{Eating}

Addictive Salad

11.18.09

radicchio


I invented this salad a few years ago on a freezing January in Boston when I was desperately trying to think of something vibrant and fresh to serve at a friend’s baby shower. Something to offset the usual selection of doughy, starchy finger sandwiches and cookies. I remember feeling rather discouraged by the limited selection of mid-winter produce. Finally I picked up some firm, deeply magenta heads of radicchio, a few shiny ruby grapefruits and, on a whim, a chunk of pecorino pepato and a bag of walnuts. I wasn’t really sure where I was going with all this but it just felt right. (You’re probably saying “grapefruit with cheese?!” but I swear, it’s delicious.) Read the rest of this entry »

Tagged—, , , , , , , , ,

comments2 Comments

{Eating}

Cabbage Dispatch

11.8.09

I think of stuffed cabbage as a traditional winter dish. It’s somehow very cozy. Though it’s often stuffed with a combination of meat and rice, my version uses quinoa and chopped cabbage flavored with just a little chorizo. The rolls are cooked in a tomato-based sauce with an additional hit of smoky pimentón to offset its sweet-sour flavor. Read the rest of this entry »

Tagged—, , , , , , ,

commentsNo Comments

{Eating}

You Say Chickpea, I Say Garbanzo

11.2.09

 

garbanzos

 

A chickpea (Cicer arietinum) by any other name—garbanzo bean, Indian pea, ceci bean, bengal gram, Kabuli chana, konda kadalai, kadale kaalu, sanaga pappu, shimbra, Kadala—still tastes as delectable. High in protein and low in fat, this legume is also a good source of zinc. Evidence has even shown it to be helpful in lowering cholesterol. These little nougat-colored beans are extremely versatile, showing up in soups, purees, flour and even as a fried snack. The rich, nutty taste is widely featured in Indian and Mediterranean cooking. I love garbanzos paired with chorizo, stewed and served with a drizzle of olive oil. Maybe a glass of nice red. To me, this is a taste of Spain.

Read the rest of this entry »

Tagged—, , , , , , ,

commentsNo Comments

{Eating, Garden}

Tomatillos = Little Green Tomatoes?

9.25.09
photo 2 by george billard

The answer is no, Einstein. Tomatillos are actually part of the nightshade family, related to the gooseberry. This all becomes clear once you focus on the papery husk. I’ve heard the ripe fruit can be yellow or even purple, but I’ve only ever seen them this clear green color. They are sweet-tart with a bright citrusy taste. We grew two enormous bushes this summer that towered over everything in the vegetable garden, attracted industrious armies of bees, resisted the ceaseless downpour (or maybe thrived on it?) and produced vast quantities of perfect tomatillos just smaller than a golfball. What then to do with all this bounty? Read the rest of this entry »

Tagged—, , , , , , , , ,

comments8 Comments

{Eating, Health}

Green Goddess

9.22.09

IMGP1175


I’m wild about kale. (Too bad I’m still struggling to do it justice with my lame photography.) Especially this dark, bumpy kind, variously known as lacinato, cavolo nero, black cabbage, Tuscan or dinosaur. It’s part of the brassica family, as are broccoli, collards and brussels sprouts. Highly nutritious, with antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties, kale is high in beta carotene, vitamins K and C, and contains plenty of calcium. When chopped, it exudes sulforaphane, a chemical with powerful anti-cancer properties. Most importantly, it’s delicious—in my morning juice, cooked with eggs, in bean soup, and even raw in salads.

Read the rest of this entry »

Tagged—, , , , , , , ,

comments2 Comments

{Eating, Garden}

R.I.P. Sheila Lukins

9.5.09

eggplant


Back in the 80s, I was among the many crazy for The Silver Palate cookbook. That carrot cake! The famed chicken Marbella! I loved how the book was larded with personal stories and little tidbits of miscellany  in the margins (marginalia?). I adore lists. The recipes seemed somehow both cosmopolitan and accessible, perfect for dinner parties in my starter apartment on East Broadway. When I read about author Sheila Lukins’ untimely death from brain cancer recently, I was deeply saddened. And I immediately went out and got some eggplant, picked handfuls of fresh basil from the garden and made this dish—one that will remain forever in my repertoire. It’s excellent with grilled lamb but since I don’t really like lamb, I eat it with grilled fish or tomatoes with feta.

Read the rest of this entry »

Tagged—, , , , , , , , ,

commentsNo Comments

{Eating, Garden}

Got Tomatoes?

8.30.09

greentomatoes

photo by george billard

I can’t stand the rain. OK, not true, but it did wreak a lot of havoc this summer. It was not the year for tomatoes, as you may have heard. Ahem. As you can see here, we started out with some very promising plants. They produced tons of big, gorgeous heirloom specimens that had us dreaming of fresh salads and BLTs and even an aspic or two. BUT THEN THE BLIGHT HIT. And wiped us out. That’s right. All that compost and pampering amounted to a hill of beans when the torrential rains hit and the fungus came to town. (It’s a strain of the very thing that wiped out all those potatoes in Ireland causing the famed famine.) From one day to the next, we went from tomato-rich to tomato-destitute. No love apples for us. One plant of yellow cherry tomatoes survived, bless her feisty little heart. If you’ve been luckier, then this recipe is for you. Read the rest of this entry »

Tagged—, , , , , , , ,

commentsNo Comments

{Eating, Garden, Health}

The Bounty

8.22.09

DSC_1686

 

I wish I could say I was responsible for any of this glorious produce but it was actually grown up the road from us here in Sullivan County, at River Brook Farm in Cochecton to be precise. (Wait—I did grow the cucumbers!) They’ve been certified organic since 1997, and in addition to all these amazing vegetables and fruits, they also have free-range chickens and the most lovely and contented pastured lambs and goats. The owners, Alice and Neil, have to be two of the nicest and hardest-working people you could ever hope to meet. Their soil is like bittersweet chocolate and everything that grows in it is truly spectacular. They grow 11 varieties of potatoes; 8 kinds of heirloom tomatoes; rare heirloom beans for drying; 9 varieties of winter squash; tons of greens including amaranth and tatsoi; collards; and lacinato kale (cavolo nero), my absolute favorite. Can’t use just hear the anti-oxidants screaming at you from that photo?

Read the rest of this entry »

Tagged—, , , , ,

comments1 Comment

{Eating}

Killer Pickled Okra

8.17.09

hot_jar_pickles


My friend Carolyn’s old girlfriend Mimi, a Jew from Texas, first turned me on to pickled okra with this very brand. After encountering a beautiful crop at Juno’s Farm in the Union Square farmers’ market, I was inspired to replicate them. I wish I could say I grew my own but the truth is that one lone okra plant is all that survived this year’s torrents. It did produce some gorgeous creamy flowers and a few long, elegant pods but not enough to put up. Read the rest of this entry »

Tagged—, , , , ,

commentsNo Comments

{Eating, Health}

Green Juice

8.3.09

IMGP1193

 

I get a little overheated when I start proselytizing about green juice. (Sorry about the blurry photo, I’m still trying to figure all this out/coerce G into shooting for me.) I owe my conversion to Sally Kravich, an amazing nutritionist who practices in both L.A. and New York. Her book, “Vibrant Living” has set a lot of people on the path to radiant health. (It was my great friend and longtime hairstylist, Sarah Mills, who turned me on to Sally but she’s a whole other story.) Among other things, Sally uses iridology to help with her assessment of your health, and it freaks me out every time. How can she look at my pupil and know that my neck hurts?? Read the rest of this entry »

Tagged—, , , , , ,

comments3 Comments

Newer  1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10  Older