When I do culinary talks, I often hand out a sheet I call “The Art of Refrigerator Triage.” It’s about letting your refrigerator make your dinner-making decisions for you so that the pressure is off both you and your wallet — if you make use of what you already have while it’s still fresh and [...]
In Brazil, manioc flour is often toasted and then used as a garnish or seasoning. (Manioc, by the way, is what Brazilians call tapioca. In African nations, it’s called cassava; in Central American countries, it’s called yuca. But tapioca by any other name is still that familiar tapioca.) Toasting the flour gives it a nuttier, [...]
Want a tastier, healthier substitute for commercial mayo? Try using plain whole-milk Greek yogurt whenever you’d normally reach for the mayo. If you want to give it even more of that mayo-like tang, just stir a squirt of fresh lemon juice and a small spoonful of mustard into the yogurt. The result? A full-flavored, creamy, [...]
Few classic Italian dishes are as easy to prepare as pasta carbonara: it’s simply hot noodles tossed with crispy bacon, fresh eggs (the freshly cooked noodles cook the egg), and oftentimes Parmesan cheese. I can’t think of a more elegant crowd-pleaser. Who doesn’t like bacon? Unfortunately, though, when I recently had a hankering for carbonara, [...]
Continue reading about Four Ingredients, and You’ve Got Dinner
What to do with hearty garden greens? Make pasta! Now that the weather is cooler, kale and chard and beet greens and turnip greens are enjoying a growth spurt. Luckily, they’re so versatile that you can use them in everything from soups to stir-frys. For this dish, I opted to combine kale with pasta, two [...]
Summertime = pesto. No two ways about it. Summertime also = tomatoes, but as much as I adore a fresh-from-the-garden tomato, the lure of the basil plant is even stronger. Hence my annual recipe for pesto. This year, though, I decided to combine my favorite fresh herb with my favorite fish: wild salmon. (Salmon season [...]
Continue reading about Pairing Summer’s Best Fish with Summer’s Best Herb
Recently, I was introduced to a West Coast singer/songwriter who — along with being an inspired and inspiring artist and entertainer — is also a proponent of gluten-free cuisine. Chris Levy’s band is called “Son of Levi” in honor of his father, and his album “Always” was released earlier this year. (You can check out [...]
“Eat your greens!” people like to say. They’re right — you should. Mostly because they’re tasty (inexpensively so) and because they’re good for you. Usually people mean dark leafy veggies like spinach and kale when they say “greens.” But what about the other, untapped greens that are even more likely to be growing just outside [...]
Continue reading about Fresh New Ways to Follow Popeye’s Advice
Ever wanted to make soup but been out of broth? Never fear! There’s an easy way to make instant broth out of a few handy condiments that you probably already have on hand. If you don’t have these on hand, in fact, you might want to stock them since they’re great pantry items and can [...]
Continue reading about Better Than Bouillon (or How to Make Your Own Instant Broth)
I wanted to add a little bit of flair to my lunch the other day, so I went on a pantry hunt. Lo and behold, I found a glass jar with a few sun-dried tomatoes in it. Perfect! As much as I love fresh tomatoes, it isn’t quite tomato season yet. (Although I did spot [...]
Continue reading about Putting the Pantry and the Herb Garden Together
