Braised red cabbage
Cooked slowly with apple, onion, and a little vinegar, this red cabbage turns sweet and tender. It keeps well for days and tastes even better when reheated. Serve it alongside roast meat or fold it into a warm potato salad.
Seasonal vegetables, good bread, and simple meals from Tom Franz's kitchen. The recipes here are written for real weeknights, not for special occasions.
Cooked slowly with apple, onion, and a little vinegar, this red cabbage turns sweet and tender. It keeps well for days and tastes even better when reheated. Serve it alongside roast meat or fold it into a warm potato salad.
Soft dumplings made from fresh quark, butter, and breadcrumbs are a classic weeknight finish. They come together quickly once the quark has been drained. Serve them with browned butter and a spoonful of fruit compote.
A simple rye loaf that needs only flour, water, salt, and a steady starter. The crust darkens nicely and the crumb stays moist for a week. Slice it thin and toast it for breakfast.
A few things you will find across these pages.
Recipes are built around what is actually available at the market, from spring asparagus to winter squash. Every dish has a clear list of steps and a note on what to adjust.
Here you will find the small methods that make cooking easier: browning butter, kneading dough, and judging when a pan is hot enough. Short notes explain why each step matters.
An ongoing list of staples Tom Franz keeps on hand, including flours, vinegars, mustards, and preserved fruit. Stocking these things makes a simple meal come together quickly.
Food writing tied to a place, a season, or a particular family recipe. These pieces are less about perfection and more about how meals actually happen.
The best meals come from good ingredients, patient hands, and a few reliable recipes.
Look at what is already open or nearly finished before choosing new recipes.
Choose recipes that use overlapping ingredients so nothing goes to waste.
Buy the vegetables, dairy, and bread that the recipes actually call for.
Make extra portions of grains or braises and reuse them later in the week.
A good loaf does not need much support. Toast it, add salted butter, and finish with a spoonful of jam from the summer. Sourdough or rye, the ritual is the same: cut a thick slice, warm it, and eat it before it cools.
Farm stands change every few weeks and the recipes change with them. A simple roasting pan and a little oil is often enough for carrots, leeks, or squash. Pay attention to what looks best and build the meal around that.
The easiest desserts are the ones that use fruit already in the house. Poach apples, crumble dough over berries, or bake a simple cake with whatever is ripe. A spoonful of cream turns any of them into something special.