tom hudgens

Staying in touch with faraway friends or relatives is like dancing—you have to make the effort, perform the steps, and keep the beat if you want it to be worthwhile. I’ve noticed a syndrome that can happen all too easily—we fall out of touch for a time, sitting out this dance, then the next, falling out of rhythm, out of practice…then we start to feel embarrassed to begin again; we fear awkwardness, having to remember the steps and get back in sync…so more time passes by. We begin to think we owe our loved ones that wonderful, long letter we’ve been meaning to write, full of rich, loving detail, that will catch them up on all our news and inquire about theirs…but things keep happening and the news-not-reported piles up and up, until finally the thought of that unwritten letter—how dauntingly long it has become in our imagination!—fills us with guilt. But really, all that is needed is a few words, a “Hi, I love you, I miss you!” Just a little, momentary waltz, enough to remind each other of your rhythm and beat, touching hands, shoulders, eyes meeting and smiling. Nothing long or elaborate is required. So, on behalf of everyone in this predicament, I call amnesty: drop that feeling of guilt and indebtedness, and just say hello. Remind them you love them. Step out onto the floor, a moment is all it takes…and this moment is all we have.
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With Thanksgiving just around the corner, here are some fresh ideas for you! It's many cooks' favorite season--fall. We love all the hard squash, all the greens unfurling, the herbs, and especially the fruit--quinces, persimmons, pears.... Here is a menu, with several more-or-less original recipes, of dishes that would walk quite well with all your standard Thanksgiving favorites (turkey and stuffing and cranberry and pie, for all of which The Commonsense Kitchen has great recipes), or that could be served as a special, festive harvest-time meal on their own.
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These past few months have been citrus months: if winter vegetables such as leafy greens, leeks, cabbages, chicories, arugula, and watercress are the "tree," then oranges, lemons, tangerines, Mexican limes, pomelos, grapefruit, cara-caras, mandarins, Sevilles, bloods, and kumquats are the precious, sparkling "ornaments." Citrus' acid bite and intense aromas inspire great winter cooking.

Grapefruit are unique among citrus--they are rarely used any other way than simply eaten on their own. One morning recently, weary of the usual eggs-oatmeal-eggs-oatmeal rotation, I decided to have a couple of grapefruit, cut the way my Mom taught me: halved, with each section individually cut to free it from the tough membrane, ready to be scooped up with a narrow silver spoon. After eating the sections one by one, you take up the spent grapefruit "carcass" in your hand and squeeze spoonful after spoonful of the delightfully bitter-tart-sweet juice into your spoon, sipping and slurping, until you can squeeze no more. And that is how you eat a grapefruit. No sugar, no honey--just knife technique...and patience. With a little work and care, it becomes something special. (more…)

• POACHED FISH IN WHITE WINE WITH HERB SALAD AND MEYER LEMON AIOLI
• PASTA WITH SQUID, MUSSELS, SAFFRON, FENNEL, AND CREAM
• CHICORY SALAD WITH ORANGES, PISTACHIOS, AND SHERRY VINAIGRETTE
• SESAME COOKIES, DATES, AND TANGERINES

When I think of seasonal cooking, I think primarily of fruits and vegetables; however, other foods have their season, too. Certain artisanal cheeses are made and eaten at specific times of the year. Traditionally, pigs were slaughtered in the fall, while chicken was a summer meat. Fish and shellfish, the only truly wild foods we still regularly eat (although ocean farms are becoming more prevalent worldwide), have their seasons, too. Wild salmon runs in the spring and summer, while shellfish are best, I think, in the cooler parts of the year. To festively conclude “The Comforts of Winter” seasonal cooking class, I’ve chosen a menu focused on seafood. (more…)

•CHICKEN CURRY WITH GREEN GARLIC AND SPINACH
•WINTER VEGETABLE DAL WITH COCONUT MILK
•BASMATI RICE AND QUINOA
•PAPADUMS
•YOGURT RAITA WITH MUSTARD SEED
•BLOOD ORANGE GELEE WITH SPICES AND FENNEL CANDY


While I'd love to think I could be content cooking and eating simple, elemental meat and vegetable dishes--"salt-and-pepper cooking"--for the rest of my days, as my ancestors did, nothing could be further from the truth. Sometimes, I want spice, intrigue, exotica. At these times, I often "go" to India. I've always loved Indian cuisine; in early versions of The Deep Springs Cookbook, later to become The Commonsense Kitchen, I extolled: "Indian food is a wholly different and exciting culinary idiom. Fresh ginger, basmati rice, and whole spices are no longer hard to find, as they were early in my cooking days. Once you learn a few of the basic dishes and procedures, Indian food lends itself to flights of improvisation, especially when you have access to a variety of vegetables. Vegetables are closer to the heart and soul of Indian food than meat; in fact, it may be perfectly expressed without any meat at all." Bearing that in mind, I thought an Indian feast using lots of winter vegetables would be perfect for the winter seasonal cooking class. The chicken curry contains silky green garlic--a late winter farmers' market specialty--and fresh spinach, and the vegetable curry has vegetables that might seem more Mediterranean than Indian: butternut squash, fennel, kohlrabi, and celery root.
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