Hi Reader, Quick reminder: I'm giving away a $50 Amazon gift card at the end of the month. All you have to do is leave a comment on any recipe you've made from Urban Farmie telling me how it turned out. Up to five entries per person. Takes a minute. Full rules here. But now, let's talk about Thai curries. Most home Thai curries taste flat. Mine did for years. I'd follow a recipe, simmer it forever, add more paste, add more salt — and it was fine, but it never tasted like what I'd eaten in...

Hi Reader - My daughter is two and she already has strong opinions about food. She loves these pancakes — which is saying something, because I've watched her reject perfectly good food for reasons I still don't understand. She loves how fluffy they are and calls them "clouds" and that's the highest praise a toddler can give a pancake. But I mean, just LOOK at them You blend the cottage cheese completely smooth with the eggs, Greek yogurt, and melted butter before anything else. A blender...

Hi Reader, I took a cooking class in Koh Samui (Thailand) last November. My teacher was from Isan, but she'd learned paste-making from living in Northern Thailand — where khao soi (aka Thai curry noodle soup) comes from. She taught me two things I've never forgotten. Don't shake the coconut milk can! If you're surprised, I was too. But you basically scoop the thick cream off the top and use it to fry the paste (the same way ghee works in Indian cooking) and the fat splits in the heat and...