When my father told me he had made "weenies and sauerkraut", all I could think of was, not another pork and sauerkraut recipe. My dad must have sauerkraut running through his veins by this time, given how often he eats it. But this recipe, adapted from a 25-year old McCalls recipe, really is worth reporting. It's sort of a paprikash version (sour cream and paprika) of hot dogs with sauerkraut. Easy to make, cooks up in little more than half an hour, wonderfully flavorful. Use your favorite hot dog, frankfurter, mild German sausage, or even tofu-dog if that's your preference.

Fresh fava beans require patience. You have to shuck them twice, once to remove the thick shell, and then again, after cooking the beans, to peel the outer skin. Are they worth the effort? You tell me. Fresh favas, or broad beans, are only available for a short time in spring, so it's not an effort that you have to, or get to, make that often. I kind of like the meditative aspects of plopping out the beans from their pods like mini-green-bean rocket ships. Cooked in salty water, they taste a lot like edamame, and can be just as deliciously addictive. Here is a recipe for a simple fava bean dip with garlic and goat cheese. It's terrific with jicama, and cucumber slices. The cool crunchiness of the jicama or cucumber works well with the creamy beany-ness (for lack of a better word) of the dip. Many thanks to fellow Sacramento food blogger Hank Shaw for supplying me with bunch of fava beans from his garden.

Elise's mom in the kitchen (more photos)

I was recently asked to write about what I've learned from my mother about cooking. Since I cook with my mom almost every day, this wasn't a difficult exercise. I'm still learning from her, though now occasionally she learns something from me too. ;-)

My mother is one of those intuitive cooks in the kitchen. 73 years old, and having raised six kids, she doesn't follow recipes anymore. If you watch her while she cooks, the timing just appears to happen seamlessly. Whereas I'm good for only making one dish at a time, mom can coordinate a whole meal for 8 - a main course protein, one or two veggie sides, a starch, and a salad - without getting remotely flustered. She's always tasting whatever she is cooking, and adjusting the seasonings. She cooks from memory and a well developed sense of what works together well, and how flavors come in balance.

There's something about the combination of mango and chicken that just works. We eat mango chutney with roast chicken so often that I even started making my own chutney just so we wouldn't run out. Here is a mango chicken curry I whipped up the other day. I love it, but my father thinks it's a little on the sweet side, so feel free to reduce the amount of mango the recipe calls for if you want a little less sweet. Or add a little more vinegar. The amounts are approximate, feel free to experiment. Just don't let the mixture boil after adding the cream or it may end up a curdled mess.

Jelled salads. So very very retro, except perhaps in Utah, where my friend Kalyn tells me Jell-O is the state fruit. Jelled salads and aspics became popular in America in the early part of the last century when food scientists were finally able to stabilize gelatin sufficiently for predictable results in the kitchen. They really took off mid-century when the pre-flavored, already-sugared Jell-O brand mixes became available. My Minnesota grandmother loved gelatin salads like nobody's business and used to make them for us all the time when I was growing up. I still love Jell-O, gelatin, all things aspic, mostly because of the memories they evoke. People don't really make things like this that much anymore.

Please welcome guest author Garrett McCord of Vanilla Garlic who prepared this fabulous salad for us the other day. Big, big hit. ~Elise

"Very tangy and sweet! With just enough crunch from the peanuts."

"It's so colorful and aromatic, you can just smell the mint and garlic!"

The compliments Elise and I praised this salad with are plentiful. Really, this is a wonderful spring and summer salad, with Asian inspiration. Soba noodles, if you are not familiar with them, are thin Japanese noodles made with buckwheat flour, and are often served cold. Soba noodles can be found in the Asian aisle of many markets; they have a nice body to them and an earthy, old world taste. In this noodle salad, the mango, mint, and various other flavors contrast and match well with each other, giving the whole salad a good balance.

Are you familiar with jicama? This tuber looks like a seriously overgrown radish and is the root of a vine native to Mexico and Central America. The flesh is crunchy, mild, and even faintly sweet, and is often served with a little lime juice and chile powder to accompany Mexican dishes. I first encountered jicama (pronounced HICK-ah-mah) years ago in cafeteria salad bars, and on its own (how they typically serve it in those places), jicama can be a little boring. With some seasoning and lime juice, however, it comes alive, and is wonderfully refreshing, especially along side tacos and refried beans. This recipe comes from my friend Arturo who suggested to me the ingredients. (Thanks Arturo!)