The finishing touches? Smoked paprika and toasted pine nuts. Doesn't sound particularly special, right? But it was one of those things. Remarkably good. I've been on a bit of a smoked paprika kick lately, using it instead of chili peppers, or curry powders, and the like. I thought it'd add some depth and flair here. And it did. The paprika brings a smoked-out boldness that works brilliantly with the creaminess of the pine nuts and the spicy edge of the arugula. I don't want to completely oversell this, but I thought the flavors came together in a really nice way.

I could imagine making a smoked paprika oil and using it as a drizzle in place of the ground spice, or taking the whole thing in a different direction entirely - using any leftover spicy lemon coconut sauce you might have in place of the arugula butter, and still finishing it off with the paprika and pine nuts...

2 cups / 14 oz / 400 g brown rice
3 cups / 710 ml water
1/2 teaspoon fine grain sea salt

1 big handful peas (fresh or frozen)
3+ tablespoons arugula-shallot butter*
1 big handful chopped arugula
12 mint leaves, torn
a big handful grated melty cheese (i.e. Gruyere)

a generous dusting of smoked paprika
big handful well-toasted pine nuts (or almonds)
lemon wedges

In a colander or fine-mesh strainer, rinse the rice and drain. Bring the rice, water, and salt to a boil over medium-high heat in your thickest-bottomed pot. Dial the heat back so the water is just simmering actively - low-med. Cover with tight fitting lid, and try not to peek too often. Cook the rice until the water has been absorbed and the grains are cooked through, usually 40 minutes to an hour. If the grains have cooked but there's still water to be absorbed, dial the heat up to medium-high until the pan dries out, being careful not to scorch the rice at the bottom. Remove the rice from heat, fluff with a fork, and then stir in the peas. Cover for another five minutes or, long enough for the peas to cook a bit from the residual heat.

The consistency of the rice is important here - you don't want it too wet. Too dry is no good either. If you need to work in a bit more water, go for it. Then stir in a big dollop of arugula butter, I start with about 3 tablespoons, and add from there. Stir in the arugula, mint, and cheese. Season with more salt if needed.

Serve topped with a generous dusting of smoked paprika, plenty of nuts, and a squeeze of lemon juice if you like.

Serves 6 as a side.

*Arugula Shallot Butter: To make this compound butter puree 4 tablespoons of unsalted butter, a big handful of arugula, 1 medium shallot (peeled), and a couple pinches of salt in a processor for at least 30 seconds - until it is no longer chunky. Add a pinch of sugar or spoonful of honey if you need to balance out the flavor a bit.

It's also completely customizable on a whim. You can stir in any number or herbs, spices, dried or fresh fruits (before serving) to take the spread in whatever direction you like. I noted some suggestions in the recipe below. It's good on crostini, sandwiches, and tartines. It's good spread in the bottom of a tart crust. It's good drizzled with a bit of honey or as part of a cheese / antipasti platter.

Thanks again to everyone for the nice notes. Every one of them feels good to read. xo -h

You're going to want to use a Microplane grater here - the finer and whispier the cheese is grated, the better. this is also a perfect fit for Pecorino cheese, and I've been working on an aged gouda version using a bit of IPA (India Pale Ale) in place of the wine you see here. You can take this general idea in many different directions.

2 1/2 cups / 5 1/2 oz / 150g finely grated Parmesan cheese
scant 1/4 cup / 50 ml extra virgin olive oil
1/4 cup dry white wine

add in ideas: chopped dried figs, chopped dates, finely lots of chopped chives, lemon zest, or red pepper flakes, dried herbs, chopped sun-dried tomatoes

Combine the cheese, olive oil, and wine in a jar or bowl. Stir gently until it all comes together, then press the cheese down a bit into a flat surface. It will keep like this, drizzled with a layer of olive oil, for a few weeks refrigerated.

When I want to serve the cheese, I typically scoop out a bit into a separate smaller bowl or plate, and incorporate any add-ins (or drizzles) at this point.

Makes ~1 1/2 cups of spread.

And it really couldn't be simpler to make. Chop a few stalks of rhubarb, toss with sugar, then let it sit around until everything settles into a cold, sweet stew. Fire up your burner, and simmer until the rhubarb breaks down, then strain out the solids. You're left with a vibrant rose-hued liquid. When you cook this down with a bit of fresh lime juice you end up with a fragrant, beautiful gem of a syrup. A finishing splash of rosewater is the final surprise - the je ne sais quoi factor.

As I mention up above, I use this syrup in simple spritzers, and as a way to add a bit of flair to plain yogurt. I imagine it would be amazing over cornmeal waffles or pancakes, or in place of a drizzle of honey over certain cheeses - good, soft goat cheese comes to mind. It's just one of those simple, homemade things that is nice to have on hand. And come to think of it, it'd be a nice lip gloss flavor as well ;)

Let me know if you do something fun with this, or if you give it your own twist. xo -h

HS: I use lime here, I think it really adds something, a needed edge. That said, lemon is quite nice as well.

4 large / 500 g / 1 pound rhubarb stalks, chopped
2 cups / 400 g granulated sugar
2 cups / 240 ml water
2-3 tablespoons freshly squeezed lime juice, or to taste
scant 2 teaspoons rosewater, or to taste
rose petals, optional

Combine the rhubarb and sugar in a medium, thick-bottomed saucepan. Stir well, and leave for 45 minutes or so (unheated), stirring now and then.

Add the water and bring to a gentle simmer over medium heat, stirring until the sugar dissolves. Continue to simmer for another 15-20 minutes, until the rhubarb starts to break down. Carefully strain into a bowl through a of cheesecloth-lined strainer. Transfer to a clean saucepan, stir in the lime juice, and bring to a simmer. Let simmer over medium heat for another 15 minutes or until the syrup has reduced quite a bit and thickened. Remove from heat and allow to cool completely.

Stir in the rosewater a bit at a time, until it is to your liking. Rose water can be quite an assertive flavor, so be judicious to start. It keeps, refrigerated, for a week or so.

Serve over yogurt, in soda water, or drizzled over waffles.

Makes one medium jar of syrup.

I believe San Francisco was the third gathering in a twelve month series - Portland and Brooklyn were prior. Philadelphia and Toronto up next. Here's the page where you can watch for upcoming cities. You can also get information about the local people and businesses who came together to pull this off. I was thinking I would link to some of them here, but it might just be easier for you to click through the list on the Kinfolk site. For example, if you're interested in who did the lovely flowers, or the the letterpress menus, or, or, or...The little details were part of what made it so special. A big thank you to the Nathan and Julie for pulling together a wonderful room full of people. Also, I can't wait to see this photos this lovely lady was shooting. I'll link to them here when I see them. Here they are :)...

I'm in the process of writing up one of my favorite spring rhubarb recipes for you. It's pretty in the way so many rhubarb creations are, and the flavor profile is just off-beat enough that people light up when they have a taste. I'll try to get that up in the next couple of days. xo -h

Here's my list of how I've used it - this recipe makes a couple of cups, and it is quite rich, so a jar goes quite a distance. 1. Swirled into a simple pureed asparagus soup. 2. Small dollops on top of a frittata. 3. Whisked into scrambled eggs. 4. Inside a version of these spring rolls. 5. Thinned out with a bit of broth in a saucepan, I then sautéed a couple handfuls of broccoli in it, added tiny pieces of tofu, a couple big spoonfuls of cooked quinoa, and some toasted almonds. Dinner.

There's still half a jar left and thinned out, it makes a really nice base broth for any number of soups. So, next up, I think I'll use it instead of a more traditional curry broth, in a big pot with lots of fresh vegetables, maybe some noodles....

Use full-fat coconut milk here, it gives the sauce better consistency and mouth feel. You can thin it out to your liking from there depending on how you're going to use it. Like I said, it's rich, but a little goes a long way. :)

1 clove garlic, peeled
1 medium jalapeno (or serrano) chile, deseeded and chopped
1/2 teaspoon fine grain sea salt, plus more to taste
1 tablespoons sunflower oil
1 small bunch of scallions, thinly sliced (~8 scallions)
1/2 cup finely chopped cilantro
1 14-ounce can of coconut milk (full fat)
3 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice, plus more to taste

In a mortar and pestle, smash the garlic and chile into a paste along with the salt. Alternately, you can use a food processor. Add the oil and the scallions, and smash or chop a bit more. Add the cilantro, pulsing the food processor (if you're using it) just a few times.

Transfer the mixture to a jar or bowl, and whisk in the coconut milk, then the lemon juice. Taste, and adjust with more salt or lemon juice if needed. Store in a refrigerator for up to a week.

Makes about 2 1/2 cups.

I baked half the crackers as owls, and then did the remaining half as teardrops. One word of advice, don't skimp on the quality of cheese you use here. It's where much of the flavor in these crackers comes from. I used a strong white cheddar cheese, but you can certainly use a good orange cheddar. Or branch out from cheddar altogether - you know a Gruyere version is going to be good. And it might take some experimenting, but a blue cheese version would be worth trying to get right.

A shot I took with my Land Camera of Wayne reading and practicing the alphabet with Jack. It's hard to believe this is the same little guy.

Take a minute to have a look at Alana's book - it's lovely, and it has all sorts of recipes related to making everyday pantry items - toaster pastries, ketchup, mozzarella, instant oatmeal, peanut butter cups, and yogurt. You can find Alana here, and here, and I loved seeing this spotlight related to the making of her book cover.

Thanks for the inspiration A - hope to cross paths again soon.

I took a few liberties with Alana's recipe. The recipe below takes my tweaks into consideration - using whole wheat pastry flour, etc. Any unbaked dough can be wrapped tightly in plastic and frozen for a couple of months. Alana also indicates you can re-crisp baked crackers in a 375F / 190C oven for 5 minutes if you like.

3 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch cubes, plus additional for baking sheets

1 1/2 cups / 7 oz / 200g whole wheat pastry flour, plus more for the counter

1 teaspoon dry mustard powder
1 teaspoon fine grain sea salt
6 ounces / 170 g Cheddar cheese, grated
2 teaspoons white wine vinegar
1 ice cube
seeds (optional)

Combine the butter, flour, dry mustard, and salt in the bowl of a stand mixer. Mix on low speed with the paddle attachment until the mixture is crumbly and the butter starts to integrate into the mixture, about 30 seconds. Add the cheese and mix again on low speed for a few seconds.

In a measuring cup, combine 3/4 cup water, the vinegar, and the ice cube, and let sit for a moment to get cold. Add 6 tablespoons of the vinegar mixture to the dough and mix on medium speed for 20 seconds. Continue to add liquid, 1 tablespoon at a time, until the dough clings in a ball to the beater. Then mix for an additional 30 seconds. Mound the dough into a ball, wrap it in waxed paper or plastic wrap, and refrigerate for at least two hours, and up to 3 days.

Remove the dough from the refrigerator 15 minutes before you are ready to roll it out. Preheat the oven to 325F / 160C and grease two baking sheets. Turn out the dough onto a floured surface, press into a flat disc, and roll it with a rolling pin until the dough is 1/8-inch thick. Cut into desired shapes using a knife or cutter. Any leftover dough can be rerolled for more crackers.

With a spatula, transfer the crackers to the prepared baking sheets, allowing nearly an inch between crackers. If you're adding seeds as an accent, press them gently in place now. Bake until the bottoms are browned, and the tops take on a good amount of color as well - 18 - 25 minutes, depending on how thick your crackers actually are. And rotate the sheets halfway through baking (or when the crackers in the back look like they are browning more quickly than the front). Turn off the oven, prop open the oven door with a metal or wooden spoon, and allow the crackers to crisp as the oven cools - at least twenty minutes.

Makes 3-4 dozen small/medium crackers.

Adapted from Alana Chernila's The Homemade Pantry: 101 Foods You Can Stop Buying and Start Making10. Published by Clarkson Potter April 2012.

- Matisse draws a boy (via wb)

- Food Diary: Phoebe Cates (via Luisa)

- 20 x 24: Mary Ellen Mark

- Lillet Rose Spring Cocktail

- Tara O'Brady | Interview

- One of my recipes (from SNED) illustrated by New York Magazine

- Karl Lagerfeld in 24 Hours (via Marcia)

- Pics from a Chinese Gangster's Phone (via Daring Fireball)

- Winter | Marfa

- Smith Tower

- Choose your color

- Monet at work (30 sec. mark)

- The Case for the Foodie Entrepreneur (via Megan)

- Brian W. Ferry | interview

- Mount Everest, Kilimanjaro, Fuji

- The Food Seen / Working my way through the list of past episodes.

- Q+A: Ashley Rose Helvey

- Ladies of Castor & Pollux

- Norwegian island memorial to 17th c. witches burned at the stake. (via Jennifer)

- Backstory on the sculpture inside Greens (in SF), with 1979 photos. (via WB)

- This shot

- Buckwheat Noodles with Green Beans & Toasted Sesame-Lime Vinaigrette

....and, wish I had a space for this.

Lead photo: pretty spring flowers from the farmers' market here in San Francisco.

These little open-faced tartines took less than ten minutes to pull together, and ended up being the epitome of spring. I suspect I'll be eating more of them in the coming weeks. Give them a try, and in the meantime, I'm going to try and make a few things happen on this end so I can share a more details related to what I've been up to. xo -h

You can actually slice each tartine into four or five bite-sized pieces for a nice appetizer option as well.

4 toasted slabs of whole grain bread, rubbed with olive oil and a bit of garlic

1/2 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 lb of asparagus stalks, trimmed roughly the length of your bread
1 clove garlic, thinly sliced
1/2 teaspoon caraway seeds

1 avocado, pitted and smashed
a couple handfuls of arugula, tossed in a bit of olive oil

a handful of toasted pepitas, or almonds, or sunflower seeds

A few minutes before you want to eat heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. When hot add the asparagus, and a pinch of salt and cook for about thirty seconds. Add the garlic and caraway, and cook another thirty seconds, or until the spears are a vibrant green. Remove from heat, and assembly the tartines.

Give each piece of bread a generous slather of mashed avocado. Top that with a bit of arugula, a few asparagus spears, and a generous sprinkling of pepitas or seeds.

Serves 2-4

It was one of those relatively simple preparations that reminded me of how good certain things are. Sometimes I forget big, rustic homemade croutons are worth making. And mozzarella? It's great in salads - it doesn't have to be summer, and you don't have to include tomatoes. Things like that. Ideas like these get pushed out of my brain from time to time. And its nice to get reminders.

We chatted in the kitchen before dinner about dressing for the salad (and broccoli/broccolini in general). Malinda mentioned she likes to accent hers with a bit of anchovy when there aren't vegetarians around. I told her I often do the lemon zest/red pepper flake combo when I'm throwing broccoli together on a weeknight. And as that sentence was coming out of my mouth, I thought, wow, what a yawn. Surely I can come up with something more interesting than red pepper flakes the next time around.

So I kept thinking about it. On the walk home, up the stairs, brushing teeth....The image of a big pile of, whispy, thinly sliced scallions kept popping into my head. So, that's the direction I went when I made this for lunch the other day. I spiked it with some minced serrano pepper, and loaded it with toasted almonds as well. Thanks for the inspiration M :)!

I made a meal of this by introducing a hard boiled egg - on the side. That said, you could chop and sprinkle one over each plate. Or you could work some chopped egg into the dressing. I have you make more dressing than you'll likely use, in part because it's nice to have a bit of leftover on hand throughout the week. You can try to use burrata cheese here in place of the mozzarella - as a treat. Just know it can be a bit tricky though, hit or miss. Sometimes it looses all structure, which makes it difficult to work into a salad like this.

1 lb / 16 oz / 450 g baby broccoli / broccolini, trimmed, and each stalk halved if you like

3 bunches scallions, trimmed and thinly sliced
1 small serrano chile pepper, deveined, seeded and minced (opt)
1/2 cup / 120 ml extra virgin olive oil
fine grain sea salt
3 big handfuls of big, rustic croutons
a squeeze of fresh lemon juice.
1 cup / 4 oz / 115 g sliced almonds, toasted
4 - 6 oz fresh mozzarella cheese, torn into big chunks

Fill a big pot with water and bring to a boil. Salt the water well and cook the broccolini briefly, about a minute, or long enough to take a bit of the snap out of the stalks. Drain, run under cold water to stop the cooking, and pat dry with a clean cloth. Set aside.

Combine the scallions, serrano pepper, olive oil, and a couple pinches of salt in a small saucepan. Bring to a sizzle, stirring all the while, and remove from heat. Stir in a squeeze of lemon juice.

To assemble the salad, just before serving, place the broccolini and croutons in a large serving bowl. Scoop about 1/2 of the green onions into the bowl, allowing most of the oil to drain off. Toss well and continue to add more green onions until everything is coated to your liking. Have a taste at this point to get a sense of whether you need to adjust the seasoning at all - with more salt or lemon juice. Add the almonds and toss, then one last (gentle) toss after adding the mozzarella.

Use the leftover oil (refrigerate) to cook eggs, drizzled over potatoes, drizzled into soup, etc.

Serves 4 - 6.

I'm a bit embarrassed that I never got around to doing a proper London write-up after my visit last year. So, better late than never, I figured this would be a fine time to remedy the situation. I dug up notebooks, receipts, and went through my photo archive, then drafted a page with a map of all the places I enjoyed visiting (as well as a few I saved for next time). Here's where the London page lives.

I've also realized that a good number of you like to use my city posts when you travel. The problem is this - when I visit a place more than once, those pages sprawl across the site, are outdated, and are hard to find. So, I'm (sloooowly) consolidating each city onto a single dedicated page. All pages into one place (eventually). Right now there's: London, Paris, and San Francisco. I'm working on Portland, Tokyo, and Rome. To make them easy to find, I've posted a "travel guides" link in the upper right-hand corner of every page on the site. This way the maps should be easy to find if you happen to be traveling to one of the places I've done a page for. Thanks for your patience here, I didn't really think my travel related posts would turn into a "thing"...but enough of you have mailed me with questions that I'm going to try to make things easier and more reference-y in the future. Cheers!

Lead photo: blooms I came across while wandering around Notting Hill.

This is a saag paneer that uses a truckload of spinach, gets tang from buttermilk and a finishing squeeze of fresh lemon, magic from a host of spices, and a bit of heat from ginger and chile flakes. I bring on a bit of crunch and contrasting texture where ever I can - paneer, toasted sesame seeds, and add a touch of decadence with a splash of cream (you can use yogurt if you like). It is the sort of thing that is even better the day after - spread on thin crackers, or inside this sort of quesadilla. You make your own spice blend here, but you can certainly experiment with your own or a good store-bought blend.

A bunch of head notes here, apologies. This recipe calls for an incredible amount of spinach. Just know, it cooks down dramatically. I call for baby spinach, because it saves me having to trim a lot of unruly stems from bundles of spinach. Feel free to use any fresh spinach, but make sure it isn't overly stem-y. On the cheese front, Halloumi is a solid substitute for paneer, and here's a link if you want to make paneer at home. And if you like a higher cheese to spinach ratio, cook up 12 ounces of paneer. If I have canned crushed or whole tomatoes that need to be used up, I throw some of those in too (chopped/drained) - good. And if you have kale you need to use, trade chopped kale for some of the spinach if you like.

1 1/2 pounds fresh (baby) spinach, well washed and dried
2 tablespoons ghee, clarified butter, or unsalted butter
8 - 12 oz paneer cheese, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
2 medium onions, finely chopped
scant 1/2 teaspoon fine grain sea salt
3 medium garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 tablespoon grated fresh ginger
1 tablespoon spice mixture* (see below)
1/4 teaspoon turmeric
1 cup buttermilk
splash of cream or dollop of plain yogurt (optional)

fresh lemon to finish, and toasted sesame seeds to sprinkle

Chop the spinach well, and set aside in a large bowl.

While you're chopping spinach, cook the paneer in one tablespoon of the butter over medium heat in a large skillet. Make sure the paneer is in a single layer and use a spatula to flip it regularly so all sides get deeply brown. This typically takes 7 minutes or so. Remove from the pan and set aside.

Heat the other tablespoon of butter in your largest soup pot. Add the onions and salt, and saute until the onions soften up, five minutes or so. Add the garlic, ginger, spice mixture, and turmeric. Cook, stirring frequently, until fragrant and nicely combined - a minute or two.

Turn the heat up to medium-high and add the spinach to the pan all at once, if possible. Cook, stirring all the while, until the spinach is collapsed and wilted, a couple of minutes. If you need to add the spinach in batches (adding more spinach as it collapses), that is fine too, just do it as quickly as possible.

Stir in the buttermilk and cream and heat gently while stirring. If the mixture seems dry, add more buttermilk a splash at a time (this rarely happens to me). Taste and add more salt if necessary and more red pepper flakes if you like. Add a generous squeeze of fresh lemon juice, stir in the paneer, sprinkle with sesame seeds and serve.

Serves 4-6.

*Spice Mixture: Use a mortar and pestle or spice grinder to grind the following spices as finely as possible: 2 tablespoons cumin seed, 1 tablespoons coriander seed, 2 teaspoons mustard seed, 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes, 1/8 teaspoon cardamom seeds, 3 whole cloves. Store in an airtight container and use as needed.

I'm realizing that a good number of the shots I took over the past week were from where I was sitting IN the car. The wind was blowing so hard at some points that it was hard to open the door.

As far as provisions go...aside from the cake, I packed the car with all sorts of things to make into snacks (or meals) in a pinch. With a bit of soy sauce and some tofu we grilled on the balcony of the hotel, these brown rice balls worked out nicely as a quick dinner one night. I should clarify the hotel was more like a condo with a sizable balcony and I'm guessing not all properties allow this.You can tuck little cubes of avocado,or whatever else, into the centers to make them as substantial as you like.

You can make the rice balls as large or small. I like them on the small side - more golf ball than baseball. As long as you use the right kind of rice, shaping them just takes a bit of patience and practice. I line a tiny, steep-sided bowl with a sheet of plastic wrap, fill the bowl, twist, shape, peel. The cup I use is about 1/2 cup capacity, and I fill it 2/3 full. You want to use short grain brown rice - I use short grain brown Japanese rice, sometimes labeled sushi rice. Long grain rice doesn't work as well. Arborio rice works well too, but I never see that sold as whole grain. Have a look at the photo (up above) so you can see the size of the rice grains in my hand.

I seasoned this batch of rice balls with sesame seeds and green onions, studded them with chopped almond slices. As you can imagine, you can go in a million different directions here. They are super portable - picnic, cubicle, car, plane, school lunch - as long as you have a structured container, they should survive intact. I put mine in a parchment lined cake pan.

Before I sign off I wanted to thank all of you who sent such nice notes about the James Beard nomination of Super Natural Every Day (here's a PDF of the nominees). They made my day. It's a fantastic feeling to be nominated, even better to know so many of you are excited as well. I keep saying it, the support and enthusiasm you've directed toward my book over the past year continues to blow me away. And it certainly keeps me thinking about how I can raise the bar the next time around. xoxo -h

Because brown rice has all the stuff that can go rancid still intact - bran/germ, if you can find organic rice labeled "new crop", go with that. And, in case you want to make a larger pot of rice, use ~1 1/2 cups / 360 ml water for each cup of rice - perhaps a splash more.

2 cups / 14 oz / 400 g brown sushi rice (stubby, short grains)
3 cups / 710 ml water
1/2 teaspoon fine grain sea salt

1/4 cup / 1.5 oz / 45 g sesame seeds (white/black mix)
3 tablespoons toasted almond slices/slivers, chopped
1/4 cup / 4 tablespoons minced green onions

Optional: things to tuck in the middle: avocado cubes (toss in lemon juice first), tofu, etc.

In a colander or fine-mesh strainer, rinse the rice briefly and drain. If you have time to soak the rice for an hour or two, do it. If not, just proceed. Bring the rice to a boil over medium-high heat in your thickest-bottomed pot. Dial the heat back so the water is just simmering actively - low-med. Cover with tight fitting lid, and try not to peek too often.

Cook the rice until the water has been absorbed and the grains are cooked through, usually about an hour, less if you've soaked the rice.If the grains have cooked but there's still water to be absorbed, dial the heat up to medium-high until the pan dries out, being careful not to scorch the rice at the bottom. Remove the rice from heat and let rest, covered, for at least 15 minutes, preferably a bit longer. Fluff with a fork, then gradually add and incorporate the sesame seeds, almonds, and green onions. At this point, taste, and adjust the seasoning, adding more salt if needed. I let the rice cool quite a bit before shaping.

To form the rice balls, line a small cup with plastic wrap, sprinkle the plastic wrap with a dab of water, then fill the cup 2/3 full with rice mixture. No need to pack it down. You can tuck something in the center at this point if you like. Gather the plastic wrap like you would a ponytail, and twist at the base of the rice. Make sure there is no air trapped, and use your opposite palm to shape into a ball (see photo up above). Carefully remove plastic wrap and set the rice ball in a parchment lined container or on a plate. Repeat with the remaining rice.

A couple tips: If your fingers get sticky, dab with water. And if you run out of steam making rice balls, just cook up a couple eggs into a thin omelette, cut into shreds, and toss with the rice - makes for one of my favorite quick lunches.

Makes about 2 dozen small rice balls.

This cake gets sweetness and moisture from maple syrup and the darkest of brown sugars. I use beer in the batter, but you can't really taste it outright. More than anything it lends a malty base note and depth of flavor. Go for a not-too-hoppy porter or stout, or chocolate porter or chocolate stout. I know most of you can get your hands on a Guinness, which is totally fine as well.

I'm keeping this post short (making my way home) - but for those of you who don't have a bundt pan, I bake this batter in a wide range of pans. It makes great little cakes, and loaf cakes, and cupcakes. You know the drill, adjust the baking time, and bake until the sides of the cake start to pull away from the pan a bit, and a tester/knife inserted into the center comes out clean.

Thank you to my Portland friends for the warm welcome. More pics to come, once I get home and can get some film developed. And I'm going to have to ask you to please forgive any typos :( It has been a long day involving flat tires, tow trucks, and nasty weather. xo -h

I use less butter here, than most other cakes of this sort. And I'd argue, you can't really tell. That said, scaling back much more beyond this wasn't a good idea. Also, I use buttermilk in the icing because I typically have it on hand, but you can certainly substitute stout/porter or water.

Chocolate Bundt Cake:

2 cups / 475 ml chocolate porter or stout beer
8 tablespoons unsalted butter, plus more for the pan
3/4 cup / 75g natural cocoa powder (non-dutched)
1 cup / 5 oz / 140 g whole wheat flour
1 cup / 4.5 oz / 125 g all-purpose flour
1 cup / 4.25 oz / 120 g muscovado or dark brown sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
3/4 teaspoon fine grain sea salt
3 large eggs
1 1/2 cups / 355 ml plain whole yogurt
3/4 cup / 180 ml pure maple syrup

Chocolate Buttermilk Icing:

3/4 cup / 2.75 oz / 75 g powdered sugar
1/4 cup / 25g natural cocoa powder (non-dutched)
2 tablespoons buttermilk

flaky sea salt, to serve

Preheat oven to 350F / 180C, with a rack in the center.

Butter and flour (generously) a 11 or 12-cup capacity bundt pan (or equivalent). As I mention up above, you can bake this in other cake pans, just be mindful to avoid filling the pan(s) more than 2/3 - 3/4 full. Adjust the baking time as well - baking until the cake begins to pull away from the sides of the pan, and the center tests clean when you insert a knife.

In a saucepan simmer the beer down to 1 cup / 240 ml. Remove from heat, add the butter and stir until melted. Stir in the cocoa powder, mixing until smooth, then set aside to cool, stirring occasionally to let off heat.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flours, sugar, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.

In a large mixing bowl, combine the eggs, yogurt, and maple syrup. Whisk well, until nicely blended and uniform in appearance. Gradually add the (cooled) stout mixture, stirring all the while. Stir until well blended. Add the flour mixture, folding until just blended, using as few strokes as possible.

Transfer the batter to the prepared pan and bake for 35 - 45 minutes if using the bundt pan, or until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean. You really don't want to over bake this cake - err on the slightly moist side if anything. Remove from the oven, and turn out onto a cooling rack after seven minutes.

In the meantime, make the icing by whisking together the powdered sugar, cocoa, and buttermilk. Really go at it for at least a minute. The icing should end up smooth and creamy looking, adjust with a touch of powdered sugar or a few extra drops of buttermilk if you want to tweak the consistency at all. When the cake is completely cool, run the icing around the top with an offset spatula and let it set.

Serve sprinkled with a bit of flaky sea salt. But don't sprinkle with flakes of salt until ready to serve, or you'll end up with little divots (see photos :)...

Makes one chocolate bundt cake.

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I tend to make a big pot of this soup. Melissa's original recipe has you add a good amount of coconut milk to finish, but I'm usually inclined to keep it straight tomato (and the recipe below reflects this). You can soften it up later with a bit of the thick, luxe cream skimmed off the top of a can of coconut milk if you're inclined. I also like it with fresh herbs, paneer croutons, a poached egg, etc. Sometimes all of the above. At once :) I can also promise it is A+ ladled over cooked farro or brown rice.

HS: A number of you are concerned about the BPA liners in a canned tomatoes. Seek out tomatoes packed in glass jars, alternately I'm aware that Muir Glen has transitioned to BPA-free liners, although it's tricky, because those cans aren't labeled BPA-free. Look for cans with expiration dates as far out as possible (2014? 2015?), those are more likely to have the new liners.

4 tablespoons unsalted butter, olive oil, or coconut oil
2 medium yellow onions, thinly sliced
1 teaspoon fine grain sea salt, plus more to taste
3 teaspoons curry powder
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon chile flakes
2 (28-ounce) cans whole tomatoes (pref. fire-roasted)
1 14-ounce can coconut milk

to serve: any of the following that sound good to you - cooked brown rice, lemon wedges, toasted almond slices, pan-fried paneer, fresh thyme or oregano, oregano drizzle, a poached egg

In a large pot over medium heat melt the butter. Add the onions and salt, and cook, stirring occasionally, until the onions really soften up - 10 minutes or so. Not so much that they brown, just until they're completely tender and unstructured.

Stir in the curry powder, coriander, cumin, and chile flakes, and cook just until the spices are fragrant and toasty - stirring constantly at this point. Just 30 seconds or so. Stir in the tomatoes, the juices from the cans, and 6 cups / 1.5 L of water. Simmer for fifteen minutes or so, then puree with a hand blender until smooth. This is the version you see up above (minus the toppings). That said, at this point you can decide if you'd like your soup even a bit thinner - if so, you can thin it with more water, or if you like a creamy version, with some coconut milk. Taste and adjust with more salt to taste.

This soup is great served simply with a dollop of cream from the top of a can of coconut milk (a little goes a long way) and a toasted wedge of good bread. That said, I love it most with the coconut cream, served over a scoop of brown rice with a squeeze of lemon, some toasted almonds, and a jolt of herbs (fresh, or the sort of oregano drizzle I used here).

Inspired/Adapted from the Curried Coconut Tomato Soup in Melissa Clark's Cook This Now.