Some of the earliest cold-resistant crops available in the spring (or earlier if you have a farmer who has a fancy-schmancy greenhouse), fresh, vibrant salad greens are popping up now at farmers’ markets. That first, crisp, lightly-dressed bowlful always feels like such an extraordinary luxury after months of pots of piping-hot long-simmered root vegetables and… Continue reading Salad Greens 101
Month: March 2011
happyrhubarbmonday.
The first inch and a half of Victoria rhubarb poking up from the muddy March ground. Pies and jams to follow.
Pan-Seared Sea Scallops, with Pickled Watermelon Radish and Microgreen Salad
Here’s a great little dish using those irresistable watermelon radishes and microgreens now growing at a farmers’ market near you. Ready in under a half hour, this would be a deceptively easy, super impressive first course for a local-chic dinner soiree. Or triple the scallops, and pair it with cool buckwheat soba noodles dressed… Continue reading Pan-Seared Sea Scallops, with Pickled Watermelon Radish and Microgreen Salad
Market Watch: Microgreens
Micro Mesclun from Windfall Farms, Union Square Greenmarket, NYC. Spring is here, and the farmers’ market offerings are slowly transitioning from squash, root vegetables, and cold storage foods to fresh spring produce in the weeks ahead. One of the first fresh spring finds to look for are microgreens. Microgreens are similar to hippy, 70’s sprouts,… Continue reading Market Watch: Microgreens
Chew on this.
“In the spring, at the end of the day, you should smell like dirt.” -Margaret Atwood 2011’s crop begins.
Homemade Irish Cream
Kiss me! I’m nearly 1/4 Irish! The tradition of enjoying a “drop of the hard stuff” on St. Patrick’s Day is an old custom known as Pota Phadraig or Patrick’s Pot. The legend goes that St. Patrick taught a stingy innkeeper a lesson, when served a less than generous portion of whiskey. He threatened the innkeeper,… Continue reading Homemade Irish Cream
Market Watch: Watermelon Radish
At the Union Square Greenmarket, this past Saturday in Manhattan, I came across giant, stunning Watermelon Radishes. A relative of the Daikon, it is also called Chinese Red Meat, Beauty Heart, and Rose Heart. This is one of the most mild radishes (which, incidentally was the one food I wouldn’t touch as a child),… Continue reading Market Watch: Watermelon Radish
Chew on this.
“I peered into the pots. Irish stew. A nourishing and economical dish, if a little indigestible. All honour to the land it has brought before the world.” -from Malloy, by Samuel Beckett
Lobster Stock recipe
Sweet, elegant, rosy, and full of the ocean, homemade lobster stock grabs my attention like little else. Having a few quarts of this on hand in my freezer has allowed me, on more than one occasion, to pull a seafood risotto out of thin air for unexpected dinner guests. I’ll repeat that–pull seafood risotto out… Continue reading Lobster Stock recipe
Chicken Stock 101
Of all of the amazing things I learned in culinary school, by far the most valuable was how to make great stock. I clearly remember the lightbulb moment when it was demonstrated to us. I clearly remember rushing home that weekend with a bag of carrots, celery, and onions, dying to practice it on my… Continue reading Chicken Stock 101
Food of the (near) Future
Despite the fact that I haven’t seen but a mere patch of ground at our home since prior to Christmas, despite the fact that we still have a foot of snow almost everywhere I look, despite the fact that just looking at flip flops gives me chills, the eternal optimist in me spent the balance of the weekend… Continue reading Food of the (near) Future