Over the years, I’ve come up with a few recipes to make when you’re feeling under the weather: a basic miso soup and a heartier spicy peanut variation, as well as a Thai-inspired chicken soup with lemongrass and coconut milk. I’ve also given you my friend Katy’s cure-all SmugSmoothie, which contains a generous dose of vitamins and antioxidants from lacinato kale and frozen berries.

Since many of my friends are in the throes of the latest cold/flu/whatever it is that’s invading everyone’s sinuses this winter, I’m giving you one more recipe for the foods-to-make-when-you’re-sick file. Better yet, get someone else to make this for you. Significant others, if you’re reading — make this porridge for your ailing loved one, and they’ll be sure to return the favor when you inevitably catch the same thing a few days later.

Rice porridge is seriously comforting when you’re not feeling well, and it’s versatile and easily adaptable to whatever ails you. If you’ve got a tummy bug, it’s a great introduction to solid foods, as it’s mild and easy to stomach. When you’ve got a head cold, add a big ol’ squirt of sri racha, a squeeze of lime, and a handful of cilantro to wake up your sinuses.

Whether you call it juk, congee, okayu, or something else, rice porridge is a popular dish in the lexicon of just about every Asian cuisine. It ranges from peasant food to a prized delicacy, and can be made with just about any combination of broth and protein.

Today’s recipe is inspired by Vietnamese and Thai cuisines, though my version is far from a traditional cháo or chok. A pinch of five-spice powder adds background notes of anise and cinnamon, and freshly grated ginger gives the porridge a spicy kick, and also happens to aid in digestion. Beaten eggs are whisked in at the end of cooking, adding a dose of protein for a balanced, one-pot meal.

Five Spice Porridge (printer-friendly version)

serves 2

4 C. low-sodium chicken broth

4 ribs celery, leaves included, sliced thinly

2 large carrots, julienned

1 tsp. microplaned ginger

1/2 tsp. kosher salt (or to taste)

1/4 tsp. toasted sesame oil

1/4 tsp. five spice powder

3 C. cooked jasmine rice

2 large eggs, beaten

5 sprigs cilantro, stems removed

1 lime, cut into wedges

sri racha sauce

1. In a medium (2.5-quart) saucepan over a medium flame, combine the chicken broth, celery, carrots, ginger, salt, salt, sesame oil, and five spice powder. Bring up to a boil, turn down to low, and let simmer for 15 minutes.

2. Add the cooked rice and simmer for another 15 minutes.

3. Pour in the beaten eggs, stirring quickly for a minute to incorporate them into the porridge.

4. Ladle the porridge into large soup bowls. Top with cilantro, lime wedges, and sri racha sauce.

Some mornings, I like to give breakfast a little bit of extra attention. Whether it’s a lazy Saturday morning, or just one of those days when GF Boy happens to go for a late-morning commute, it’s nice to start the day off with something a little more luxurious than cold cereal.

An omelet full of colorful vegetables and melty swiss cheese certainly makes a morning feel special. We enjoyed this particular omelet for Valentine’s Day breakfast, and it was a perfectly savory start to a sweet day.

Green Onion Omelet for Two 

4 large eggs

2 Tbsp. half and half

2 green onions, sliced thinly

1/4 tsp. kosher salt

1/4 tsp. ground black pepper

1/2 Tbsp. unsalted butter

1/2 C. grape tomatoes, halved

2 oz. baby swiss cheese, sliced thinly

2 C. baby arugula

1/2 large avocado, sliced

1. In a small mixing bowl, combine the eggs, half and half, green onions, salt, and pepper. Whisk together until thoroughly combined.

2. Melt the butter in a large (12-inch) non-stick skillet over medium heat. Use a spatula to distribute it evenly around the pan.

3. When the butter is melted and beginning to bubble, but not browned, add the egg mixture to the pan, taking care that the green onions are spread out evenly.

4. Allow the omelet to cook until mostly set — it will be a little bit runny on top, but cooked through and beginning to brown slightly on the bottom.

5. Sprinkle the tomatoes, swiss cheese, and arugula over half of the omelet, then cover and cook for two more minutes.

6. Use a spatula to fold the bare side of the omelet over the toppings. Cut the omelet in half and serve immediately.

(printer-friendly version)

Nothing says I love you like a good risotto. To make it properly, you must spend the better part of a half-hour attentively stirring the pot, bringing about that creamy-texture-without-cream miracle that makes the dish so special. The arborio rice manages to stay pleasantly chewy while exuding lots of starch, creating its own creamy sauce. Without all that stirring, risotto isn’t worth making at all — left to its own devices, it’ll end up more like a gummy pilaf.

The good news is that while risotto does take time and attention, it’s pretty difficult to mess up if you put in the face-time. Part of the joy of the dish is that it allows you to tweak and adjust as you go. If the rice isn’t cooked through yet, you need to add more broth and keep stirring. If it’s too bland, a little more salt should do the trick. And then, like magic, the whole dish comes together before your eyes. A well-seasoned pot of risotto, napped in a savory sauce of chicken broth, white wine, and sweet onions. Add your chicken and peas, along with a big handful of parmesan cheese, and you’re done.

The flavor a risotto is depenent on high-quality chicken broth  — after all, the broth reduces and concentrates in flavor as the dish cooks. Starting with the best broth you can get your hands on is of utmost importance. I’ll give my recipe for a simple and versatile homemade broth below, but don’t despair if you’re not able to put in the time to make it. Trader Joe’s sells a reasonably-priced organic, low-sodium chicken broth that would work quite well in this dish. Since it only contains 70mg of sodium per serving, you can fine-tune the saltiness of the finished risotto.

Risotto with Chicken and Peas 

serves 4

1 Tbsp. unsalted butter

2 tsp. Garlic Gold oil

1 medium yellow onion, diced

1 tsp. kosher salt

1 1/4 C. arborio rice

1/2 C. chardonnay wine

4 C. low-sodium chicken broth (recipe below)

2 C. (about 10 oz.) leftover cooked chicken, in bite-size pieces

1 C. frozen peas

1/2 tsp. Garlic Gold Herbs de Provence Nuggets

1/2 C. shredded parmesan cheese

1/2 tsp. ground black pepper

1. Heat the butter and Garlic Gold oil in a large (12-inch) non-stick skillet over a medium flame.

2. When the butter has melted, add the onion and salt. Stir to coat the onions in the butter and oil, then cover the skillet. Let the onions sweat until soft and not quite beginning to brown, removing the lid to stir occasionally. This will take about 10 minutes.

3. Remove the lid and add the rice to the skillet. Toss to combine with the onions, and saute for about three minutes, until the rice has turned opaque in color.

4. Add the white wine to the skillet. Stir continuously until the wine has evaporated, about five minutes.

5. Add a half-cup of the chicken broth to the skillet. Stir it into the rice, cooking until most of the broth has evaporated, stirring all the while.

6. Continue to add the chicken broth in half-cup increments, stirring often to ensure your risotto will have a creamy texture.

7. Right after you add the last half-cup of chicken broth to the skillet, fold in the cooked chicken, peas, and Garlic Gold nuggets. Stir to combine evenly, then cover and let warm through for a few minutes.

8. Remove the lid, stir in the cheese and black pepper, and serve immediately.

Homemade Chicken Broth

makes about 3 quarts

1 4-pound organic chicken

1 yellow onion, peeled and cut into eighths

1 medium parsnip, halved lengthwise

4 medium carrots, halved lengthwise

5 ribs celery, leaves included, halved

1. Combine all the ingredients in a 5-quart dutch oven or soup pot.

2. Add enough water to cover the ingredients by an inch or two — the water will come up to about 3″ from the top of the pot.

3. Cover the pot and place on the stove over a medium flame. When the water just comes up to a boil, turn down to low and let simmer for two hours.

4. Using two large spoons, carefully remove the chicken from the broth and place it on a cutting board. Let it cool until you can handle it with your fingers, then remove all the meat and discard the bones and skin. Set the meat aside — you can use it for risotto, chicken salad, or any other recipe that requires cooked chicken.

5. Use a ladle to skim off as much fat as possible from the top of the pot of chicken broth. Use a colander to strain the broth into a large bowl, then ladle it into pint or quart-sized containers for storage.

6. Store the broth in the refrigerator for up to a week, or freeze for later use.

In the repertoire of Russian cuisine, there are many different kinds of root vegetable salads. The recipe below is a spin on one such salad which traditionally includes beets, prunes, walnuts, mayonnaise, and freshly pressed garlic. I subbed in toasted, slivered almonds for the chopped walnuts, then lightened things up considerably by nixing the mayonnaise and tossing the salad in a dressing of rice vinegar, olive oil, tamari, and honey.

Substituting ingredients to create a markedly different recipe is not a new concept. Driving this point home, Mark Bittman has been doing a fantastic series of simple recipe features in the NYT Dining and Wine section. He’ll introduce one basic ingredient or base recipe, then present a recipe matrix of variations on a theme. In this week’s feature on boneless, skinless chicken breasts, every recipe is unique and tasty-looking, giving the reader a bunch of novel treatments for what is normally considered a mundane ingredient.

While I’m not going to do a multi-recipe pictorial on Russian-inspired root vegetable salads, you can still think of this recipe as a starting point for your own creative variations. It’s composed of seven ingredients, any of which can be subbed out for something you have on hand. Just think of each ingredient as a component with certain characteristics, and a whole matrix of recipes opens up. Below, I’ll enumerate the components of this salad, explaining their role and offering one or more alternatives.

1. Root Vegetables

In this salad, I used beets, but any sweet, mild root vegetable would work just as well. Carrots are a great option.

2. Dried Fruit

Prunes lend sweetness and a chewy textural component to the salad. You can use other dried fruits such as raisins, currants, dried cranberries, or apricots for a similar effect.

3. Nuts

I used toasted, slivered almonds. The traditional walnuts work great as well, and so would some toasted hazelnuts or macadamias.

4. Acid 

Rice vinegar gives this salad a tangy dimension. You could also use red wine vinegar, apple cider vinegar, or fresh lemon juice.

5. Oil

Pretty much any oil works here, except something really strongly-flavored like a truffle-infused oil or roasted sesame oil. Well, actually, you could get away with either of those if you just used a few drops, then made up for the rest of the volume with something neutrally-flavored such as grapeseed oil. Try walnut oil if you’re using walnuts in the salad, for a one-two punch of layered flavor.

6. Salt

Tamari is a great go-to ingredient when you want to add salt to a recipe, since it also lends a bit of savory flvor — the umami component of tamari gives the salad a little extra something-something. If you’d rather highlight one of the other ingredients in the salad, a more neutral salty component might be more appropriate. If you want even more savory flavor from your salty component, consider something bold like dijon mustard or miso paste.

7. Sweet

I’ve used clover honey as the sweet component here. Keep in mind that your choice of dried fruit has bearing on how much extra sweetness you need to add — if you used dried cranberries, you might want to add a little extra honey (or agave nectar, or cane sugar, or your sweetener of choice) to balance out their tartness.

So, there you have it! Now that you understand what each ingredient brings to the table, feel free to substitute other ingredients with similar functions.

Beet Salad with Almonds and Prunes

serves 4

4 medium-sized beets (about 3″ in diameter)

6 prunes, roughly chopped

1/3 C. slivered toasted almonds

1 Tbsp. rice vinegar

1 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil

1 tsp. tamari

1 tsp. clover honey

1. Fill a medium-sized (2 1/2-quart) saucepan halfway with tap water, then place on the stove over a medium flame. Add the beets, and bring the water up to a boil. Turn down to low and let simmer for about 30 minutes, or until you can easily pierce the beets with a paring knife.

2. Rinse the beets under cold water, using your hands to peel off their outer skin. Trim off any stubborn bits with a paring knife. Set the beets aside to cool.

3. When the beets are cool enough to handle, use a julienne slicer to shred them into a small (1-quart) mixing bowl.

4. Add the rest of the ingredients to the bowl with the beets and stir to combine. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours before serving.

Well, I am sad to report that Opera Girl is feeling under the weather. I’ve got one of those dreadful head colds that just knocks you out for a few days. I’ve been dutifully drinking my chicken soup, inhaling oceans of tea, and doing just about everything else I can think of to get better, but this one is truly a doozy!

Enter the SmugSmoothie, courtesy of my friend and fellow soprano Katy.  I’ve been drinking these for the last three mornings, and they’re awesome. The kale, blueberries, and strawberries make for a seriously restorative smoothie, and while the color is less than appetizing, the taste is right on. There’s just enough sweetness from the banana, and the kale blends right in to the background without being bitter or distracting.

Oh, and you get to feel smug every time you start your day with one of these, since they’re so danged nutritious and good for you. Hence the name.

SmugSmoothie 

self-serving

5 large leaves lacinato kale, destemmed and torn into pieces

1 medium-sized banana*

1/2 C. frozen blueberries

1/2 C. frozen strawberries

1 C. almond milk**

1. Combine all ingredients in blender in order listed.

2. Blend at high speed until thoroughly blended.

*For a slightly less murky green colored beverage (and good flavor too!), you can use 1/2 a banana and a handful of frozen mango chunks.

**Katy uses coconut water, but I had almond milk around so that’s what I used.

With Valentine’s Day just around the corner, it’s the perfect time to share one of my favorite family recipes. A gem from the archives, given a new shine, this is my updated take on my late Aunt Wini’s recipe for Rich Dark Chocolate Mousse.

Wini’s recipe is not only delicious, it’s also one of the quickest dessert recipes in existence — it seriously takes about five minutes to make. The process is ingenious in its simplicity. You simply put all the ingredients in a blender, add hot milk, blend, then pour the mousse into serving dishes and let it chill for 24 hours. What results is a perfectly silky, dark mousse with seriously concentrated chocolate flavor.

To take the recipe into the 21st century, I made a few changes. First, I replaced the semisweet chocolate chips and baker’s chocolate with super-dark chocolate bars and unsweetened cocoa powder, both Ghiradelli, a local San Francisco favorite. I also used less sugar than in the original version and subbed in reduced fat milk instead of whole milk.

I could have stopped at those changes and had a great, basic dark chocolate mousse. But instead, I went a bit further, adding  a dash of salt, a pinch of Vietnamese cinnamon, and the zest of a small blood orange.

Suddenly, I had a seriously cosmpolitan dessert on my hands. With flavors reminiscent of Mexican hot chocolate, it’s a delightful departure from basic chocolate mousse. And best of all, it’s just as easy to make. Garnish it with some lightly-sweetened whipped cream and a shower of microplaned orange zest, and you’ll have the perfect dessert to cap off a romantic dinner at home.

Very Dark Cinnamon Orange Chocolate Mousse

serves 6

2 large eggs

2 Tbsp. organic cane sugar

6 oz. 86% chocolate (I use Ghiradelli’s Intense Dark Midnight Reverie), broken into 1″ pieces

20 g. (3 Tbsp.) unsweetened cocoa powder (also Ghiradelli)

1/4 tsp. ground Vietnamese cinnamon

1 1/2 tsp. blood orange zest, grated on a fine microplane

1 tsp. vanilla extract

1/8 tsp. kosher salt

3/4 C. 2% milk

1. Break the eggs into the cup that came with your immersion blender (or another high-sided vessel that your blender fits in).

2. In a small (1-quart) mixing bowl, combine the sugar, chocolate, cocoa powder, cinnamon, orange zest, vanilla, and salt.

3. In a small (1-quart) saucepan over a medium flame, heat the milk until it almost comes up to a boil, but not quite. When it is scalding hot (180°F), pour it over the ingredients in the small bowl and let sit for two minutes.

4. Use an immersion blender to blend the eggs in their separate container until the two minutes are up.

5. Once two minutes have passed, pour the blended eggs into the small bowl with the rest of the ingredients. Use the immersion blender to blend everything together for one minute.

6. Immediately pour the mixture into six small mousse glasses, tea cups, or whatever serving dishes you are using.

7. Chill for 24 hours before serving.  Garnish with whipped cream and orange zest, if desired.

If you’ve been following along this week, then you know that today’s post is a photo tutorial on how to make pour-over coffee. First things first, put a kettle of water on to boil. I use an electric kettle, as they’re fast and convenient.

Now it’s time to grind your coffee beans.

I use a Hario Skerton burr grinder, on a recommendation from a savvy barista at Fourbarrel

Measure out 20 grams of beans into your burr grinder, then grind them on a medium-ish setting. Too course and you’ll end up with weak coffee, too fine and your filter won’t work as well, resulting in a bitter brew.

kitchen scales are a great tool for consistent brewing results

Now, take your coffee filter and fold it according to the directions on the box.

Chemex filters come unfolded. A little fussy, but they do work well!

Place the filter in the coffee maker like so.

. . . yeah I got nothin'.

Next, pour your coffee grounds into the filter.

action shot

At this point, your water should be nice and hot. Measure 12 ounces (1 1/2 cups) of boiling water into a pour-over kettle.

another opportunity to use your trusty kitchen scale.

Next, pour a small amount of water over the grounds, just enough to get them evenly dampened. Let the grounds sit for about 30 seconds. This step is called “blooming” the coffee, and it allows the coffee to release some CO2 before brewing.

just enough water to wet the grounds evenly

You’ll see bubbles come up to the surface of the coffee.

see those bubbles? the coffee is ready to brew.

Now it’s time to add the rest of your water. With a steady hand, slowly pour the water in circles over the coffee grounds, taking care not to pour water down the sides of the filter. Continue pouring at a steady rate until the water is used up.

easy does it.

Now, wait for the rest of the water to filter through the grounds.

this will only take a minute or two.

If you’ve done a good job with your pour-over technique, you’ll see grounds clinging to the sides of the filter evenly from top to bottom.

see how the grounds cling to the sides of the filter?

Serve your coffee while it’s nice and hot.

fuzzy robe optional

Add some steamed milk if you please (I do).

I use a Krups XL2000 Milk Frother. It's pricey, but awesome.

Et voila! A perfect cup of pour-over coffee.

Philz Ambrosia blend, a.k.a. nectar of the gods

As usual, I can’t resist adding a couple final notes. Here are my last two cents:

1. If you want, you can pour boiling water over the filter before you add any grounds. True pour-over-philes believe that this produces a better cup of coffee. I have brewed coffee with a pre-wetted filter and without, and I have not noticed a difference in the flavor of the resulting coffee. To each his own.

2. Great coffee depends on great coffee beans. Buy yours from your favorite local roaster, and always use them fresh, within a couple weeks of purchase. Store them in an air-tight container if you can, too.

. . . and that wraps up this week’s two-part series on pour-over coffee! Thanks for tuning in.

In my breakfast post last week, I mentioned that I start nearly every morning with a mug of pour-over coffee. Brewing coffee at home is a ritual I look forward to at the start of each day, and I daresay I’ve got a method down that produces a deliciously smooth brew.

There are many ways to brew coffee at home. There are french presses, which are great if you like coffee with a little texture — some of the grinds invariably end up at the bottom of the cup, providing a silty surprise if you choose to take a final sip. Automatic drip coffee makers are convenient, but I haven’t yet found one that produces coffee to my liking — more often than not, drip coffee is bitter and over-extracted. There’s a plastic contraption called an AeroPress that many of my friends rave about, which presses a fairly concentrated cup of coffee, something between espresso and a regular drip. Many AeroPress users add hot water to the final brew, similar to making an Americano if you’re using an espresso machine. While I’ve heard great things about the AeroPress, I’m not too keen on pouring boiling water over plastic.

I like to go a little more old-school. I brew my coffee with a Chemex brand coffee maker, just like the one my dad used in the 70s. Consisting of no more than a scientific-looking glass flask with a stay-cool wood collar, it’s an entirely unplugged method of making coffee.

Before it’s time to start brewing the coffee, you’ve got to grind your beans. Freshly ground coffee beans produce the most aromatic and delicious cup of coffee. It’s just like grinding your spices fresh — think about the aroma of a jar of ground nutmeg, then compare that to the cloud of perfume produced when you microplane your own from a whole nutmeg seed. Coffee behaves in a similar fashion.

I like to grind my beans with a ceramic burr grinder. While blade grinders are much cheaper, they cut the beans randomly, producing unevenly-sized grounds that make a silty and bitter cup of coffee. Burr grinders produce a much more even grind, which in turn produces a smooth brew. They’re also infinitely adjustable, so you can tweak the coarseness of the grind. If you’re serious about your at-home set-up, go with a burr grinder. Ceramic ones are best, and they come in both manual and electric models. I use a manual grinder, which takes a little more elbow grease but costs about half as much.

I use a couple other pieces of equipment when brewing coffee — one is a Hario kettle, which is standard equipment for hand-made coffee enthusiasts. The small spout allows for a focused, easy-to-control flow of water, making for a painless pour-over experience. While not entirely necessary, it certainly adds to the enjoyment of the process. Rest assured that if you don’t want to drop fifty bucks for a Hario kettle, you can pour your hot water from a regular tea kettle to produce a comparable cup of coffee.

I also like to use a kitchen scale for brewing my coffee — I find that 20 grams of beans produces a perfect brew when combined with 12 ounces of water. This is another slightly unnecessary piece of equipment — If you prefer not to weigh your ingredients, use a scant 1/4 cup of beans and 1 1/2 cups of water your first time out, then adjust for your personal taste.

And finally, there are the coffee beans. Their flavor and quality depends on many variables. For one, coffee beans are roasted in a variety of shades, from light to dark. Light roasts are the highest in caffeine, and also tend to have the most acidic kick. Medium roasts are a bit mellower, often having nutty or caramelly undertones. Dark roasts are the lowest in caffeine, but can be bitter if taken too far.

Another variable is the variety of coffee bean, since each species has its own flavor profile. Growing locale matters too — regional differences in soil and climate produce differently-flavored beans.

I prefer medium-roasted beans, and I like to try all kinds of different varieties. My neighborhood is home to some amazing roasters, and each is passionate about the quality of their product. Ritual, Philz, FourBarrel, and Blue Bottle beans are some of my favorites. There is no “right” coffee to use — your personal taste is the most important factor when choosing coffee beans. Go ahead and try different ones to find your favorite variety. Any good coffee roaster will sell you beans in half-pound or quarter-pound quantities, so you can experiment with small amounts instead of committing to a whole pound.

There you have it — a summary of what goes into a quality cup of pour-over coffee. This Friday, I’ll be posting a full photo tutorial of how to brew the perfect cup.

Eating a gluten-free diet can really make you miss a good sandwich. Despite what many will tell you, gluten-free sandwich bread usually isn’t that great. It never exactly approximates wheat-y bread, usually suffering from a gritty texture, brick-like density, or a bland, white rice-y flavor. Many GF folks forego sandwiches entirely, preferring to eat foods that are naturally gluten-free. After all, it’s a better bet to eat something you know will be delicious, rather than a fake-y pretender that will never be as good as the real thing.

Enter arepas. This delicious, corn-based flatbread manages an uncommon feat in the gluten-free world — arepas allow you to make a delicious sandwich without suffering the pitfalls of gluten-free sandwich bread. A Venezuelan specialty, they’re made from arepa flour, a specially-processed corn flour available in Hispanic markets and online. When cooked, arepas look and act much like English muffins. They’re wonderful served piping hot straight out of the oven, split down the middle, and filled with your sandwich ingredients of choice. Crispy on the outside and slightly chewy on the inside, their texture is irresistible. Furthermore, their mildly corn-y flavor pairs well with ingredients from a variety of cuisines. I’d venture a guess that a hot, melty arepa pb&j would be out of this world. Let me know if you try it!

Today I went a pretty traditional route, filling my arepas with leftover cooked, sliced chicken breast, avocado, cheddar cheese, and a sprinkling of green onions and cilantro. The combination was fantastic, and a little salsa on the side didn’t hurt things either. I’ve listed quantities for my fillings below, but you can eat your arepas with any filling you like! From butter and jam to ham and swiss, arepas are endlessly adaptable.

Arepas 

makes 6 arepas

for the dough:

2 1/2 C. (20 oz.) lukewarm water

1 tsp. olive oil

1 tsp. kosher salt

2 cups (330 g.) P.A.N. arepa flour

1 Tbsp. olive oil (for cooking)

for the filling:

1/2 lb. cooked chicken breast

1 medium avocado, sliced thinly

3 oz. sharp cheddar cheese, grated on a coarse microplane

2 green onions, sliced thinly

2 sprigs cilantro, chopped

1/2 C. salsa (on the side)

1. Preheat oven to 350F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

2. In a medium mixing bowl, combine the water, 1 tsp. olive oil, and salt. Stir until the salt is dissolved.

3. Pouring the cornmeal into the mixing bowl with the other ingredients in a slow, even stream, mixing with a dough whisk as you pour.

4. When all of the cornmeal has been incorporated into the water, continue to knead with the dough whisk for an additional 5 minutes.

5. Cover a large cutting board with plastic wrap. Set aside.

6. Divide the kneaded dough into even six pieces (about 150 g. each). The dough will be a bit sticky — wet your hands to make it easier to handle. Use your hands to shape each piece into a flat disk, about half an inch thick and 5″ in diameter. As you shape the disks, place them on the plastic wrap-covered cutting board. This will make it easy to transfer them to the skillet.

6. Heat the remaining 1 Tbsp. olive oil in a large (12-inch) non-stick skillet over medium heat. Gently place the arepas in the pan and cook them for five minutes on each side (10 minutes total). When the arepas are golden brown on both sides, transfer them to the parchment-lined baking sheet.

7. Bake the arepas for 35-40 minutes, or until they sound hollow when tapped.

8. Serve arepas immediately. Split them in half while still hot out of the oven, then fill with desired fillings. Serve with salsa.

Next, it’s time to make some kasha for breakfast. To most people, kasha means buckwheat groats, but in actuality, the term refers to porridge in general. It can be made with wheat, barley, oats, millet, rye, or pretty much any grain you please. I make myself some sort of kasha nearly every morning — a bowlful of hot cereal really hits the spot, and it’s one of the few meals sure to carry me through to lunchtime.

One of my favorite grains to use for kasha is amaranth. It’s actually a pseudocereal like quinoa, with a similarly grassy aroma. Prepared as a porridge, amaranth seeds retain their chew while also releasing a fair amount of starch, which makes for a great consistency for hot cereal.

I like to serve my amaranth kasha with a drizzle of clover honey and a sprinkle of roasted pumpkin seeds. Just a tablespoon of honey contributes plenty of sweetness, and the pepitas provide a perfectly salty, crunchy counterpoint.

Amaranth Kasha with Pepitas and Honey

serves 2

1/2 C. (100g) amaranth seeds

1 1/2 C. water

2 Tbsp. toasted salted pepitas

2 Tbsp. clover honey

1. In a 1 1/2-quart saucepan, combine the amaranth and water.

2. Heat the saucepan over a medium flame until the water just begins to boil. Turn down to low, cover, and let simmer for 25 minutes.

3. Turn off the heat, and let the saucepan sit on the burner for another 10 minutes.

4. Stir, then pour the cooked amaranth into bowls. Top with the pepitas and honey.