From the monthly archives:
Now that I’ve got you all excited for beets with my previous posts (I’m sure my mom is laughing as she reads about her once-beet-hating daughter enthusiastically pushing my passion for beets onto everyone else), I thought I’d give you you the down and dirty on how to roast the little guys. Roasting is a [...]
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While you can find imported bell peppers in supermarkets year round, they technically peak in the states from mid summer through fall. The common “stop light” colors of green, yellow and red represent the varying shades of ripeness, so red ones will be the sweetest because they’ve had more time to mature. And – [...]
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Never underestimate the power of roasting a chicken. It requires a small ingredient list and minimal prep work, fills your home with wonderful smells, and provides leftovers galore (well for us it does, party of 2). The key to a moist, juicy bird is purchasing good quality meat. On my first visit to Chez [...]
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It turns out that Jaime Oliver, best known as The Naked Chef, is more than just a kooky celebrity chef. If you didn’t watch his old Food Network show, imagine Julie Child on crack…he would flail around the kitchen, knocking over olive oil bottles and would mix everything by hand (i.e. bare hands tossing lettuce [...]
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This is why I love northern California…even though it is snowing and raining throughout most of the country, I’m still getting delicious, ripe tomatoes in my CSA box like it’s the middle of summer! The beauties I got this week were so ripe that I decided to turn them into tomato sauce before they spoiled. [...]
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Curry powder is actually the combination of several spices, including turmeric, coriander, cumin, pepper, mustard and others depending upon the type. Given all these strong ingredients, it’s no wonder that I can feel my body temperature rising when I eat it! This recipe, however, helps soften the spice with the refreshing addition of chutney and [...]
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Dr. David Kessler, the former head of the Food and Drug Administration who is well known for his attack on Big tobacco, writes a fascinating book about American society’s struggle to say no to food. The book examines how the combination of fat, sugar and salt have taken hold of us, and with the help [...]
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Growing up in San Diego I thought of grapes as the quintessential beach snack. But thanks to my regular farmer’s market visits I now know that grapes are a late summer through fall type of friend. There are varieties galore popping up at the markets, which I urge you to talk to the various [...]
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After an overly ambitious jam-making session, I was left with a bag full of perfectly ripe pluots that I couldn’t bear to waste. I never seem to have luck with pie crusts (as my disgruntled family can attest after an unfortunate pumpkin pie situation last Thanksgiving), so I tried this “rustic” version. It combines all [...]
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A Microplane is a very sharp grater intended to “create zest”. Jillian had been telling me for months about her love for the tool and all of it’s handy uses, yet when my boyfriend’s grandmother gave me one it sat in my top drawer untouched. I always thought, why would you ever need to “create [...]
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