Lisa on August 15th, 2011

I have a new love: capers. I’ve been on my caper honeymoon for a week now, and it doesn’t look like the affair will be over any time soon. (A week is a long time for an inquisitive foodie who rarely makes the same thing twice.) Sure, I’ve always had a passing fancy for the [...]

Continue reading about The Great Salsa Caper

Lisa on March 21st, 2011

Although I normally steer clear of fish on Seafoodwatch.org’s “avoid” list, if skate shows up at my local fish market, I sometimes buy it.  (I actually hadn’t realized skate was on the “avoid” list until after I’d made this dish.)  It tastes a lot like scallops, which is a bonus for me since scallops are [...]

Continue reading about Getting a Jump on Fresh Herbs

Lisa on February 28th, 2011

When I was a kid, I couldn’t stand cabbage — it tasted like old shoes and smelled even worse when it was cooking. But lately I’ve started using cabbage in my dishes, and I’m realizing that the whole trick to enjoying cabbage is to cook it gently. When you do, it retains its pleasing crunch [...]

Continue reading about Creamy Winter Chowder & Crunchy Winter Cabbage

Lisa on December 17th, 2010

Even though we think of salsa as necessarily involving tomatoes, onions, and garlic, “salsa” just means “sauce” in Spanish…which kicks the pantry cupboard doors wide open to interpretation.  (There’s also the dancing kind of salsa, but I won’t even get started on that for fear of ditching my food writer’s post in favor of the [...]

Continue reading about Grapes Are Good for More Than Just Wine

Lisa on November 9th, 2009

Rare are the foods that are delicately delicious on their own yet have enough oomph to stand up and be noticed amidst other ingredients.  Trout is one of those — it can grab center stage, support another star, or be the almost-unnoticed extra whose presence is crucial to the plot. For this dish, I baked [...]

Continue reading about Two Rainbows Are Better Than One

Lisa on July 20th, 2009

Fish makes the perfect summer meal.  It’s light, delicate, and pairs well with nearly any kind of fruit:  tropical salsas made of mango, pineapple, and papaya; citrus wedges like lemon or lime; even cherry- and cranberry-based chutneys.  (You’d be amazed at how well salmon pairs with Bing cherries and pinenuts!) For this round of rainbow [...]

Continue reading about Fruits of Sea & Land