Tofu Bánh Mì

I don't claim to even remotely know what an authentic bánh mì tastes like. But I thoroughly enjoy getting them at my nearest Vietnamese bakery/cafe/pho joint wherever I'm living at the moment, so here is my attempt to make them at home, based on bánh mìs I have eaten in Austin, Chicago, and Manhattan.

Now I usually wouldn't even attempt to re-create a sandwich that is so delicious and cheap already, and I absolutely love a classic bánh mì with ham, pork roll, pate, head cheese, and the like. But every once in a while I don't want to eat pork (pigs are so smart and cute!) and I find that the vegetarian options available are pretty sad.

Farro Salad with Honey Miso Dressing

You know when you're younger, in your late teens/early twenties, and you have this grand delusion that you're invincible? That wide-eyed delusion that you're going to be young and energetic forever, able to eat cheeseburgers all the time without gaining a pound, able to see your friends all the time without really trying. Then as you start getting older, the slow realization creeps up on you that you're going to have to work really really hard for your health and happiness?

Tell me I'm not the only one. Don't worry, I'm not going to get into an existential conversation about how to find happiness in life. But I definitely need to start eating better. Every week I tell myself I'm going to eat more veggies and less cheese/bread/ice cream/etc., but I'm always so wrong.

Kolaches, Three Ways

Outside of Texas, every time I mention the word "kolache", no one knows what I'm talking about. They act as if I've just sprouted two extra heads..."kowh-lahch-ee?", they ask. This must change! let's make kolaches a nationwide phenomenon, yes?

There's a town between Dallas and Austin called West, Texas. Those of you outside of Texas probably know it best from the fertilizer plant explosion last year, though I doubt the residents of West are very keen on having their claim to fame be a tragic accident. I know them best as the home of Czech Stop, the place from which I get a dozen kolaches when passing through on I-35. Their kolaches are so deliciously tender and yeasty. The best. They also hold Westfest every year which is a Czech polka festival that I had the pleasure of attending my junior year of college when me and a few friends drove in from Austin for a day of merriment, polka, and Elvis impersonations. Anywhoo, the point is that West (besides being an awesome town), has a huge Czech population, and they are the ones who brought kolaches from across the Atlantic.

Mushroom Agnolotti

I have this vicious love/hate relationship with homemade filled pastas. Sometimes they are the best things I've ever made. Heavenly, ethereal, delicious pockets of amazingness. Sometimes the dough tears, it sticks, it bursts while boiling, and I end up with a measly 6 raviolis salvaged from the entire batch I made; the rest sadly goes into the trash. There is no in between. Days when I make filled pastas always result in either elation or fury.