’m old-fashioned. Here is what is called for: Pecan sticky buns, with a yeasty spiced dough, kept moist and tender by a whole cup of roasted pureed Hubbard squash. Perfect on a plate, next to your cup of unadulterated coffee. A Hubbard is like a pumpkin, but has a less stringy texture. Also, it is enormous, oblong, and blue– with warts! If you live in a cold place where winter gardening is difficult, Hubbards are good for wintering over. You can harvest them in the fall, and they will sit around in a drafty corner of your…
Categories: recipes, vegetarian
Tagged: breakfast, cinnamon rolls, dessert, food, hubbard, pecan, recipe, rye, squash, sticky buns
Fried Green Tomatoes with Strawberry Habanero Relish and Lime Crema
Meredith
Posted on June 24, 2012
I know some of my readers prefer their vegetables (and many other things) battered and fried. So this post is dedicated to you. It is also dedicated to Texas, which is– for all its independence– also a vast culinary intersection of the Southern U.S. and Northern Mexico. This may well be my last post for a little while from Texas (though I plan to return on a regular basis, and will definitely blog about it). A summer southern classic, with sweet and spicy and creamy local flavors trying to steal the show. I will be moving to a city that is apparently a burgeoning center for haute cuisine– known for sushi, Korean BBQ, and much more. I am excited to find out all the…
Categories: recipes, vegetarian
Tagged: buttermilk, cornmeal, crema, fried green tomatoes, lime, strawberry preserves, vegetarian
