No lie. I’d never cooked Romanesco before today. I wasn’t really trying to avoid it; it’s just that whenever it’s been an either/or option in my sharebox, I’ve always drawn a box with the “or.” But last week, I guess because there are fewer subscribers in the fall, everybody got one. Yippee! With its hypnotizing,…
Category: ate it up
consumed
Heads up: Addictive Cauliflower Pasta
Cauliflower’s been spectacular this past month here in southeast Pennsylvania. The co-op included big heads in our last couple-three shareboxes of the spring/summer season (which ended with October) – and it was the centerpiece of last week’s inaugural fall-season box. Twice now, I’ve made crispy cauliflower, roasting half a head at high heat with a…
Squashapalooza 2.0: Squash and Beet Risotto
Eight. Again. Thanks to the swap box, a few forfeited shares, and my own carryovers from the past couple weeks, I now have eight squash clogging my kitchen counter. It’s Squashapalooza 2.0: Winter Edition. But at least these cool-weather varieties don’t demand immediate consumption (or preservation) like my week-long zucchini fest this past July….
Father knows best: Grilled cheese & grapes
“My father was an amazing man. The older I got, the smarter he got.” – Mark Twain For a couple years when Mike and I were little kids, my mom went to night and summer school, wedging in courses to wrap up her master’s (in between teaching and, you know, momming). Once a week or…
Apfelfest 2013: Chops, Cabbage, and Riesling
Apples, apples everywhere. On Saturday night, apples were in everything. In the cider brine. Smothering the pork. Braising with the cabbage. And echoing through the wine. Hello, Oktober. Cider-brined pork chops with apples and onions Adapted from a recipe I clipped out of Bon Appetit back in 1999. I’ve changed the pan sauce up a bunch over…
Haiku Carrot Soup
Simple. Really. I mean, 5-7-5 simple. Infused with ginger and thyme, this is a subtly spicy-sweet soup that’s downright velvety—even without dairy—and perfect for a fall lunch or light supper. Start to finish, it’ll take you about 40 minutes, and most of that’s idle time while the carrots are roasting and the stock is simmering. Though…
KOB salad
No, not Cobb Salad. K•O•B Salad. As in, Kale•Orange•Beet. Inspired by the Roasted Beet Salad at Barbuzzo, where chef Marcie Turney loads chiffonade of raw kale with beets, ruby red grapefruit segments, pistachio pesto, and chèvre, a couple years ago I started playing around with kale, beets, citrus, nuts, and cheese. I’ve swapped around oranges,…
Churn, Baby, Churn: Real Peach Ice Cream
Which came first, the chicken or the egg-rich ice cream? When your tiny, Fibber McGee’s freezer is full of put-up fruits and veggies—and three picked-over chickens—the chicken has to come first. Meaning, it has to come out first. With those bulky birdframes reduced to two jars of very concentrated stock, there was finally room for…
Plum-Topped Olive Oil Cake
Saw it in the Times this morning; 90 minutes later, it was cooling on the counter. Happy birthday, Brian and Megan.
Groundcherry-Phyllo Bundles
Swaddled in their own rustic gift paper, groundcherries are actually relatives of tomatillos—not the tree-grown stone fruit they’re named for—and they share some of the citrusy, tropical tang we associate with that green, husked staple of Mexican cuisine. When the CSA shares arrived yesterday, I couldn’t resist tasting a couple straight from the box. Sure…
Boxing Day 