Cookbook Experiment: The Moosewood Cookbook

This week's foray into cookbooking is The Moosewood Cookbook (1978), which is hand-illustrated and written by the author. An unimaginable feat today, though apparently she's still working in the same method.

It's a classic early vegetarian cookbook, but a lot of the recipes are either reliant on cheese or suspiciously "ethnic" in a way that seems less than authentic by today's standards. As usual, I found refuge in the desserts.

Ukrainian Poppyseed Cake

A Free Lunch

SXSW is happening this week and I've been spending a lot of time volunteering and going to events. One of the most striking things about the whole enormous endeavor - besides the multiple manifestations of mobile communication technology - is the passionate pursuit of free stuff. Swag. Especially free food (and drink).

But you know what they say about free lunches. Adobe had offered a free brunch online - and then when the badgeless folks showed up to claim their due, they found out that the brunch was being held on a floor that was badge-only access. Wah-wah.

It's kind of astounding to see techies and film nerds jostling in line for free beer, popcorn, chips, cookies. Just around the corner they could get a real free lunch, every weekday, but somehow I doubt they'd be interested.

And then there's the volunteers - thousands of us. Only those who work 6 or more hours in the Convention Center - which theoretically doesn't allow outside food in - are given meal tickets for the SXSW volunteer hospitality lunch. It's free(ish, if you don't count your volunteer hours as needing compensation) and even pretty healthy. Special diets not particularly accommodated though. Working front of house requires handling angry vegans.

BTW someone could make a killing next year with a few strategically placed, reasonably priced vegan/vegetarian carts around the ACC.

What would you do for a free lunch?

Nori Chips

This recipe for nori chips from Mark Bittman has been in my "to try" file since I first saw it last fall. Finally got around to making the chips, and I agree - if you like the taste of seaweed, these are a good snacking alternative. I'm enjoying the taste more on day two than the day I made them, and they're just fine without the sesame oil.


I don't think I had seaweed until college - which was when a friend from California finally introduced me to sushi. Now I like it in a number of different forms, and I think it has also increased my appreciation for other seafood, like raw oysters, that really taste of the sea.

With buckwheat soba for a light lunch.

Cookbook Experiment: Cusines of Mexico

Number two in The Cookbook Experiment is Diana Kennedy's Cusines of Mexico (1972). Well, number three really, because number two should have gone to Ann Clark's Fabulous Fish, but I forgot to take a picture. It happens sometimes.

Cusines is a fairly intimidating book, and I flipped through it for a while trying to find a recipe that looked simple enough for me to prepare without too much extra shopping or prep. Finally I settled on a cold squash salad, or ensalada de calabacita, garnished with pickled onions called cebollas encurtidas.


The recipe called for zucchini and also a chayote squash, which I'd never cooked with before. According to Kennedy, the light green ones that we see most frequently are also the least prized of three different varieties of chayote.

The pickled onions, with oregano

A three-sisters dinner: corn tostadas, pinto beans, and the salad, with queso fresco
(and carrots from the farmer's market)

Closeup!

The salad was ok, but I'm still working on my taste for chayote. It's certainly an expressive vegetable, though.