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Beans aren’t the most romantic vegetable, but they’re certainly the most versatile. They’re earthy and can stand up and hold their own next to a lot of strong flavors. This latest iteration of Dirt Candy’s crispy tofu is an ode to four beans: sea beans, long beans, wax beans, and green beans. Sexy? No. But probably the most delicious version of this tofu dish yet. (And don’t forget, tofu is just more beans: soy beans).

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A longer post is coming soon but I’m too excited to keep it to myself: my celery dessert is finally here. It’s celery cheesecake with celeriac ice cream and candied grapes dipped in peanuts and white chocolate. This is a terrible picture, but it took so many experiments to get this here that I’m putting it out for the world to see.

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More on the celery cheesecake soon!

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Making new dishes at Dirt Candy is the part of my job that I love and hate. I love it because it’s making new dishes and as a chef this is what I do. I hate it because I dread making something that everyone hates or, even worse, something that isn’t as good as I know it should be. Even worse, as I make more and more dishes, I have to keep pushing myself further and further so that I don’t repeat something I’ve already done. Which leads me to the new parsnip dish.

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Haven’t I done parsnip gnocchi before? Why on earth is this on the menu again? The short answer: it’s not.

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The latest soup at Dirt Candy is Fennel and Sunflower Seed Soup with Pickled Mustard Seeds, Mustard Green Pesto, and Fennel Pretzels. A lot of people don’t like fennel, but come on. Give it a chance!

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Because this started out as a sausage.

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I’ve never liked scallion pancakes. Maybe it’s because the ones I’ve always had were as tough as rubber mats and as greasy as .99 cent pizza. Maybe because they’re usually just giant wedges of dough with some onion pieces floating around in them. Maybe because they always seems to be the blandest, safest choice at a Chinese restaurant. Maybe because they’re suffering from an identity crisis (Are they Chinese? Korean? Indian?). But then I had a dish at a Chinese restaurant that changed my mind, and one year later scallion pancakes appeared on my menu.

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It’s a work in progress, but this parsnip dish is coming along and, after only one month of work, it will be replacing the chard gnocchi on the menu. This is not at all what it looks like now but this is what it looked like halfway through testing:

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When I catered the Racked Awards I had to come up with a bunch of food that would work at an event like this. They asked me to make upscale comfort food, and so I turned out things like a new PB&J sandwich (edamame butter and ginger jelly in a steamed bun), Shepherd’s Pie Puffs, and a simple, straightforward cucumber roll. I figured this was going to get lost in the shuffle, only popular with starving models who wouldn’t eat carbs. I was floored when it turned out to be the most popular dish at the event. Even at the Food Film Festival I had more than one person come up and ask if I was going to serve them again. Sometimes a simple cucumber can surprise you!

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Sometimes I actually listen to my customers. After finishing her meal, Meirav Devash, turned to me and said that I should make a shortcake. Being a huge fan of Strawberry Shortcake (both the character and the delicious dessert) I agreed. Only I didn’t wind up making a shortcake. I also didn’t wind up making a dessert. But that’s how things go at Dirt Candy – someone asks for shortcake and somehow they get Tomato Cake with Smoked Feta, and Cherry Tomato Leather.

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How did this happen?

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I’ve been experimenting over the past few weeks with a tomato appetizer to welcome summer. I think I’m getting close. Technically, this is turning out to be the most complex dish on the menu.

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What vegetable is less popular than cabbage? Just the name conjures images of depressing tenements where the sulphurous stink of boiled cabbage has permanently stained the wallpaper. It’s the wino of the vegetable world: smelly, unloved, and looking at it makes you feel sad. A cabbage salad sounds even worse. Cabbage that’s…raw? It’s sounds like a plated suicide note. That’s why I’m really, really excited about the Cabbage Salad with Sichuan Walnuts and Cabbage Wontons that I just put on the menu a month ago.

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Because it’s pretty.

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