Ethiopian Mild Split Pea Stew / Kik Alich'a

Sometimes it's the simpler recipes that stick the closest with you, and that's certainly the case with me and this Ethiopian split pea stew, called kik alich'a (ክክ፡አሊጫ) in Amharic. I first fell in love with this dish as a teenager in Ethiopia and have stayed in love every since - just the smell of it cooking on the stove brings back so many memories. I wish I could remember our houseworker's recipe as it was the best, but what I use today is based on Ato Daniel's cookbook. I hope it brings you as much warmth and comfort as it does me!

Easy Avocado Toast

This is my go-to avocado toast, which I'm posting mostly 'cause I keep forgetting my favourite ratio of salsa to avocado. I'm sure there's better out there, but this is a quick, easy meal or snack when you're wanting to eat something on the healthier side of things, but don't want to spend an age preparing it. I hope you like it as much as my family does!

Satay Pasta Salad

This is a bit of a fusion dish, a beautiful marriage of pasta salad and Indonesian satay sauce. My recipe for the sauce is based on Little Green Dot's recipe, so if you want something more authentic check out the original. I hope you enjoy this as much as my family does!

Yangnyeom Tofu

This is another beautiful recipe from Maangchi! I've made modifications here and there to better fit my family's preferences, but as always feel free to follow the link and try out the original recipe. This dish is a lovely balance of spicy and sweet and takes tofu from a health choice to a delight! Enjoy!

Kasha with Mushrooms

When I was studying and working in the former Soviet Union I quickly discovered that not eating mushrooms really wasn't an option if I wanted to be a good guest. Thankfully I soon found I enjoyed many of the ways mushrooms are prepared in Russian and Ukrainian cuisine. Today's recipe features one of my favourites: Buckwheat kasha with mushrooms. I've generally followed Olga's lovely recipe with some borrowings from Adina's recipe and adaptations to better fit my own taste. If you try it out I hope you enjoy it as much as I have, and do!

Sauce Algérienne

I fell in love with sauce algérienne on a visit to southern France during which I randomly got a baguette sandwich out and about and discovered the beautiful taste of "Algerian sauce." I think people around the world have a tendency to think of their food, culture, et cetera, as static and pure until X, Y, or Z people showed up (to ruin it, of course!), when in reality food, culture, and people themselves are a constant, churning mishmash of everything. What would Greece be without Ethiopia's coffee? The USA without England's apple pie? France without Austria's croissants? (Or sauce algérienne!)

Breakfast Kasha

Buckwheat kasha is a staple in many parts of Eastern Europe, and was a breakfast favourite of mine when I was living in Russia and Ukraine. It's one of the many foods that was once a staple for me, but ceased to be after I moved to East Asia (although I was able to get buckwheat noodles there, so buckwheat was still in my life in one form or another!). Since it's only now making a comeback in my life I've based the following recipes on Natasha's lovely kasha recipe. The sweet version is easy and simple and thus my go-to on a weekday morning when I'm craving kasha. The flavour of buckwheat can be an adjustment for some people, but I find it a nice change from plainer porridges like cream of wheat or oatmeal, and is certainly worth a try given its health benefits. If you do give it a try, I hope you enjoy!

Gansu-style Veggie Noodles / 炒拉刀削麵

What follows is based on the Mala Market's lovely recipe for 炒拉條子 / chǎo lā tiáozi, featuring a style of handmade noodles popular in the northwestern Chinese province of Gansu. I am not big on making any sort of dough, so when I was adapting this recipe my big change was to substitute the knife-cut noodles we can buy at the local Chinese supermarket for the homemade noodles. If you have the time and desire to make the right noodles for this dish, then definitely check out the original recipe! If not, my recipe stays close to the original - albeit with the noodle swap and a reduction in sodium intake - and is a fair approximation. 

TVP Pad Kra Pao

Strangely enough, I've settled on a final version of my meat-free pad kra pao before figuring out the meaty one. Life's funny sometimes! In any case, this recipe - an adaptation of Hot Thai Kitchen's recipe - was a win on the first try. (My spouse didn't even realize there wasn't any meat in it!) If you don't like TVP, no worries, there'll be a meat version posted eventually, probably once my basil grows back.

Banana Pecan Muffins and Half Loaf

This recipe is based on my cardamom banana bread recipe, with minor modifications. If you're wanting to just make a loaf of banana pecan bread, then follow the baking instructions on the original recipe. 

Easy Spaghetti

This dish is an old go to, so old I had to make it to remind myself of what usually goes in. (Being on autopilot can be a wonderful thing at times!) It's a delightfully easy way to make a meal fairly quickly, and has been a staple for me most of the places I've lived. It can be made vegetarian/vegan easily, or beefed up (literally) as fancy takes one.

Bean 'n Corn Chili

This is a nicely straightforward, easy lunch or dinner. Any leftovers freeze nicely, and a variety or simplicity of toppings work well when it's served. I've based my recipe on this somewhat more bare bones recipe, so if you're wanting to build up your own recipe that might be a better place to start.

Easy Rice Kollyva

This is a variation of the rice kollyva recipe I began developing while I was living in East Asia, with twists here and there inspired by the Venezuelan baking and desserts that my godmother might have enjoyed during her years living there after World War II. When I'm particularly short on time to prepare kollyva for an upcoming memorial this is my current go-to recipe, but it doesn't hurt that I love the taste as well. Give it a try whether it's for a service or not - memory eternal to all of our departed loved ones.

Thai Tamarind Shrimp

This is another lovely recipe from Hot Thai Kitchen, with minor modifications to better fit my family's tastes. Be absolutely sure you want a very sour dish if you decide to try this! I love tamarind - one of my favorite sweets in mainland China was a tamarind candy from the southwest - but even so this dish is at the upward end of how much sour I can handle in a dish! If you do give this a try, I hope you enjoy!

Easy Wonton Soup

A nice hot bowl of wonton soup makes for a lovely, easy, light breakfast (or dinner!) and as a result is a staple in my family. This recipe is our own and vaguely Chinese, but perhaps not classically so as it's just what suits our preferences and tastes. We're usually cooking for two, so adjust the amounts accordingly as needed, and enjoy!

Soy Sauce Fried Rice

This is another old staple that somehow fell off my menu during the early COVID years and kinda got forgotten. I've made other fried rices since, but I've been missing the simpler, more classic fried rice that made many a breakfast for me when I was still living in China. I've largely followed Red House Spice's recipe, with modifications to better fit my family's taste. Try hers, try mine, to each their own! Whatever you do though, enjoy!

Easy Oatmeal

This is mainly for my own reference if I go a while without making oatmeal for breakfast! I've got my two favorites here for now, but if I remember any others - or new ones arise! - I'll get them added to this post. I love old school oatmeal, but what's here is for a quick, hearty breakfast on a less than relaxing morning. The peanut butter oatmeal recipe is entirely my own, but the maple pecan one is based on Yumna Jawad's recipe.

Tex-Mex Dal

This dish is one of those that was born out of need. We had forgotten to go to the grocery store and I was out of peanut butter for my usual vegan breakfast go to (peanut butter oatmeal), so I was rooting around in the cabinets for something quick 'n easy before I had to start teaching...and behold, split red lentils! I didn't quite have everything to make a normal dal (again, the grocery store situation), so when I found salsa in the fridge an idea - no, a star! - was born.

Easy Potato Salad with Sesame

Some days there's time to do a recipe...but most days there's not. This is definitely a recipe for one of those latter days! It's vaguely based on Korean Bapsang's lovely potato salad recipe, but with so many modifications that I hesitate to attribute this to her. Definitely try hers out if you want something more authentically Korean! And if you want to try a vaguely East Asian-inspired potato salad recipe, then try out mine. Either way, enjoy!

Musabaha

This recipe is a recreation - to the best of my memory, and with some tweaks to make it more convenient, accessible, and affordable - of one of my favorite Syrian dishes introduced to me by a lovely family from Aleppo. Every since I first had it I've been wanting a recipe, and I recently came across Luay Ghafari's great recipe and realized it was pretty close to perfect. I can't claim any authenticity for my version, but it is a deliciously vegan dish that I crave whether I'm off meat or not. I hope you like it as much as I do!