I ate fennel nearly fifty years ago when my husband and I were in Zurich, Switerland in the mid-seventies where we studied Jungian psychology. I didn’t like this vegetable much back then because of its potent licorice flavor. Also, I wasn’t familiar with how to cook it. I only baked it with a sprinkle of…
Category: fish sauce
Spinach Muffin fritatta
Sometimes I like to switch up my breakfast routine. I often eat eggs, usually scrambled, sometimes oatmeal with a banana, maybe an opened grilled cheese sandwich, along with whatever yogurt, plain, vanilla, or with fruit, is available. My childhood was mostly eggs, bacon, and sugary cereals, which I haven’t eaten in decades. But lately, I…
Oriental-Style Pork with Oyster Sauce and Mushrooms
As I’ve stated in other parts of this book, I didn’t eat pork until after I was married because my Jewish parents kept a kosher house. However, I still recall a whiff of bacon cooking in the kitchen and I loved that smell and flavor, still do! I think my mother followed certain rules, and…
Shrimp Couscous Vegetable Chowder
I’m a big fan of shrimp, cooked in nearly any manner. I ate shrimp often as a teenager, since our mother took us, my three younger siblings and I to Florida’s beaches for Christmas break. There, I acquired a taste for shrimp cocktail, served with lemon slices and hints of a spicy cocktail sauce. I…
Bun Cha -Vietnamese Meatballs
I had never heard of Vietnamese meatballs, until I was hired to make a light lunch for several ladies. It was a birthday luncheon and the special lady being honored, hailed from Vietnam. The casual event, a brunch, would be served in the backroom of their salon. All the ladies were hairdressers, and when business…
Marilyn Raff 