Weekend in VT

Spending the weekend on the farm in Vermont is always such a treat. While our reasons for being there may not have been ideal, we still had a great time there. We picked buckets of blueberries and peaches -- the last of the summer harvest. We ate handfuls upon handfuls of blueberries, and put them in just about anything we were eating. We made blueberry jam and peach blueberry cobbler. It was fantastic.

Rosemary Pita Chips With Spicy White Bean Dip

As much as I love food, I have the tendency to be a very boring eater. I tend to come across something that I love, and can then eat that very thing for the next month, or two, or twelve. In high school, I ate couscous at least once a day without fail. And not even interesting home-made couscous, it was just the five minute instant variety.

In college, i gave up my couscous craze and replaced it with smoothies. I then had a brief stint with black beans. And the past year or so, I have had a intense adoration for green salads -- having one a day, sometimes two! 

Red Basil, Red Tomato Brushetta

Bruschetta is one of those foods that taste so good, and is so easy to throw together, yet for one reason or another I just never make it. And it is a real shame too; I order it at restaurants and repeatedly read over new recipes  and versions of it in cookbooks. And even though all it takes is a little chopping, toasting and tossing, it just does not happen in my  kitchen.

But, when walking through the farmers market this weekend, I came across red basil. I had never seen or heard of red basil before this, and I was mesmerized. A beautiful bouquet of red basil selling right alongside ripe new jersey tomatoes. It was a no brainer. These two items were going to become my first red basil, red tomato bruschetta. 

Peachy Limeade

My husband does not like to cook.  It's not that he doesn't know how to cook, because he is a pretty good in the kitchen; it just seems to  take too much effort to make a meal -- with the all the prepping, cooking and cleaning. 

And, my husband doesn't like it when I cook either. While he likes and enjoys the food I prepare for us, he would much rather spend our shared time doing something else -- anything else. He thinks cooking takes up too much of our dwindling free time, and that we would be much better off grabbing a bite to eat out, and then being on our way to enjoying something else. 

The thing is that  I love to cook. It is one of my favorite ways to spend my time. It can sometimes be a source of conflict between us. But sometimes, rather then discuss if we should eat out or cook, sometimes, he will just spend the time that I am cooking to dream up a delicious homemade refreshment.

Roasted Fairy Tale Eggplant

One of the highlights of moving to New York has definitely been the fantastic  farmers markets --  along with the plethora of other great culinary indulgences. Coming from Miami where the markets were just a novelty not a way of life, the variety of produce was not entirely inspiring.  

But, working close to Union Square I got to enjoy the market three days a week, being reassured that the seasons were in fact changing as promised by the spread that was becoming available from the different farms. Having moved to the city at the tail end of winter, I started out knowing the Union Square farmers market as a handful of stands, each selling loads of apples -- with the option for hot cider of which i partook in often -- a large variety of root vegetables, and lots and lots of baked goods. All great winter fare. 

Tartine #1: Artichoke, sun-dried tomato, kalamata olives, and a thyme garlic compound butter

Most of us grew up eating sandwiches. Peanut butter & jelly, ham & cheese, we received them in our lunch boxes, and even continue the tradition of lunchtime-sandwich-time in our adult years. The number of sandwich shops, chain stores alone, is phenomenal, and all the varieties of sandwiches you can get.

Orange Cranberry Shortbread Cookies

Oops, I missed the boat. These were meant to be Christmas cookies. Well, even slightly before Christmas, Christmas cookies.  But, as tends to happens, the holidays just quickly descended upon me, and before I could be warned, I found myself in the thick of it. And I just sort of had to hold on, and enjoy the ride.

And then before I knew it, it was over. Leaving me wind swept and slightly nostalgic.

Tart-Pie Dough Made Easy & A How-To Video

For some reason, when I was first teaching myself how to bake, I set my sights on making all kinds of fresh tarts. I had my heart set on it-set on mastering my own, made from scratch, tart dough (or pate brissee.) And, it took a long time for me to master it. I am not sure that I have even mastered it as of yet, but at least I no longer mutter curses while I am making it. And I no longer have to throw the whole batch in the trash because I have tried to roll it so much, that it has become a gooey mess. Nor do I have to make all my tarts with the push in method because rolling it is too tricky. And at this point, that is mastery enough for me.

One of my biggest problems when learning to make my own dough was that I read over and over not to use too much flour when rolling my dough.

Turban Squash and Spicy Kale Barley Risotto

Turban squash is a very unusual squash in appearance. It's colors striate between green and orange and white, it's squat in shape and has a knobby head. But after buying my first turban squash, I grew quite fond of it, almost attached to it. It just might be the most beautiful of all the winter squashes. Which is why it is most recommend for use as a tureen, and why it took me nearly a month to take my turban squash out of the fruit bowl, and cut it open for this risotto style barley dish.

Butternut Squash Winter Salad

As soon as the weather changes, I feel like salads are undeserving-ly forgotten about. We enjoyed them during the summer, and partly through autumn. They were our go-to lunches, and sometimes dinners. Easy to throw together, refreshingly light to help cope with the summer heat, and even exciting in their endless possibilities. So why is it that we neglect them come November? It just doesn't seem right that we abandon such a dish, especially one that has been so good to us.

And so, I have decided not to; I will not abandon the salad during the winter months.

Delicata Squash Pie & A Happy Thanksgiving

Once again, Thanksgiving has come and gone like a flash in a pan. The bird has been carved, the dishes washed, and there is a refrigerator stacked with multiple Tupperwares of thanksgiving dishes. The left over sandwiches are soon to come.

I am not sure if your Thanksgiving experience is anything like mine, but here, getting ready to feed 27, we did some prep work on the Wednesday before T-Day, but regardless of how much was prepped, it was still a mad dash on Thursday. The kitchen was full from eight in the morning, and as it got closer to turkey time, it got more hectic. Yet somehow, even though you are not sure how it will all get done, it always does, and it is always an amazing spread.

Acorn Squash Stuffed Nut Loaf

Nut loaf will always remind me of Paris. Not because they serve nut loaf in Paris; I am not sure that any Parisian has even heard of it.  But because that was where I was when I first heard of it, and tasted it. I had no idea what to expect, I was fearful that it would be very dry and leave a funky after taste like so many meat dishes reinvented into vegetarian soy dishes tend to be (even though I did have confidence in the cooks.)

And with such an unappetizing name as nut loaf, I was doubtful. But despite it's bad fortune, nut loaf is awesome.

Savory Grey-Blue Hubbard Crumble

Of all the winter squash varieties, I would say that the grey-blue hubbard is by far my favorite. It's not only it's unusual impressionistic color that appeals to me, but also it's tear drop shape. It's funny because something about this squash reminds me of a pregnant woman. It looks more of a work of art than a fruit, and it reminds me of the deep beauty you can find in nature.

Buttercup bread with walnuts & candied ginger

There is nothing better than this time of year. The temperature has dropped, the nights are longer, and you know that the holidays are just around the corner. While summer is a great time of year, Autumn is a great time to spend in the kitchen. It's not too hot to bake and there are a bunch of fun new fruit to play with.

I have always loved it when winter squash becomes available at the grocery store. They come in all different interesting shapes, colors and sizes. It almost felt like going to an exhibit rather than the grocer.

Dulce de Leche Cake with Slivered Almonds

Cake is such a glorious food. It indicates birthdays, anniversaries, holidays, and festivities all around. Even everyday cakes feel celebratory. People get excited when there's cake, and even more so when it is freshly made homemade cake.

The funny thing is that I don't even really like cake all that much.

Chickpea & Potato Curry

Curries have always been, in my mind, an exotic, passionate, and complicated dish. Not exotic in that you have to travel to far and distant lands to get some; no, we can even get it in a box at the local grocer. But exotic in the sense that the flavor takes you somewhere else, and you can taste a world of culinary culture and history. A seemingly infinitely complex flavor of many different spices and seasonings used to arrive at a perfectly balanced curry.

Whole Wheat Mosaic Crackers

Crackers are an unassuming stable in our kitchen. I never really gave them much thought. I just bought them at the store if I had a desire for some, and that was it. The thought of ever making my own crackers never really crossed my mind.

And then one day it hit me, of course, it might be kind of cool to make crackers.

Chocolate Halloween Cupcakes

Halloween was always a beloved holiday growing up. My parents put a lot of effort into decorating the house, building scarecrows, adding cobwebs, really getting into the spirit. Our house was one of the spooky ones on the block, the lights turned off, a Halloween soundtrack playing loudly, and also one where the kids were sure to score big on candy.

Peruvian purple potatoes with Crema de Rocoto

Eight years ago, I got my first real college job. One that does not include taking orders behind a counter. At that new job, I developed a strong friendship with a girl from Peru. She spoke very little English, and I knew very few words in Spanish, yet somehow, we hit it off.

Once she invited me over to a family barbecue, I think it was for her daughters birthday. It was so sweet of her to include me, but honestly it was an awkward affair