One of the reasons I like recipe websites like All Recipes, Epicurious, and Food Network so much is because of the reviews. When other people describe their experience making a recipe, be it a success or a disaster, informs my decision whether or not I will prepare a dish. But for some reason I’ve never posted my opinion on one of their boards.

Now that has changed. Starting today, I am a bona fide recipe reviewer for Leite’s Culinaria. It is a great-looking site featuring recipes from popular and critically acclaimed cookbooks and much more. My assignment is to make at least 1 recipe each month from a select list before they are featured on the site. Unfortunately, as part of this secret society I can’t post the recipes or pictures here. Oh, and there’s no moolah involved. But if I stick with it for a year I can add it to my resume!

(top to bottom: Basil, Thyme, Oregano) This spring I decided to try my black thumb at gardening, starting with a no-fail plan: herbs. After 2 weeks of sowing the seeds, gently misting them with water, and placing them under an a snake light (periodically!) nothing was happening. About to give up, I decided to put them outside and let nature do the work. Sure, if it didn't rain I watered them but other than that left them on the deck. And it worked! Less than a week later green buds were peeking out. What you see above was probably taken after being outside for 2-3 weeks (May 11).

Below is what they looked like this morning, a week later.

The basil and thyme are actually growing while the oregano has been struggling to keep up before finally giving up. I'll either plant more oregano seeds and try again or find another herb this weekend.

Happy Mother's Day

Best Vegetable Curry

When I was at the store and flipping through Cook’s Illustrated I almost bought the magazine for this dish: Indian-Style Curry with Potatoes, Cauliflower, Peas, and Chickpeas. I’ve never cooked Indian food before and figured this would be a good starting point. The dish took less than an hour to make, including prep, which is good for me. It’s probably because I used the food processor to chop the onions. Unfortunately, this recipe was missing something. I give it 2.5 out of 5 stock pots.

Now, what to do with a whole jar of garam masala?

Almond Fruit Bars

This recipe reminds me of the Betty Crocker Raspberry Bar Mix I used to make pretty frequently before it was discontinued. It's just as easy as preparing it from the mix but I get the satisfaction of baking it from scratch. I give it 4.5 out of 5 mixing spoons.