Because she loves you, Grandma Pellegrini made you a Valentines soup. She even put hearts in it. It’s a work of art. And because he loves you, Gordon snapped some photos of it. And because I love you, well… I’m just writing to tell you about it. I can’t take any credit. I can just share. This is a root soup, colored with red beets. It is delicious, I have […]
Guess what this is… I’ll give you one clue… It’s not a leotard. Okay, I’ll give you another clue… Now guess? Okay, okay, geez, one more clue! Red quinoa!!! If you’ve never heard of it before, you’re not alone. It’s been slowly rising to stardom recently but hasn’t reached full celebrity status yet. It’s a grain-like crop grown for its edible seeds. It’s considered a “pseudocereal,” whatever that means… not […]
Black-eyed peas are one of those things I only think about on December 31st when I superstitiously rush around looking for them. You see, it was ingrained in me from the time I was a small plump infant, that this is the thing you’re supposed to eat on New Year’s Day for good luck. I’ve never really loved them. But then again, I’ve never really cooked them. So, armed with […]
This is one of my favorite stews. It is perfect for the really cold months and for large gatherings when you have a lot of people to feed. In isn’t your everyday beef stew. For one, it has equal parts lamb in it and then it also has a middle eastern flair…a little dried fruit, a little ginger…it’s a good thing. I recently made it for our Christmas party and […]
I want to share with you the strange things that are coming out of my garden. This carrot for example, which looks like a chicken: Or this scale-tipping carrot…a 1.125 pounder. There was a 1.5 pounder even, but I ate it. I turned it into carrot soup. I never think of carrot soup except in the moment that I’m eating it. And in that moment I ask myself why I don’t think […]
You know that fleshy weed that grows in sidewalk cracks? That’s purslane. And it tastes very good if you know how to use it. I didn’t use it properly until this past week when Jon Rowley made me realize that I do like it as more than just an “acid accent” to my normal salad greens. He and I share a love of simple foods, with very simple ingredients. This […]