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6 days ago | 
nytimes.com | Mia Leimkuhler
Image I love pickles a lot, but I willingly bow down to New York Times Cooking's resident pickle queen, Kasia Pilat. You might recognize her name from these recipes for ogórkowa zupa (pickle soup) and chłodnik litewski (chilled beet soup), the latter of which doesn't have pickles but does land that sour tang with kefir and sour cream. Now, just in time for summer, Kasia has given us pickle lemonade.
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1 week ago | 
nytimes.com | Mia Leimkuhler
Mark Bittman's rhubarb crisp. Credit... Craig Lee for The New York Times Have you ever loved something so much that you give yourself false memories of it, implanting these beautiful but completely made-up moments into the narrative of your life? No? Just me? I am convinced that, in my childhood Santa Monica home, we grew rhubarb in the backyard.
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2 weeks ago | 
nytimes.com | Mia Leimkuhler
Image I don't know if I've ever bought berries with a specific plan for them. Sometimes they're on sale, sometimes they look (and, in the case of strawberries, smell) so good I can't resist them, sometimes I just feel like berries. I can be this cavalier because they never go to waste - if I don't end up shoveling them directly into my mouth, handful by handful, they go into a container and into the freezer.
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3 weeks ago | 
nytimes.com | Mia Leimkuhler
Image I usually use this space to provide helpful information, important context or a back story for a recipe. But in this case, for Ina Garten's perfect roast chicken, I don't think you need any of that. It's Ina Garten. It's a roast chicken. It's perfect. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees, and off you go.
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1 month ago | 
nytimes.com | Mia Leimkuhler
Image Aging is a privilege, as they say, and I agree. You gain the benefits of hindsight, experience, relationships that have grown deeper and more meaningful. You have more appreciation for the little things that bring you joy. You get a stronger sense of self and priorities. You also easily get ripping, skull-crushing hangovers that can wipe out a Saturday, if not the whole weekend.
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1 month ago | 
nytimes.com | Mia Leimkuhler
Image My husband's current favorite dinner category is "spicy tomato seafood." This, as you may well know, is a generous category with delicious offerings: puttanesca, bouillabaisse (with added chile flakes) and all manner of seafood stews. It doesn't hurt, either, that spicy tomato seafood makes good use of pantry and freezer staples: canned tomatoes, garlic, chile flakes or pastes, canned fishes or frozen goodies from the sea.
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1 month ago | 
nytimes.com | Mia Leimkuhler
Image Gluten-free is the Kevin Bacon of the food world: We're all within six degrees of separation from someone who avoids gluten. That's why, as we approach graduation party, bridal shower, picnic and barbecue season, it's good to have a really good gluten-free cake up your sleeve.
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1 month ago | 
nytimes.com | Mia Leimkuhler
Image My birthday isn't until September (for those of you planning), but I'm already thinking about which cake I'll ask my husband to make me. It's always one of two: carrot cake or pineapple upside-down cake. I suppose what they have in common are strong flavors to balance out the sweetness: earthy carrots, bitter nuts and sour cream cheese in the former; tangy, juicy pineapple rings in the latter.
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1 month ago | 
nytimes.com | Mia Leimkuhler
Image I have a group chat going with some friends that's usually focused on knitting, but the topic often turns to recipes. (Which makes sense: What is cooking but arts and crafts with food?)This broccoli-walnut pesto pasta by Genevieve Ko entered the chat to much fanfare, and rightfully so. It's fast, a cinch to make and surprisingly complex in flavor: The mix of softly bitter walnuts, refreshing mint and punchy lemon and garlic really sings.
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2 months ago | 
nytimes.com | Mia Leimkuhler
Image In the spirit of giving oneself a little grace, I'll say yes, I did make good on my goal of eating more breakfasts this year. I've been making this baked oatmeal and this rice-cooker oatmeal on a loop, changing up my add-ins each time, and these two make-ahead breakfasts have kept me fed and full in the mornings. But I think I need something new. Also, I'm out of oats.
