Ronit Baranga

I love Israeli artist Ronit Baranga's creepily beautiful tea set.





Via Hannah Charlotte Alice.

spaetzle

Spaetzle are little noodles, or tiny dumplings, made with a simple batter of flour, egg and milk. They're plump and tactile; comforting in the same way potatoes are, but lighter; and more flavoursome than pasta. They're also very quick to make, and once you've boiled them you can toss them in butter, or pan fry them in a little butter and dill, as I did today. Then serve them as a substitute for pasta, noodles or potato.

You can form the noodles by pushing the batter through a colander with large holes directly into the boiling water, or by using a dedicated spaetzle maker, which looks like a grater with an extra attachment that runs on a track over the holes. The makers aren't expensive, and mine is possibly the most fun thing in my kitchen: it sits snugly over the saucepan, and when you begin it looks unlikely to work, but soon enough the dough is falling, perfectly formed, into the water. But Germans were cooking spaetzle before colanders and spaetzle makers were invented, and it's also easy enough to squeeze the dough between your fingers, or to cut it off a chopping board, as long as you do these things directly into the boiling water. When it's time to clean your cooking implements, it's easier to remove the sticky batter with cold water rather than hot.




Spaetzle
from The Joy of Cooking

1 1/2 cups plain flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
pinch of nutmeg
2 large eggs
1/2 cup milk or water

Combine dry ingredients. In a separate bowl, beat the eggs and milk together. Pour liquid mixture into flour mixture and combine. The batter should be slightly elastic. Boil 6 cups of salted water in a large saucepan. Press batter through a large-holed colander or spaetzle maker. Don't try to use all the batter all at once. As the noodles rise to the top of the water, scoop them out with a slotted spoon and place them in a colander to drain. The noodles should be light - if they're on the heavy side, add more milk to the batter before continuing with the next batch.

cabbage & carrot salad

A winter salad for these final weeks of an epic season: sweet carrots, crisp cabbage and green onions with a simple soy and lime dressing. To the original dressing recipe, I added a drop of sesame oil and about 1/8 of a teaspoon of tamarind paste. The result is, I suppose, a cleaner, tarter species of coleslaw. I don't naturally incline toward salad on a winter's night, but this one left me optimistic about spring.

Cabbage & Carrot Salad
from Mark Bittman, How to Cook Everything

1 lb cabbage (the recipe calls for Napa or Savoy, but I used plain green), cored and shredded
2 carrots, peeled and grated
2 or 3 scallions (green/spring onions), minced
1/4 to 1/3 cup peanut oil
2 tbsp freshly squeezed lime juice
1 tsp soy sauce
Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

Combine the vegetables. Whisk together the oil, lime juice, and soy; taste and add salt and pepper if necessary. Toss the dressing with the vegetables and serve.