I live for figs, and August is the peak of fig season. As I write this I'm on my way out the door to meet an urban farmer who has an oasis of figs for me to pick. I heard about him and knew I had to meet him. I've been looking through my fig…
When I talked to you a few months back about how to preserve your own herbs, I focused on the basics of drying, freezing and heating. In my new Modern Pioneering series, I show you a few more glamorous ways to do it that turn the herbs into an instant culinary treat, for example this…
When I was a child and well into my teenage years, I used to proclaim myself the wild raspberry queen, battling the birds every late July so that I'd have enough berries to make jam. Eventually my dad began growing domestic raspberry bushes as well as blueberry bushes so it became a berry wonderland at…
In this recipe for panzanella salad also lies a recipe for homemade croutons, which you can either make in advance and store for a future salad, or blitz in the food processor and turn into bread crumbs. I love this salad on a hot summer’s day with freshly picked tomatoes. It is a great way…
Tomato water is a wonderful flavoring liquid to have in the kitchen. I used to make it all the time when I worked in professional kitchens, especially at the end of summer when tomatoes got ripe faster than we could eat them. Use it to dress salads, to drizzle over a toasted baguette or pasta,…
My third book "Modern Pioneering" was almost titled "How to Eat a Rose," because I had a section full of recipes made from the various parts of roses. Did you know roses were edible? Many wild things are and we've just forgotten about them as generations have past. I think you will love my recipe…
I'm all about hacking my way into ice cream without an ice cream maker. Earlier this year I taught you how to make ice cream without an ice cream maker, and have shared my all-time favorite ice cream flavor recipe: lemon basil ice cream. Today I thought I'd share my recipe for Mint Ice Milk. This…
I recently took a cooking class at 137 Pillars in Chiang Mai, Thailand. The chef took us to the local markets and we wandered through the colorful stalls and tried various delights, things I hadn't seen or tasted before, flavor combinations that were completely new to me in my years working as a professional chef.…
This is the juicy peach time of year. Every market is overflowing with them and sometimes I wish I could bottle up that deep earthy sweetness that tastes like the height of summer. I think I have come pretty close with this recipe for peach butter. A few wise people in my life have taught…