Homemade minestrone has got to be one of the best rainy day foods in the world. Living in Seattle we've got ample opportunity to test that theory. It is certainly miles beyond the canned version. Add a glass of wine and a couple of big garlicky croutons to soak up the broth, maybe a salad, …
Bun (pronounced, roughly, boon), when well made, is just about one of the greatest foods ever invented. Super-thin Vietnamese rice noodles are topped with a variety of cooked and fresh ingredients, lots of herbs, and a sweet and savory sauce to make a light, healthy and superbly delicious meal-in-a-bowl. Salad and entree in one package.
I'll …
So my brother and sister-in-law were browsing their farmer’s market in Greensboro, North Carolina a few years ago when they spotted a pile of unfamiliar leafy greens. They asked the farmer how to prepare them, and her answer was simple: “well, you just boil them three times. Just like you would with any other salad.”
Now …
Mostarda of apricot and sweet onion
Mostarda di frutta is a most unusual Italian condiment. It is made most famously in Cremona (and is sometimes known as mostarda di Cremona), though I first tasted it much further south, at a restaurant in Siena that offered three varieties at the table.
The flavor of mostarda is a complex …
An instant-read thermometer might seem like one of those kitchen gadgets you don’t really need. Most of us cook by the seat of our pants anyhow, right? Maybe it seems a little too “cheffy?” But I think you’ll find that if you get one, even a basic $12 model like I have pictured above, you’ll …
Hatch chiles are a specialty of the Mesilla Valley area of New Mexico, where a huge festival celebrates the annual harvest and roasting season. In the Seattle area, Alvarez Farms brings the same variety to farmer's markets in early fall. They are most commonly used green, but this time they had a batch of …
I’d been ruminating on how I was going to use these heirloom Rose Finn fingerling potatoes from our garden. My first thought was to glaze them in butter with shallots and preserved lemon. Then the whole plan changed when I was walking past our co-op and spotted a huge bin of beautiful local chanterelles.
Sometimes …
