kitchen adventures
Not all salads are based on lettuce! Horiatiki salad, a Greek classic, is a summer favorite at our house. It’s quick, easy, and delicious – especially when we grow luscious ripe tomatoes. Fresh ingredients are the star in this salad. Use ripe tomatoes and local produce, if at all possible.
Crisp and savory, these cheese crackers are perfect as a snack, to go with soup, as an accompaniment to wine or cocktails. They are crispy, crunchy, a little bit salty, and ever so cheesy. Not only do they taste perfectly wonderful, they’re easy to make, and keep well in an
Why make caramelized onions in a slow cooker when it takes so long? Well, have you ever caramelized onions on the stovetop? First you melt butter in a big heavy pan, then you add a bunch of onions, and stand there, stirring and cooking, for an hour or more. Stand
Traditional basil pesto is made by hand with a mortar and pestle, and is thick and silky smooth. My everyday pesto is a much easier rustic version that is unashamedly chunkier. It’s still fabulous! Summer isn’t summer for my family without basil pesto. It goes on pasta, chicken, cheese sandwiches,
The calendar is no help this year; as a gardener and cook, I need to look outside to what’s actually happening. And my herb patch is showing signs of life. The first bits of green in my garden are hardy perennials: sage, mint, and sorrel. Just when we’re getting tired of
Making a quiche is easy, even if you don’t like to make pastry. Refrigerated pastry from your grocery store makes a perfectly acceptable crust. Quiche is a wonderful way to recycle leftovers. All the meat and vegetables should be cooked and chopped in smallish pieces. Fuss Free Quiche 4 oz
After what seemed like an eternity of 95+ degree weather, when the high temperature dropped into the 70s, it felt quite cool! That was when I felt like using my oven again. These were everything that mushrooms should be – fragrant, delicious, sizzling – and then, alas, they were gone.
This is one of the best ways to use cucumber in my opinion. Slice cucumbers thinly, then put into a sauce with yogurt, garlic, and dill. Some people prefer to use chopped mint – it depends on what you have on hand. Good with gyros, lamb meatballs, salads, as a
Tatsoi, pak choi and other Asian greens, which are a bit tough and chewy, a bit assertive in flavor – what can you do with them? As it turns out, lots of quick and delicious things. They’re wonderful in a stir-fry, where they hold up to cooking. They’re also perfect for a
This is the simplest way to cook asparagus that I know, and one of the best. If all your spears are the same thickness, they will cook more evenly, but I never worry about a bit of variation. 1 bunch fresh asparagus olive oil salt Preheat the oven – you
Yield: serves 4-6 2 Tbsp olive oil 2 cloves garlic, sliced thin 1 1/2 lb zucchini, diced into small cubes salt and pepper 2 tsp fresh lemon zest 2 Tbsp chopped mixed herbs: marjoram, basil, dill, oregano, whatever you like Heat oil in a wide skillet, add the garlic, and
You can stuff other vegetables besides zucchini and squash of course Yield: serves 4-6 as a side dish 4 green-and-yellow summer squash or zucchini 2-3 large white mushrooms 4 Tbsp olive oil 1 cl garlic, minced 1 small onion, chopped 3/4 c dry bread crumbs 1/2 c grated Parmesan 1
I’m Maurita Plouff, and I write about cooking and preserving the local harvest in Southeast Michigan. Any recipe you find here is something I have cooked myself, and enjoyed, and think you might like too. I invite you to try the recipes, and leave comments.