Rinse lamb chops with cold water, tap dry with paper towels, sprinkle with salt and black pepper. Heat the open skillet on medium heat, add 3 tbsp olive oil. Cover chops in spices, pressing slightly to allow spices stick to meat surface, shake off the excess, and  place in the skillet.

I like to cook pilaf: standing over the range, stirring meat, and breathing in this wonderful aromatic blend of spices and lamb.  This makes me feel I'm in an exotic place somewhere in the Middle East cooking for a sultan ready for his next night of exciting tales. Maybe he would cut my throat if he doesn't like my pilaf, maybe not if he likes a new story and his heart would be softened.

Goulash as I knew it back in Russia was a pretty simple dish cooked of beef with onions and tomato and usually served with pasta.  There was a meat dish in Russian diners that also carried a proud name goulash, but was very far from its original  Hungarian recipe.  There are two forms of goulash: one is a  soup and another a vegetable stew with sweet peppers and paprika.

With good seafood, most of the flavor comes from the raw ingredients at its own accord: no need to awaken it and draw it out. With excellent fish, the main responsibility of the chef is not to overcook. Yesterday I bought fresh harpoon-caught swordfish at the Whole Foods, Union Square, NY, and stood a mile-long line, regretting ever having stepped into the store.

Incidentally, this means that I have been away from the kitchen and, to tell the truth, a bit loath to return to it. But, nostalgia for spicy New Mexican cuisine did take its toll after all... What came out is a pretty lazy and approximate implementation of a chili stew we tried in a restaurant on one of the main Santa Fe streets.

This favourite of ours was inspired by Asian salads that became popular in Russia in the 80-s.  Korean salad, as we called it, was made mostly of carrots with the addition of garlic, red and black pepper, salt, white vinegar (there was nothing else in stores), and sunflower oil (also the only option we had at that time). Daikon, Japanese radish (or just Asian radish, since it originates in continental Asia) adds festiveness and visual interest to this year-round dish.

Being precisely in this predicament last night, I put together this very light and zesty salad that would go best with meat. Of course, the contents of the fridge will vary from home to home, but the important thing is to keep an open mind when coming up with a recipe. This was the first time I used kiwi in a salad, and an unripe one at that.