Every morning, when my mom was a child, my Lolo and Lola would pack produce from the farm into large woven baskets, load them onto tricycles—sometimes one, sometimes three, depending on the harvest—and wheel off toward the market in Paniqui, spinning dust into the air. Together they’d sell the day’s goods, keeping an eye out … Read more
In the 1960s, a young woman named Soledad Pahud left the US and returned to her hometown, Laguna, with the goal of opening a bakeshop. She attempted to re-create the American apple pie, which she learned to make during her time abroad, but to no avail. Apples, not native to the Philippines, were hard to … Read more
This simple tomato and cherry quinoa recipe—a seriously good celebration of high summer—deserves the very best tomatoes you can find. A mix of size, color and flavor works really well, but if you have a bowlful of one excellent variety such as Gardeners’ Delight or Honeycomb, don’t hesitate. The quick-pickled shallots are a wonderful thing: … Read more
When asked my favorite way to serve slicer tomatoes, I always reply, “with brown butter, black pepper, and salt.” There is something about the nuttiness of brown butter that takes peak-season tomatoes to a whole new level. Our favorite tomatoes to serve this way are classified as brown tomatoes, which tend to have a meatier, … Read more
There are as many styles of cobbler as there are cooks: ones topped with pie crust or biscuits, others dotted with floury dumplings. This old-fashioned blackberry cobbler recipe takes an easier route. To make it, you melt a stick of butter in a cast-iron skillet, pour a quick batter into the hot pan, and then … Read more
Every year, there’s a flood of new cookbooks in the fall, as publishers anticipate the holiday (and cookbook award) season. But if you’re in need of fresh recipe inspiration, or you’re looking for a good gift idea for a home cook, baker, or cocktail-maker who already has last year’s best cookbooks in their collection, we … Read more
When time is tight and you need something to feed a crowd at a picnic, potluck, or bake sale, this Texas sheet cake recipe is the answer. The fudgy single-layer cake gets its lush crumb from melted butter and a tangy boost from buttermilk. The genius of the recipe is in its timing: Right after … Read more
This homemade raspberry jam recipe has no lemon juice, pectin, or other add-ins, just the berries and sugar. Adding pectin “necessitates more sugar,” says Eleanor Topp, author of The Complete Book of Year-Round Small-Batch Preserving. And using more sugar “dilutes the natural flavor of the fruit.” She also notes that while not adding pectin requires … Read more
This recipe for strawberry preserves does not turn out run-of-the-mill store-bought strawberry jam. Here whole pieces of fruit float in a sweet, bright syrup that’s equally useful in the kitchen. To make it, you only need sugar, half a lemon, fresh strawberries, and sterile jars. Most of the prep time is hands-off: After you mix … Read more
From David Lebovitz’s 2010 cookbook, Ready for Dessert, comes this easy orange marmalade recipe with a genius juicing method. By squeezing cut oranges over a mesh strainer, Lebovitz preserves the valuable seeds. He wraps them in cheesecloth and adds to the mixture of boiling water, sugar, and citrus—pith and all—on the stovetop, then simmers and … Read more