kitchen adventures
There’s a phrase used in the food press recently: aspirational cooking. This is what we wish our kitchens would produce, or what we might accomplish if we really try, or food that we only wish we could manage. Let’s get something straight here – I don’t aspire to cook the good stuff, I […]
Tomato paste is, in principle, an easy thing: squish the tomatoes, separate the skins and the seeds, and reduce the resulting pulp until it’s very thick. I have already posted a Roasted Tomato Paste recipe – here’s a version using a slow cooker or two, for when you can’t stand […]
I use tomato paste all the time. Sometimes I need up to half a cup, sometimes just a little bit. When I make my own, I can store it in the sizes I tend to need most, so I have no more partly used cans in the fridge. Sometimes I have a huge batch […]
Grandma’s cucumber & tomato salad is a good old stand-by for a reason: it’s a fantastic use for summer produce at its peak of flavor. Think about how people lived through hot summers before air conditioning was common! Cold suppers, cooling salads, and lots of lemonade and iced tea … […]
Why shouldn’t a raspberry smoothie have chocolate in it? Who says chocolate isn’t healthful, or shouldn’t be eaten at breakfast? Change your patterns. This smoothie is actually full of healthful ingredients, with very little sweetener – and it tastes great!
There’s only one time of year to make this strawberry chocolate tart. You’ll need fresh berries at their peak ripeness, which to my mind means only fruit grown locally. Berries this luscious don’t travel well. I manage to make one of these tarts about once a year, usually at the […]
This white bean and garlic scape dip is a summer delight, combining a smooth texture with an irresistible garlic punch. It’s perfect with crispy vegetables, or as a dip with chips and pita bread. On hot summer evenings, I don’t feel much like cooking. Tonight I pulled out garlic scapes […]
Soup with garlic scapes? Of course! You can make a lovely soup that features garlic scapes and green garlic. This makes a delicate soup that’s unexpectedly mild, and reminiscent of a creamy asparagus soup. Don’t be afraid of the scapes! Garlic scapes are only available for a week or two […]
When you have good ingredients, you can make good things. When you have great ingredients, you can produce great things. This creamy fresh asparagus soup is one of the best things that’s come from my kitchen in recent weeks. It’s been a long cool spring, and the asparagus crop here in SE […]
This quick arugula couscous salad is great on its own, and also provides a sort of blueprint for a summer of good eating. First, let me describe how I make this simple grains-and-greens salad, and then I’ll list some variations. start with the couscous In a small saucepan, bring salted water […]
Do you grow chives? If you have a bit of garden, chives are one of the easiest herbs to grow, and one of the first to come up in the spring. In my garden plot, I’ll see them first appear in early May, Just about the time I’m longing for something fresh and green, I […]
Whole wheat blondies are a simple to make, needing no mixer: only a bowl and a spoon. I like to melt the butter right in the mixing bowl (it fits in the microwave). Might as well save on dishes, right? They are also fairly quick: from getting out the ingredients […]