Red Rice and Freedom

Today — Juneteenth — marks the recognition of freedom for Africans enslaved in Galveston, Texas, in 1865, more than two years after the signing of the Emancipation Proclamation. Red foods are traditional, and, in the spirit of the holiday, we have loads of brightly hued inspiration for you, whether you make Millie Peartree’s Charleston red…

A Hot New Tater Tot Casserole

Good morning. Happy Father’s Day to all who celebrate. For those who do, how about this sausage and egg tater tot casserole (above), a breakfast hot dish in the Midwestern tradition, in advance of a long day of chores around the house? It’s very Pelican Rapids, very Sauk Centre — Minnesota nice! And dads will…

A Clever Dinner Hack From a Reader

One of the smartest approaches to feeding a group of opinionated people with different preferences — say, your family — is to make something that’s easy to construct or deconstruct as you like. (Tacos are the reigning champions in this arena.) Last week, I got an email from a reader saying that she makes Niçoise salad…

Why Egusi Is More Than Just a Great Soup

Elsewhere in southwest Houston, Ms. Lakshmi tastes suya, bole, fufu, asun and jollof, tries her hand at pounding yam and practices the art of scooping soup with swallows. She moves from the kitchen at Margaret Chibuzo’s Safari restaurant to the dining room, where she shares egusi soup with the gospel singer Stacy Egbo. Their conversation…

My Father’s Day Plan

Good morning. I had an exceptional lobster roll the other day, sitting with my family on the dock at Archie’s Lobster in Bass Harbor, Maine, as gulls soared on a southwest breeze. Some very good steamed clams, too. But it was the crab roll we ate there that’s been haunting my dreams, that makes me…