Big Girls Global Kitchens

Two glorious weeks in Peru bridging 2011 and 2012 brought Alex and me into close contact with (in alphabetical order): alpaca meat, Arequipa, Cusco, Jenga, juice, La Mar, Machu Picchu, markets, not ordering cuy, overnight buses, pan con huevo y mantequilla, pollo a la brasa, potatoes galore, soup, steak, and trekking. We had adventures in about five different places, met nice Peruvians and adventurous backpackers, saw cities and small towns, hiked at high altitude, endured strong sun, pounding rain, and snow, and woke up more than once at the very crack of dawn.

Starting in Cusco, we took a…

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I never realized that my tendency to overbuy at the farmers’ market was a hereditary condition. If you open my mother’s refrigerator at any given time, you’ll probably find a bunch of chard, just waiting to be turned into a green soup. But just one bunch. Not three. It wasn’t until I visited my aunt and uncle in Los Angeles that I saw my own habits reflected in someone else’s refrigerator, and on their countertops.

Back in October, after Steph and Rodrigo’s Santa Barbara wedding, I decided to milk my West Coast trip…

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OTHER INDIAN SPECIALTIES: Chana Bateta; Free-Form Samosas; Potato-Pea Masala with Cilantro-Mint Chutney

In high school, we had a few restaurant eating traditions. If we ventured below 14th Street, it was for pad thai at Republic or dragon bowls at Angelica’s Kitchen. If we went east, it was probably for an Americano Panini at Via Quadrono, before or after a visit to the Met. On the Upper West Side, a.k.a. my hood, the regular spots were more numerous, but if it was a big group of girls, we almost always…

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Gluten-free living is short on quick, portable lunches. It’s not like the corner deli can offer to put your sandwich filling inside an arepa. Luckily, in New York, for every corner deli, there is also a freakishly fragrant halal truck sitting right outside its door. As I mentioned in my guide to eating out gluten-free, Middle Eastern and Mediterranean cuisines are great go-to’s. It might not be quite as portable without the requisite pita pocket, but you can still easily pick up a plate of schwarma or halal with rice and condiments on…

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OTHER BGSK MOROCCAN FAVORITES: Merguez and Chard Tagine; Moroccan Chickpeas; Fish Tagine with Chermoula, Preserved Lemon and Mint

I have a bit of an obsession with Taim, a little hole-in-the-wall falafel place in the West Village. Their falafel might be the best in the whole city. They are also gluten-free, which is a huge win.

You can consider this a two-part ode to Taim. Next week, I’ll share a recipe for gluten-free spicy red falafel inspired by their kitchen. But today we’re focusing on my favorite category of…

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View from the ferry as we approach the tip of the Golfe de Calvi, our first stop in Corsica

If there is one thing I learned on my summer vacation, it is that the views in Corsica are cheap. The food, however, is not.

A month or so ago, on a whim, Josh and I decided to cash in some of his consulting miles—earned while toiling away on spreadsheets, on planes, for 3 years–and take a summer vacation. We booked our flight to Nice, and our ferry to Corsica, about a week before the New…

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OTHER GLOBAL HYBRIDS: Moroccan Bouillabaisse; Soba Noodles with Kale, Parmesan, and Walnut Sauce; Austrian Breakfast Tacos

Throughout our many book appearances and Q&A’s, both online and off, one of the most popular questions people like to ask us is about our process: how do you come up with your recipes? Where do you get your inspiration?

We’re both pretty creative people, so the answer more often than not is: the idea just popped into my head, and I’m not quite sure how it…

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My senior year in college, I took a week off from classes to go to Turkey with my family. Just weeks before, I’d come home from my actual spring break–that was the trip to Tamarindo, Costa Rica, when Phoebe and I first made fish tacos together for the masses. Turkey was a different kind of trip, more exotic, in many ways, than tropical Costa Rica, which admittedly did have its moments of feeling utterly foreign.

Where Tamarindo had sustained us on cheap, ripe avocados, fresh fish, and black beans, Turkey kept me busy eating baklava, pita, and…

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Not long after January 2011 reared its cold wintry head, the two of us made a decision: when our book came out on sunny May 24th, we were going on a book tour. Book tours for first-time authors are largely unheard of. But we were determined. We spent long hours catering, saving up money for our trip. We reached out to friends in faraway states. And we bugged our dear PR gal, Megan, who managed to stay in good spirits despite all of that bugging, to keep contacting book stores to host us. In late April, we finally settled…

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Check out these other great pancakes: Yogurt Pancakes with Pomegranate, Pumpkin Pancakes, and Potato Pancakes

Imagine this: it’s after midnight on a Friday evening in Paris. You’ve been out at a bar on the right bank with your friends, and you’ve just left to catch the last metro home. Suddenly, there’s a crepe stand in front of you. A guy is spreading batter on his electric crepe pan and the line in front of him isn’t that long. On the menu, every combination you could have dreamed up, both savory and sweet.…

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