I (Kate) had several roommates from the Ukraine, and a number of kind Russian women who made me Borscht. Each maker of this fine soup has her own way to do so, and this is mine.
Read MoreBorscht
Lunch
Spring Asparagus Soup
We had big plans for what to post this week, but cancelled them in favor of this new favorite. Green, fresh, and just sophisticated enough to put a bounce in your step, this simple soup is our new rite of spring.
Read MoreRoasted Beet and Orange Salad
This salad reminds me (Amelia) of a disagreement I had last year with a friend. We had just entered French class, and were desperately tucking in the last corners of our conversation before the bell rang. At least, I felt desperate, because my friend had told me something I hear all too often: she doesn’t like salad. I was aghast and pushed her to tell me why.
Read MoreCelery Salad with Almonds and Dates
I (Amelia) just can’t get over this salad. Despite everything I thought I knew about celery and its tastelessness, this salad is packed with flavor. I could eat bowls of this and nothing else and be happy.
Read MoreWinter Festival Salad
As it turns out, Winter is one of my (Amelia) favorite seasons for produce.
Yes, Winter, not Summer.
The cold season where everything is supposed to be dead. But everything isn’t dead, and I see that now! Cabbage makes crunchy salads, cauliflower has buttery potential, pomegranates are truly edible gemstones, and my heart dances a little whenever I smell the fragrance of quince or taste a sweet persimmon.
Read MoreEASY Broccoli Slaw
I (Amelia) think that my mom’s brilliant idea to dress up an already chopped and prepped bag of veggies is genius. I love salad, but it can be a real hassle— not going to lie. This is a salad for busy nights, when time is limited but you hanker after the freshness of a side salad.
Read MoreTomato Slab Pie
I’m (Amelia) typing this on the day we are to have Tomato Slab Pie for dinner, and let me tell you what I’m thinking about. I’m thinking about succulent tomato juices seeping into soft biscuits with crispy cracky cheese. Im thinking about the top browning just enough and the gem like tomatoes dancing with herbs. I’m thinking it’s going to be a good day.
Read MoreSalade Ménagère
Whatever you do to make this salad your own, the combination of a nutty starch with vinaigrette and crisp vegetables is wonderfully satisfying. Make this the destination for your excess summer vegetables, or serve it alongside fresh farmer’s market tomatoes, sliced thin with salt, pepper, and a touch of olive oil.
Read MoreChicken B'Pita (Grilled Chicken Sandwiches)
These sandwiches are delicious enough to be impressive, but simple enough to feel casual. They’re also customizable, and they taste wonderful. We love them!
Read MoreSalad with Roasted Potatoes and Hummus
One of my (Kate) favorite things to buy for lunch is the Mediterranean Salad at Salt Lake City’s Oasis Café. When I get to entertain a visiting scholar for lunch, I almost always bring them here, and I recommend this salad. We’ve developed a recipe for you to make, so you can share in the pleasure, too, and you get to decide how simple or complicated to make the preparation.
Read More20-Minute Roasted Potatoes
Here at the Away Cafe, everybody loves roasted potatoes. Mom, dad, Sephe, Lucia, me (Amelia), everybody. Yet, up until recently, we hardly made them. I have memories of potatoes roasting slowly in the oven, the cook anxiously resetting the timer over and over as the potatoes continued to take more time to fully cook through. They usually required a minimum of 45 minutes and often took an hour or more to roast. It was hard to get the timing right, and too much effort for one side dish.
Enter, my solution: cut them super thin! These are like a cross between a potato chip and roasted potatoes, and man, are they delicious. They roast for only 10 minutes and broil for about 2, making them the perfect side dish: quick, easy, and appealing to all kinds of eaters. Next time you’re craving some fast food fries from the pre-pandemic ages, give these a shot.
Quick Roasted Potatoes
Fills one sheet pan with potatoes slices; doesn’t make very much and could easily be doubled
2 medium/large potatoes, any variety (I usually use russet)
Olive oil
Salt and pepper
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Wash and slice the potatoes thinly and dump them onto a large sheet pan. Drizzle about one tablespoon olive oil and and 1/2 teaspoon or two huge pinches salt (don’t be shy with the salt here) on top, along with plenty of freshly ground black pepper. Mix it all together with your hands and spread the potatoes in an even layer over the sheet pan. Wash your hands and put the sheet pan in the oven. Roast for five minutes, flip the potatoes, and then roast for another five. Preheat your broiler while they are finishing roasting. When the five minutes is up, flip them again and broil for 1-3 minutes. The time this takes will vary wildly depending on the strength of your broiler and your desired level of crisp, so watch closely.
Once they look toasty and brown, take them out and serve with ketchup, if desired.
You could definitely go crispier if you wanted to; just watch closely!
The Most Delicious Artichokes
These artichokes are the best. With very simple ingredients (lemon) and an easy cooking technique, these tough and spikey vegetables transform into tender, melt-in-the mouth bites that no one can get enough of. I promise, they’re DELICIOUS!
Read MoreGreen Salad with Strawberries and Goat Cheese
My (Kate) friend Linda Eastley first introduced me to these flavor combinations at one of many happy meals I enjoyed at her home during those formative years when I was newly married and then starting to have children. I was thrilled a couple of summers ago when I made this salad for Amelia and saw how much she liked it.
Read MoreChicken, Avocado, and Bacon Salad
We hope the faces around your table will light up with the first bite, the way they do around ours. This one pleases all the generations.
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Homemade Ricotta
Let’s make one thing clear: I (Amelia) have zero interest in cheese-making. Like, actual cheese making. The kind of cheese making that requires me to buy things like rennet and cultures. This is not that at all. It’s just milk, cream, salt, vinegar - and less than an hour of your time.
Read MoreVegetable and Hummus Wrap Sandwiches
I (Amelia) love biting into the many layers of fresh vegetables smothered in warm hummus, held by a soft tortilla. These are easy, portable, and yummy - perfect picnic and lunch packing food.
Read MoreHummus and the Chickpea Wars
One day, I got it right—my one true hummus. Now, I make a hummus so delicious that when we have some in the fridge, I lie in bed thinking about it, wishing it were time to eat.
Read MoreWild Rice Salad with Chicken and Avocado
Some of our favorite recipes have come from potluck meals. At the gathering where I first tasted this salad, I felt worried— if I left without finding out who made it, I might never taste it again.
Read MoreLentil Soup
I (Amelia) don’t know how you all are feeling this Boxing Day, but I, for one, am very ready to move on from my holiday feasting. Don’t get me wrong, I love chocolates and cinnamon rolls and cake and caramel and dairy and toffee and cookies and fudge and more cake and more chocolate and biscoff butter and oh my goodness I almost exploded from all of the food. Point being, do you need a break from decadence too? Great. We’ve got the recipe for you.
Read MoreSpaghetti Squash, Kale, and Apple Salad with Maple Vinaigrette
This recipe so satisfies our fall appetites that we have to share it with you even though it’s history with us is brief. One fall afternoon when one family member was at ballet class and two family members were at the opera, we (Amelia and Kate) went out for lunch, where they had a salad on the menu with both kale AND spaghetti squash. The very thought of that combination thrilled us and we had to negotiate a bit about which one of us would order it. Unfortunately, the salad itself was disappointing. Still, we were grateful because it got our imaginations humming and the following recipe is the happy result.
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