From the category archives:
Each Sunday that I visit my neighborhood farmers market, I say a little prayer of thanks that it is summer. There is nothing better than walking up and down the market and seeing overflowing mounds of yellow corn, heirloom tomatoes, stone fruit, and summer squash. During these months, summer squash becomes a kitchen staple. I [...]
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Something magical is happening just east of Los Angeles, in the dry, hot deserts of the Coachella Valley. No, I’m not referring to the golf, tanning, or retirement homes of Palm Springs, but rather to the production of nature’s own candy: the date. Primarily grown in the US in Southern California, the date truly is [...]
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For those of you living in Colorado, you’ll know that there can be slim pickings when it comes to the local summer fruit selection. That is to say except for that glorious month and a half when Colorado’s grocery stores and farmers’ markets are overrun with juicy, delicious, and mouth watering peaches! Close to the [...]
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There’s something adorable about apricots. I’m not sure if it’s their fuzzy skin, pixie-like golfball size or that they resemble little baby butts. One thing that isn’t so cute about them though is the price! I shopped several stands over the weekend and even hit up Safeway and couldn’t find an apricot cheaper than ~$3.50 [...]
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Since moving out to NYC, I’ve found the produce to be less than exceptional (I know if my new co-workers reads this she’ll cringe, as I mention this to everyone, and I’m sure she’s sick of my SF elitist ways!) To be fair, dishes I’ve had at restaurants = outstanding. Scrumptious gelato has now entered [...]
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Behold the humble cabbage. Cabbage is one of those vegetables that, while not particularly glamorous, is inexpensive and generally available year round. Cabbage is a sturdy and hearty veggie that comes in multiple varieties: green, red, napa, and savoy to name a few. In your summer cooking, cabbage may generally be relegated to topping fish [...]
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I’m drawn to all of those “trendy” grains like wheat berries, barley and spelt; they just sound so much more exciting than the brown rice or couscous I usually end up cooking. Like barley, farro has a nutty, earthy flavor. It’s an ancient, wheat-like grain that has served as a staple in Italian cooking for generations.
How [...]
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I’ll start by saying that this veggie isn’t something I found at my local farmer’s market. And unless you’re living in Texas, you are probably out of luck too, since it grows in warm, dry climates. In my mind though, jicama is like a banana. It is a food that is clearly not local but [...]
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If you’ve read anything by Michael Pollan or seen movies like Food Inc., you may – like me – be a little skeptical about corn. After all, it’s America’s largest crop, one of the most industrialized vegetables in history, and found in nearly any processed food via corn syrup, corn starch, corn oil, corn meal, etc. But rest [...]
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Besides olive oil, lemons, and chili pepper flakes, garlic holds a serious stake hold in my kitchen. Rare is the meal where it is absent. And yet, all this time, I have steered clear of green garlic at the weekly market for fear of not knowing how to cook with it or what it might [...]
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