Well, hello there!

It's been awhile, friends. In the past few years my career really ramped up and while I haven't been writing, I've had a fun romp as an urban farmer. Two years ago I built a chicken coop and went to the feed shop in Chicago (yes, Virginia, there's a feed shop in the city!) with the intent to come home with 3-4 chicks, depending on what they recommended given the size of my coop. Well, long story short, there was a rubber-chicken sized Pekin duck at the shop that day who had been surrendered by his family for being too aggressive with their dog. It was love at first sight for my youngest, who wore me down (I had, after all, made it well-known in the family that at some point my life had to include ducks) and so we went home with two chickens and Duck, who was charming but a total rascal. Over that summer I built a duck pond, collected eggs and devised various containment strategies for keeping the chickens in our postage-stamp city yard. In the end, a city lot isn't a great spot for birds, who needed more sun, pasture, and the company of other birds of their same feather. Duck now resides on a friend's farm in South Haven, Michigan, procreating happily. See the end of the story for a picture of his young breed.

We surrendered the chickens as well, a decision I'll never feel good about, especially if people start stockpiling eggs. As for how we're faring vis a vis the global pandemic, I am happy to report we are well in Chicago where we find ourselves mostly quarantined and provisioned, our concerns thankfully limited to ensuring our college kids retain that which is most important to them - their independence - even as they retreat home for their spring terms. As far as I can tell, that involves keeping a stocked fridge, an open door, and my own activities.

Anyhoo, in lieu of going out on the town and spring skiing and other activities that are suddenly verboten, I'm fixing to finish the teetering pile of books on my nightstand. If you're looking for recommendations, I offer The Time In Between, Being Mortal, The Overstory, The Righteous Mind, and Jocko Willink's Leadership Strategy and Tactics. Oh, and I really loved He Mele A Hilo, The Professor and the Madman (the OED's origin story) and my colleague William Cope Moyer's memoir, Broken.

On the food front, I just got a pretty good Vietnamese cookbook, though it remains to be seen if the Asian markets up on Broadway are sufficiently well-stocked for the journey down that rabbit hole. Two nights ago I made some pretty remarkable grilled lemongrass chicken but the recipe needs some refinement before I share it. Later that same night we made Maple Cream, something I'd been pretty excited about since seeing a recipe on a blog I positively looooove: The Art of Doing Stuff. The maple cream is pretty awesome, though it took forever to heat and cool and would have been murder had I not had my trusty stand mixer for the hard work of stirring. I slathered some maple cream on toast with peanut butter yesterday for breakfast. We were out of bananas, the only thing that would have made it better. 

Over the past few months I've developed my tomato basil soup recipe into something I'm quite proud of. It's a simple and quick thing, but certain steps are paramount, and like anything else, the products you use matter. I still love Muir Glen canned tomatoes and recommend those. You'll also need a box of chicken broth (I love Imagine Organic but these days almost exclusively use Whole Foods 365 brand), some fresh basil and a Vitamix. Maybe a regular blender can do it - you just have to cool the soup off before blending, and it probably won't get the soup nearly as silky as the Vitamix does. Sorry about that. If you find yourself doing a lot of blending the Vitamix will bring you a ton of joy - look for a refurbished one. Along the way of perfecting the recipe I relearned two essential facts that improved my cooking in general: 1. cook onions slowly over low-medium heat for 5-7 minutes and 2. allow the tomatoes/tomato paste to really caramelize before adding the broth or anything else.

With hope, grocers will figure out how to balance crowds and keep shelves stocked (Peapod, could your timing have been worse?!?) so we can all cook at home. If not, I'm going to have to figure out how to cook all this toilet paper. And with that, here's a pic of Duck's adorable spawn.

Be well, people!

Sons of a Duck!

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Get Thee to the Picklery

I thought I was making that word up, but no, a Picklery is a real thing! And yes, by real thing I mean a small business that, in spite of all efforts to induce profitability will only rise to prominence (The Prominent Pickle! I've named my Picklery!) as an cautionary tale told to cocksure entrepreneurs: "Yes, but Great Aunt Katie also took Econ 101 and that didn't prevent her from becoming homeless following the inevitable dissolution of The Prominent Pickle."

Anyhoo, I was at the farmers market last weekend and they had gorgeous Kirby cukes so I came home, settled on a recipe from Food and Wine, doctoring it just slightly to use Apple Cider Vinegar, and made us some fine pickles. The following day I used the same recipe with haricots verts and carrots, both equally delightful. And yes, Virginia, they do need to be haricots, not your garden variety green bean. For one, les haricots fit perfectly into a pint sized jar. Two, it's like getting all long things in Tetris - they fit together snugly with, like, no wasted space.

This week I was back at the market, and spent the afternoon cleaning and trimming haricots, carrots and pickles.

Here's that recipe:

Quick Spicy Pickles
Print recipe only here

YOU WILL NEED
Stuff to pickle:
4-5 Kirby cucumbers, washed and quartered
8 oz haricots verts, cleaned (I like leaving the tails)
7 carrots, peeled, washed, quartered and trimmed to fit pint jars
1 quart sized canning jar
2 pint sized canning jars

INGREDIENTS
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
1 cup white vinegar
3 T Kosher salt
2 T white sugar
2 T coriander seeds
2 cups water
2-3 red chilis, washed and halved
7-8 garlic cloves, smashed gently
10-12 dill sprigs, rinsed and trimmed

METHOD
Combine vinegars, sugar and salt and place in sun to heat until sugar and salt dissolve.
Prep and trim all veg.
Place one red chili half into each jar. More if you really want to feel the heat.
Add 2-3 cloves garlic to the Quart jar and 1-2 cloves to each pint jar
Add coriander seeds to vinegar and stir
Pack veggies into jars
Pour vinegar over veg until covers completely
Cover and refrigerate 24 hours.

Note: the carrots take 48 hours to be good.

Keeps up to one month.

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Salsa You'll Want to Put on Everything

There's a simple reason why it's taken me so long to photograph my new favorite salsa: it's too delicious. It's gone before I can set up a good photo. It's a quick recipe, so it gets made while prepping dinner. By the time it's done, it hits the table. Any leftovers are often gobbled up first the the next morning atop someone's potatoes, eggs, or in a breakfast burrito. Besides, even if I were to try to get the shot before we sat down to eat, the light is all wrong. Unlike yours truly, food photographs best in the light of day.

Anyway, this recipe comes from Rick Bayless's awesome cookbook, Mexican Everyday. I had been turning out batch after grubbin' batch throughout the summer. Even though tomato season has passed, this salsa remains doable. Just take care to select some good, red, vine-ripened tomatoes, as I did this week. I allowed them to ripen a few more days on my counter, and made salsa when the tomatoes had that glorious garden-fresh tomato scent on their skins.

Last night we had Mahi Mahi Fish Tacos. Fresh salsa is an absolute must with Fish Tacos. I grilled the Mahi (which I just basted with a wee bit of canola oil, fresh lime juice, salt and pepper before grilling, and an extra shot of lime juice as a board dressing while it rested post-grilling) alongside some late season corn on the cob from Whole Foods, turning the latter into a quick Roasted Corn Salsa. Tonight's dinner will be a tough act to follow.

Here's both recipes:

Fresh Tomato Salsa
Print recipe only here

INGREDIENTS
1 jalapeño, seeded and roughly chopped
1 clove garlic, peeled and roughly chopped
2 medium ripe tomatoes, quartered and cored
1/4 cup fresh cilantro
1 lime, halved
2 green onions, finely sliced
Salt and fresh pepper

METHOD
In Cuisinart, process or pulse jalapeño until finely chopped, scraping down sides of bowl as needed. Add garlic and process or pulse. Add tomatoes and cilantro and pulse until tomatoes are roughly chopped. Transfer to a small bowl.

Add sliced green onions. Squeeze juice from one half of the lime. Taste for seasoning to determine if you need the other half of the lime. Add salt and pepper to taste.


Roasted Corn Salsa
Print recipe only here

INGREDIENTS
2-3 ears fresh corn
1/2 jalapeño, seeded and finely chopped
1/2 small red onion, finely chopped
1/2 lime
2-3 T chopped cilantro
Salt and pepper



METHOD
Preheat grill or broiler. Shuck the corn and remove all the silk. Brush with canola oil. Grill for about 5-7 minutes, rotating halfway thru, or until the corn is browned. Remove from the grill and allow to cool to room temperature.

Prep the remaining ingredients and combine in a small bowl. When the corn has cooled, cut it from the cob and add to the bowl. Add the lime juice and stir to combine. Taste for seasoning, adding salt and pepper as desired.

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On the Cutting of Lettuce (and a new Caesar salad)

Opinions abound on the cutting of lettuce, both in the prep kitchen and at the dining table.  It's one of those things that people are completely sure about and often wrong. For prep, it's generally acknowledged that tearing, as apposed to cutting, lettuce is less damaging to the structure of leaf. The nerds investigators at Cooks Illustrated tested the phenomena and more or less proved what I always heard growing up: that sliced lettuce will brown on the edges (but not for several days after slicing).

Even so, my standard operating procedure when making Caesar salad is to use a serrated knife to slice Romaine hearts. I don't use one of those "lettuce" knives either - just my favorite Henkels Utility knife. We go thru lettuce quickly so browning isn't an issue. In fact, when I make Caesar I routinely use all the Romaine hearts in the bag, so there's none leftover to go brown anyway.

Then there's the issue concerning the etiquette of cutting salad with a knife at the dining table. The new Emily Post assures readers that it is, in fact, ok to cut your lettuce at the dining table. Apparently, the no-no originated along with carbon-steel knife blades that would become discolored and corrode from the acid in salad dressing. With the routine use of stainless steel and silver, knives are safe from corrosion and diners are cleared for cutting up lettuce. This clearance is acknowledged in such few circles that I can hardly advocate it. I don't want to be blamed when your bossy aunt pulls you aside for a primer on table etiquette when she catches you cutting your salad.
Cutting salad is usually avoidable, anyway. Except in the case of the new Caesar I've been making since this summer. I've been making Kristine's Caesar dressing since she taught it to me ten years ago. This summer I came across a recipe in The Art of Simple Food and decided to shake things up. This new recipe - nearly identical to the original - is a lot like what Mary used to make at Cafe Nola. I've been drizzling it onto long, thin, delicate Romaine hearts, along with croutons and ribbons of Parmesan. Those long, thin Romaine hearts are beautiful on the plate. And they can basically be cut with the side of your fork since the spines are so crunchy. But I'm spreading the word about the acceptability of taking a knife to lettuce at the dining table.

Here's that recipe:

Cafe Caesar for Romaine Hearts
Print recipe only here

Serves 4

INGREDIENTS
2 cloves garlic
2-3 anchovy fillets
1 T red wine vinegar
1 T lemon juice
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil, best quality
Fresh ground pepper

METHOD
Peel the garlic and and pound in a mortar and pestle, mashing it up. Add the anchovy fillets and continue to mash into a paste.

Measure the lemon juice and vinegar into a small measuring cup. Add the garlic/anchovy mash and whisk with a fork to combine. Slowly whisk in the olive oil. Add salt and pepper to taste.

SERVING
Stack individual Romaine leaves on large plates. Drizzle some dressing on top. Using a vegetable peeler, peel long ribbons of Parmesan or Grana Padano off a large block. Serve with croutons, if desired.

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A New Summer Salad

This fab summer side salad is destined to be on my summer playlist forever. I had at a friend's home in Lake Geneva, WI. I've been looking for some couscous recipes and was delighted to find a summery one. I made mine over the weekend (and enjoyed some today for lunch) with just mint, but next time I'll try a combo of fresh dill and mint. The garbanzos and feta give it some heft as a lunch.

I'd be remiss if I didn't tout the reduced fat feta from Trader Joe's. It's more than does the cheese trick on all sorts of things: atop lamb burgers, in a Greek salad, and here as well. Athenos does a good reduced fat feta, but it's like twice the price. We consume very little cheese and I often throw away about half a brick of feta, so I appreciate the lower price point on the TJ variety.

Anyway, here's that recipe:

Couscous Summer Salad
Print recipe only here

Serves 6-8 as a side dish

INGREDIENTS
1 cup dry couscous, cooked according to
1/2 Vidalia onion, chopped
1 English cucumber, peeled, seeded and diced
1 can chick peas, drained and rinsed
1/4 cup fresh herbs - parsley, dill, mint, basil in any combination
1/2 Cup crumbled Feta cheese (or more)

Dressing
2-3 T good Olive Oil
2 - 3 limes, juiced
Salt and pepper to taste

METHOD
Follow the directions on the package for cooking the couscous. Allow to cool to room temperature while prepping the veg. Add all other fresh ingredients once the couscous has cooled. Toss with the dressing and serve. Keeps well for a few days.

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Focacce with Fontina, Peppers and Onions

This focacce was a total accident of leftovers. I had a bunch of peppers and onions, a spare piece of pizza dough leftover from a dinner party (I served Chanterelle Pizzas and Prosciutto-Arugula pizzas as appetizers) and a small piece of fontina - all the ingredients for a perfect little lunchtime smackerel.

The intention was to take it on our transcontinental train trip, but it was completely pillaged before I could slice and wrap it. I will make it again, and make it often, and I recommend you do the same. Use any veg or nice cheese you have on hand, and serve it up anytime. It would make an excellent lunch, picnic food, or appetizer. And don't be afraid of making pizza dough. The dough is pretty resilient. Here's that recipe:

Foccace with Fontina, Peppers and Onions
Print recipe only here

INGREDIENTS
1/3 recipe Pizza Dough
2-4 T olive oil
1 clove garlic
1/4 cup grated fontina
2 T grated Parmesan
1/2 onion, sliced crosswise and sauteed gently
1/2 red pepper, julienned and sauteed gently
1 ripe tomato, sliced
Kosher salt
Chili flakes (optional)

METHOD
Mix pizza dough earlier in the day, or the day before. Knead into a smooth ball, coat a bowl with olive oil and rub oil onto surface of dough. Cover well with plastic wrap.  Allow to rise at room temp for 2-3 hours, or until doubled. (If making the day before just stick the wrapped bowl in the fridge.)  Punch down dough and let rise again, about 45 minutes. Punch down again and divide into three even portions. Knead each well. Let sit, covered with a kitchen towel for about 10 minutes. If making uno solo foccace you can oil a ziploc bag and freeze the other portions.

Saute the onions. Reserve. Using the same pan (once the onions are out of it) saute the peppers. Reserve. Slice the tomato, grate the cheeses and reserve all.

Lightly oil a baking sheet (I used a 12x17 sheetpan). Lightly flour the counter and roll out one of the dough balls into a shape similar to that of the baking sheet. Rotate the dough as necessary and add flour sparingly, but make sure the dough isn't sticking to the counter. If it shrinks back a lot, let it rest for another 5 minutes, then try again. Once you get it rolled out (it should be about 1/4 to 1/2 inch thick, transfer it to the sheetpan. Don't be nervous!

Preheat the oven to 500, with a baking stone if you have one.

Let the dough sit for about 20 minutes. Prep the olive oil: press one clove of garlic into a small bowl. Pour in about 2-4 tablespoons of olive oil and stir. When the dough has risen a bit (after the 20 minutes sitting time) use your fingers to dimple it all over. Then use a pastry brush (or drizzle with a spoon) to brush the surface of the dough with oil. Don't worry about using all the oil, just baste the dough evenly.

Sprinkle the surface with a pinch or two of kosher salt (and chili flakes, if you like). Then sprinkle the fontina evenly over the surface. Top with the sliced tomato, then the onions and peppers, and the parm on top.

Sprinkle with another little pinch of salt and drizzle the extra oil over any exposed tomato, then bake for 6-10 minutes. Every oven is different, and the thickness of the dough will vary baking times. Just keep watch (without opening the oven door too many times) and pull it out when it's nice and golden. Reserve for 5-10 minutes before slicing and serving.

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Home fries, home slice!

I have a mental picture of the dude (read: nerd) who inquired of Google, "What does 'Wasabi, home slice' mean?" Even my kids know Wasabi is more than a spicy, expensive root that is usually replaced by a cheaper preparation of horseradish, mustard and green food coloring. Wasabi is a one-word interrogative statement employed by hipsters (read: metro-nerds) when seeking information from other hipsters usually as a direct question of current emotional well-being or purpose. Translated into improper English: "What's up?"

Home slice, on the other hand, is what you call your homie, your paisano, your brother from another mother, even your children.

Anyhoo, I gave up eating potatoes for breakfast several years ago because I just love them so darned much and they were making me pudgy. I'm more moderate now and do eat them sometimes - more like 1-2 times a month. This morning I tried them a new way, following this recipe from Simply Recipes. They were so, so good. There was some distrust of the onion among the natives. But, oh! I will enjoy having them again in the distant future.

One further note: I made them with peeled, uncooked russets. I think if you use cooked potatoes they will come out approximately like the delicious breakfast potatoes at Toast.

That's all.

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Legumes for a Winter's Lunch

I have two favorite winter lunches, beloved for their warmth, simplicity and speed of preparation. They are Black Beans and Curried Lentils. Both are simultaneously light and hearty, have a soupy consistency and cook up in 20 minutes or less. And the leftovers are even better - just boil gently for a few minutes in a small saucepan with an extra splash of water.

To make black beans all you really need is a can of beans, a clove of garlic and some onion. If you've got some cilantro or a jalapeno rolling around your vegetable drawer you can add them but don't abandon the recipe if you've got no green. I don't care for dairy on my legumes and I rarely have cotija on hand, but a smidgen of that is quite delightful. Here's that recipe:

Black Beans
Print recipe only here

Serves 1-2 for lunch

INGREDIENTS
1-2 t canola oil
1 clove garlic, pressed
1/4 to 1/2 medium onion, finely chopped
One can black beans

OPTIONAL:
1 T cilantro, finely chopped
1 T cotija, crumbled or grated or sour cream

METHOD
Heat the canola oil over medium heat in a small-medium saucepan. Add the onion and garlic and gently saute - about 2-3 minutes.  Add the beans and stir to combine. Cook for about 5-7 minutes.  Add cilantro, and salt and pepper to taste.

Transfer to a bowl and top with cotjia or a small dollop of light sour cream if you must.

Now, the curried lentils. I'm sure this hinges on a good curry powder. I use the sweet (mild) curry powder from the Spice House.  And I add a dash of chili flakes which don't add heat, just a bit of excitement. I use chili flakes like salt and pepper - just for the slightest kick - adding them to a saute pan along with garlic or onions.  As for the legume part, I've been buying the beautiful red lentils from the bulk bins at Whole Foods. This is a great description of the differences between lentil colors/varieties, pulled from the Mayo Clinic's nutrition pages:

Brown lentils. The least expensive, they soften when cooked and can become mushy. Use for soups.
Green lentils. Also called French lentils, these have a nuttier flavor and stay firm when cooked. Green lentils are the best choice for salads.
Red lentils. The fastest cooking, these lose their shape and turn golden when cooked. They taste milder and sweeter than green lentils. Use them for purees and Indian dals.

Anyhoo, the red are a great choice for lunch since they're ready in 15-20 minutes. Here's that recipe:

Masoor Dal, or Curried Lentils
Print recipe only here

Serves 1-2 for lunch

INGREDIENTS
3 ounces red lentils (about 1/3 cup)
1/2 medium onion, thinly sliced
1/2 t salt
1-2 t canola oil
pinch of chili flakes
2 t sweet curry powder
1 1/2 cups water

METHOD
In a small or medium saucepan, heat the oil. When hot, add the chili flakes. When the pepper darkens, add the curry powder and the onion. Saute for 1-2 minutes. Add water, lentils and salt to the pan and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to a simmer, and cover. Cook for 10-15 minutes. Taste for seasoning, adding more curry or salt as necessary.

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Zero to Two: Pondering meat quantity

Meat is not something I really love - I can take it or leave it. But I have a really hard time getting excited about anything that bills itself as vegan or vegetarian. A friend recently cooked and served a vegan chili for a meeting I was attending and before I even tried it I felt sorry for myself for having to eat it. I assumed it was going to be loaded with some weird fake meat. It turned out to be a Rick Bayless recipe, one I enjoyed immensely, have cooked myself and passed along. There's no fake meat - it's really a rice and beans dish. I cooked it for a crowd of over 100 for a catering event, along with the usual suspects (chopped fresh cilantro and red onion, jalapeno rounds, hot sauce, sour cream and shredded Jack) and had zero left over. Being a RB recipe the chili is really healthy, though you can throw it all off kilter with the addition of dairy. I like my chili flourished with a burst of cilantro and red onion.

On the other end of the vegan-carnivore spectrum is the two-meat-feast that has become our modus operandi for holiday entertaining.  It's decadent, to be sure, and extraordinary, in the truest sense of the word. This year our Thanksgiving buffet included the traditional turkey but also a  beef tenderloin. My good friend Robin counseled me through my first beef tenderloin this summer. It's really quite simple. The hardest thing for me was overcoming my fear or ruining an expensive piece of meat. But if you follow Ina Garten's straightforward method you can't go wrong. Well, you can if you cut it poorly. I had a helper at a party this summer who cut the gorgeous filet  in very thin slices reducing it to a deli platter of roast beef. That was unfortunate. My husband did the honors at Thanksgiving, and set out of gorgeous platter of nearly one-inch thick slices, plated in an overlapping line on a long platter.

And somewhere in the middle are the smaller portions of animal protein we eat most nights. Four ounces of that beef filet has just under 3 grams of saturated fat. I generally serve 4 to five-ounce portions of lean animal protein, including fish and skinless chicken breasts. That amount suits our bodies and never weighs us down. My portions are always challenged by the butcher or fishmonger, though. I guessing it's a combination of them trying to drive sales and me purchasing smaller portions than most. What size portions do you serve at home?

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On Steve Jobs and Potato and Maui Onion Soup

I've been thinking about making this soup since last week when Steve Jobs died. The link? Kona Village Resort, where my husband and I honeymooned (sixteen years ago this week!) and spent several subsequent family vacations. Jobs was a frequent visitor there and we saw him once or twice.

There were strict but unstated rules about technology at Kona Village: no phones, devices or laptops allowed on the beach (or really in the public areas). There were no telephones or televisions in the hales (thatch roofed bungalows). Being at KVR meant unplugging. Relaxing. But no one ever bothered Steve, who I recall on one particular morning, plunking away on his laptop on the lanai, as other guests mingled between tables and the outdoor breakfast buffet.

The food there was good. Entrees were not usually anything to write home about but the fresh fruit, local veggies and fish were always wonderful. Two things were my favorite on the menu: the French Toast, which I ate with ying-yang puddles of maple and coconut syrup, and the Cream of Potato and Maui Onion soup. Both contained enough dairy fat to sink an outrigger canoe.

KVR made other food introductions for me. Thanks to the generosity of my west coast family for whom a trip to Hawaiʻi is just a hop, skip and a jump, I almost always have a bottle of coconut syrup and a jar of Volcano Island White Honey in my pantry.

Kona Village suffered substantial damages as a result of the March 2011 tsunami and has been closed since. I do hope they reopen. Where else can you wake to the delicate but relentless chirping of a thousand birds? Where else can you watch a donkey picking its way over a hardened mass of black lava? Where else is the air is scented by plumeria? Next door at the Four Seasons Hualalai? Death first!

Well, soup first, anyway. Now is a good time of year to pick up a sweet onion. I got a fairly generic one at Trader Joes. Other varieties of sweet onions include Vidalia, from Georgia, and Walla Walla, from Washington State. Just pick up a big one. I use a scale for this soup to make sure the proportions are right, though I did include rough estimates so you can make the soup without a scale.

Potato and Maui Onion Soup
Print recipe only here

INGREDIENTS
2 T olive oil (or 1 T oil and 1 T unsalted butter)
1 large sweet onion - Maui, Vidalia - trimmed and chopped (250 g)
4 medium-large Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled and chopped (500 g)
32 ounces Imagine Organic chicken broth
1/2 cup water
Salt and fresh ground white pepper (if you have it, otherwise use black)

METHOD
Set a medium-large soup pan over a medium flame and add the olive oil (or combination with butter). Add the onion and turn down the flame a bit. Sauté for 4-5 minutes until softened. Add the potatoes and stir to combine. Sauté for 2 minutes. Add the broth and water and bring to a low boil. Turn down flame and simmer, uncovered, for about 15 minutes, or until the potatoes are cooked through. Turn off heat and allow to cool. If you are in a rush, transfer it to a bowl and set that bowl in a bigger bowl filled with ice. Stir until the soup is at room temperature.

Blend the soup, working in batches, and strain through your finest mesh strainer into a clean soup pot. Reheat and taste for seasoning. If it's too think you can add more stock or dairy (nonfat, lowfat, heavy cream - your choice, but please no that the soup is plenty cream without the addition of any dairy). But if you deem it too thick you can add up to a cup of liquid.

Serve and enjoy.

If you want to fancy it up a bit, you could add one of three accoutrements:

1. Sautéed leek - Trim white park of leek into 3 inch pieces, then cut in half so you have two half circles. Separate the leaves a bit, then slice very thin strips. Sauté gently in a bit of olive oil until just softened, then spoon them into a light, floating puddle in the center of the soup.

2. Chives - finely chopped and scattered in the center of the bowl.

3. Old school dollop of sour cream or creme fraiche, in the center.

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Where to Buy Nuts

Nuts! I keep a lot of nuts in my fridge. The healthy oils in nuts will cause them to go rancid, so storing them away from light and heat is key. The freezer works, too, especially for longer-term storage.

Out of the fridge, it's really important to toast them. Even a scant five minutes in a preheated oven will release some of the oils and flavor. And don't assume that just because you're baking that banana bread that you don't need to toast the pecans before adding them to the batter. Toast, gentle reader, and your banana bread will be that much better.

Most of my nuts come from Trader Joe's. The biggest surprise is the quality of the big bags of Kirkland walnuts and pecans at Costco. But you really need to be going thru lots of nuts to bother - they're three-pound bags. Here's where I do my nut shopping:

Almonds, whole, unsalted - Whole Foods
Almonds, whole, reduced sodium - Trader Joe's
Almonds, sliced - Trader Joe's. I love sliced almonds on my cereal, in granola, on quinoa, and of course, the almond croissant.
Almond meal - Trader Joe's
Pecans, halves and pieces - Trader Joe's or, during the fall/holiday season where I use many, many pecans, Costco. The large bags of pecans are some of the best tasting nuts around, and make for an amazing pecan pie.
Walnuts - Costco, in the large bag.
Hazelnuts - Trader Joe's. I buy the raw ones, then roast them and rub them between my hands to remove the skins before making biscotti or tea cakes.
Pine nuts, a/k/a pignoli - Trader Joe's. I get the raw ones and toast them myself for about 2 minutes in the toaster oven before tossing them in the Cuisinart to make pesto.

And...
Pumpkin Seeds and Sunflower Seeds - I find the best price and quality at Trader Joe's. Both seeds are essential to Granola.
Peanuts in the Shell - I like the Cubs ones they sell at Dominick's. The Planters ones are horrid.
Cocktail Peanuts - We always have these around for GORP, the world's best snack. I get Planter's low sodium cocktail peanuts at Target.
Blue Diamond Smokehouse Almonds - These are a serious treat. I hardly want to even get anyone else hooked on them. The damage was done when Costco carried them. Since the little cans just won't do, I pick up one-pound packages at Walgreen's.

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The Great Scape

Garlic scapes, the wily shoot that grows out of the top of the garlic plant, appear for just a few weeks each year. Lucky for me, they appeared in my sister's CSA basket. She turned them into pesto and me into a knute. (I got better.) No, no...she turned me into a FAN of the scape.

On Beth's recommendation, I used Dorie Greenspan's garlic scape pesto recipe with a few adjustments. Be forewarned - this is for serious garlic lovers only. Scapes have a mellow garlic flavor, but it's still garlic as the base of the recipe. To be sure: Your. Breath. Will. Stink.

Use the prepared pesto like you would any pesto - tossed into pasta, slathered on crostini, stirred into soups, or used as a marinade or salad dressing base. The farmer who grew these scapes recommended an alternate preparation: trimming them to green bean length and sauteeing them. I might try that sometime, tossing some slivered almonds and hot chili flakes into the saute pan as well.

Garlic Scape Pesto
Makes about 1 cup

10 garlic scapes, chopped (bulbous flower removed)
¼ cup finely grated Parmesan
¼ cup pine nuts, gently roasted 2-3 minutes in a 350 oven
About ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
kosher salt

METHOD
Place scapes, parm, cooled pine nuts and a pinch of salt in the bowl of a small food processor. Process until smooth and well ground. Add olive oil and process into a paste. Adjust seasoning. It is ready to use.

To store, transfer pesto to a small bowl and press onto the surface a piece of plastic wrap.

Further cooking:
White Bean and Garlic Scapes Dip - The NY Times

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On the Side: Parsley Cashew Green Beans

Not long ago green beans won a spot on the short but growing list of veggies enjoyed by resident youngsters. We've been eating them a lot so I've been dishing them out all sorts of ways: with pesto, with shallots and a smidgen of pancetta, Szechuan style (sauteed in sesame/canola oil with lots of garlic and chili flakes) and, shown above, with parsley and cashews.

It's not hard to make fresh green beans taste great; many a cook would add a pat of butter and call it a great day. But in the Pinch kitchen, where butter is only used for baking, more thought goes into cooked veggies. Plus, the extra flavors make a new vegetable more familiar for my kids who are accustomed to fresh herbs and garlic.

As for the green bean vs. haricot vert choice, I'm partial to the elegant haricot vert (I like my asparagus on the slender side as well) but will buy any beautiful green bean. It amazes me how frequently markets put out sorry looking green beans. Haricots verts are quite versatile - fine on their own, but also good as an addition. They're especially great mixed in with thin spaghetti; they're such great team players they practically wind around your fork.

Parsley Cashew Green Beans
Print recipe only here

Serves 4 as a side dish

INGREDIENTS
8 oz haricots verts or green beans
1 T olive oil
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
pinch crushed chili flakes
2 T fresh parsley, chopped
2 T cashews, finely chopped

METHOD
Trim bottoms off green beans, rinse and set aside.

Heat oil in a 10-inch skillet over medium-high heat. Add chili flakes and garlic and saute briefly. Add grean beans and saute 1-2 minutes. Add parsley and cashews and continue to saute until cooked to your liking. Add kosher salt to taste and serve.

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Making Pizza Margherita in the Home Kitchen

I love pizza. Love it. So when I resolved to cut the saturated fat in our diet pizza was something that had to be reworked. I take back what I said about the potatoes au gratin. I hate those stupid potatoes in comparison to how much I love this pizza. Made with about 2 ounces (per pizza) of a low-fat mozzarella, it delivers every good thing that the fat-laden pizzas do, without destroying your body.

A traditional Neopolitan Pizza Margherita is made with whole basil leaves, uncooked tomato puree and fresh Buffalo mozzarella, the wondermous, soft, round soaked-in-brine cheese. My version is slightly different. In addition to the cheese alteration (shredded low fat instead of sliced soft cheese), I use chiffonade Basil - very thinly sliced leaves - and bury them beneath the cheese layer. Uncooked puree is a must. I run whole peeled tomatoes (the Muir Glen variety is my fave) thru a food mill - and voila! - pizza sauce!

Regarding the pizza stone - I do use one, but you certainly can make pizza without it. I have a double electric oven in my current kitchen (not recommending this setup, though it's been serving me just fine) and the stone resides pretty much permanently in the lower oven. I don't bake cookies on it, but roasting meats and veggies seem to benefit from the stone, especially in the electric oven. Electric is a drier heat than gas, and the stone, which retains some moisture, balances the dryness.

One more note - I really only make these for my family. They're time consuming to produce and like waffles, where you're cooking one at a time, don't easily allow the cook to sit down to dinner with everyone else. They make a great weekend dinner - and pretty good leftovers too. To reheat pizza, bake in 500° oven for about three minutes.

Pizza Margerita
Print recipe only here

Makes three pizzas, serving about four people

For the pizza dough
Combine in the bowl of a mixer equipped with a dough hook:

* 1 cup milk
* 1 cup hot water
* 2 T dry yeast
* 2 t sugar or honey
* 1 T olive oil

Add to the liquid ingredients:

* 4 cups flour (I use a combination of white all-purpose and whole wheat)
* ¾ t kosher salt

Using a dough hook mix until the dough comes together, adding more flour as necessary. Once it comes together, dump it out onto a floured workspace and knead by hand until smooth.

Rub surface with olive oil, place in an oiled bowl and cover well with plastic wrap. Let sit about an hour until doubled.

Punch downm, knead briefly, and let it rise a second time until doubled.

Knead again and divide into 3 equal sized portions. Knead each ball until smooth, cover with a cloth or plastic wrap, and let sit at least five minutes before rolling out.

Preparing the pizzas

* Preheat oven to 500°, putting your pizza stone in first if you’re using one.
* Sprinkle a baking sheet with a thin layer of semolina
* Roll out one of the dough balls as thin as you like it (use a rolling pin to get it pretty thin, then you can stretch it with your fists. When you’ve got it as thin as you can get it, place on the prepared pan.
* Baste the dough with the olive oil/garlic (see MISE EN PLACE on the recipe page)
* Ladle about ¼- ½ cup of the pureed tomatoes onto the dough and spread out evenly using the back of the ladle
* Sprinkle with kosher salt, chiffonade basil and chili flakes (crush them between your fingers as you sprinkle them on the dough)
* Top with as much mozzarella as you like, usually between ¼ and ½ pound per pizza. The low fat version of 2-3 ounces low fat mozzarella also tastes great. Slide the whole thing in the oven for five and a half minutes or until the crust is slightly browned and the cheese is a little browned. If you're not using a stone the baking time will likely be a bit longer - just keep an eye on it.
* Cool slightly, slice, and serve.

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Americana Summer Salads

When I lived in Telluride my neighbor, Antonietta, would bring me stack of pizzelle and a big bowl of her three-bean salad at the start of every summer. This provided a needed watering of my southern Italian roots. Really my Italian-American roots, in the case of the canned bean salad.

I loved Antonietta's old-fashioned three-bean salad (her pizzelle were good too, but my allegiance will always be with the anise-spiked ones of my youth). I always said I would come over one time so she should teach me to make the salad myself but that never happened.

So imagine my squeal of delight when this caught my eye: Classic Three-Bean Salad in an email from America's Test Kitchen. These are the same serious people who preside over Cook's Illustrated. I'm forever grateful to them for teaching me to make pulled pork but often I feel sorry for them. They seem to take NO pleasure in cooking. The pity may cease if they continue to provide me with great recipes.

I'm excited that the Classic Three-Bean Salad dressing incorporates fresh beans while keeping with the similar flavors as Antonietta's, mainly parsley and red onion. The recipe is a lot like my favorite coleslaw where the dressing is boiled to dissolve sugar. I'm going to make this on Wednesday after picking up the green and yellow beans at the farmer's market.

Classic Three-Bean Salad
Print recipe only here


INGREDIENTS
* 2/3 cup red wine vinegar
* 1/3 cup granulated sugar
* 1/3 cup canola oil
* 2 medium cloves garlic, pressed
* 1 teaspoon kosher salt
* Fresh ground black pepper
* 8 ounces green beans, cut into 1-inch pieces
* 8 ounces yellow wax beans, cut into 1-inch pieces
* 1 16-ounce can red kidney beans, drained and rinsed
* ½ medium red onion, chopped
* ¼ cup minced fresh parsley leaves

METHOD
Heat vinegar, sugar, oil, garlic, salt, and pepper to taste in small saucepan over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until sugar dissolves, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat and cool to room temperature.

Fill a large saucepan with water and 1 tablespoon kosher salt and bring to a boil. Add green and yellow beans; cook until crisp-tender, about 3-5 minutes. Meanwhile, fill a medium bowl with ice water. When beans are done, drain and immediately plunge into ice water to stop cooking process. Let sit until chilled, about 2 minutes. Drain well.

Add green and yellow beans, kidney beans, onion, and parsley to vinegar mixture; toss well to coat. Cover and refrigerate overnight to let flavors meld. Let stand at room temperature 30 minutes before serving. Salad can be covered and refrigerated up to 4 days.

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Tabouli Time

It’s full on warm today in Chicago; the AC came on automatically in my car this afternoon. I love these warm days of spring. The new leaves are turning a deeper green, promising warmer days ahead. I’ve started planning my container gardens. All I can think about are the summer fruits and vegetables I’ve missed so much. In the middle of Whole Foods I thought Tabouli! There will be tabouli tonight! I sped over to the bulk foods aisle and filled a bag with bulgar wheat, tabouli’s principal ingredient.

Bulgar is durum wheat that has been parboiled and had the bran removed. Despite the de-branning, buglar is considered a nutrient rich cereal, with a low glycemic index (low GI foods release glucose more slowly and steadily).

The Arabic salad also known as tabbouleh is a heavily dependent on access to good ripe tomatoes. I make mine with garlic, lemon juice, parsley and tomato. Because cut tomatoes need to be consumed quickly, leftover or day-old tabouli is never delicious. When my kitchen was in disrepair a few weeks ago I sampled the tabouli from a new restaurant nearby whose friendly proprietors made me optimistic about the quality of their food. Turned out they’re more charming than talented. The tabouli was not fresh and thus inedible. Shortchanged, I’ve had a hankering for the good stuff ever since.

I'm often asked how to serve it. I think of it as an Arabic micro-panzanella, a bread salad. I'd never eat bread salad with bread, so I eat tabouli as a side salad. Others can't resist having good pita bread on hand. Certainly a pita stuffed with sliced lemon chicken and several spoonfuls of tabouli would make a delightful sandwich.

Tabouli
Print recipe only here

Serves 6-8
Combine, cover and let stand 20 minutes:
• 1 cup dry bulgar wheat
• 1 ½ cup boiling water

Add and combine:
• 1 ½ t salt
• ¼ cup fresh lemon juice
• 1 T garlic, pressed or minced
• 2 T olive oil

Cover and refrigerate 2-3 hours. Then add:
• 2 cups chopped tomato, seeded
• 1 cup parsley, finely chopped
• Fresh ground pepper

Taste, adjust seasoning as necessary and serve.

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6 Other Ways to Enjoy Pesto

The title introduces other ways since I've already covered my most common pesto preparation, Chicken Pesto Pasta with Haricots Verts.

On Monday I was planning to make salmon salad with pesto dressing. This fell apart when I ran out of prep time. But the dinner morphed into something we hadn’t enjoyed in awhile: roast salmon with pesto. I served it with a baby spinach salad and artichokes. It took me about 25 minutes to prepare and it was really good. Here are the components:

Roast Salmon with Pesto Sauce
Salmon – Rub with a bit of olive oil, salt and pepper and roast at about 375° for 10-12 minutes. When plating, top with a spoonful of pesto and spread evenly, allowing some of the salmon to still be visible around the edges.
Pesto
Steamed Artichokes
Baby Spinach Salad

Another dinner we haven't enjoyed in awhile is pesto pizza made on Alvarado Street sprouted pizza crusts. For a quick, healthy meal make a half batch of pesto (per one pizza crust), top with mozzarella and bake at 450° for about 5-6 minutes or until mozzarella is melted. If only I could persuade Whole Foods to carry the crusts.

I make pesto fresh every time because it doesn't retain its awesomeness once it has sat in the fridge. If you want to test that opinion and refrigerate your leftovers transfer the same to a small bowl, spread to make an even surface, and cover with a generous pour of olive oil. The oil will act as an air barrier and will help retain color and flavor. Cover the bowl tightly with plastic wrap or a fitting lid. The items listed below make excellent use of any leftovers:

1. Make it into a salad dressing with romaine, chicken, jicama, and lots of salad veggies. For dressing take 1/4 cup pesto and add ½ cup olive oil and 1/3 cup fresh lemon juice, or more to taste.
2. Slathered crostini for an appetizer;
3. Stirred into Minestrone or other soup just before service;
4. Tossed with steamed green beans as a side dish

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Hearty Vegetarian: Herb Fritatta con Pepperonata

Usually when I eat a vegetarian meal that doesn’t involve pasta I think, this is nice, but I’m going to need to eat again in 15 minutes. I’m sure my vegetarian friends don’t agree, but plants don’t quite satisfy. Obviously frittatas aren’t plants. They aren’t vegan either. But they do constitute a hearty vegetarian meal – and a delicious one at that.

Fresh herbs and a sweet-sour pepperonata make this a unique sandwich. And it’s easy to make year round. I made it recently after harvesting herbs from my thriving AeroGarden . Pepperonata is like a cooked antipasto or Mediterranean chutney. It's comprised of red pepper, red onion, tomato and garlic. A splash of red wine vinegar gives it a tangy punch.

The herb frittata comes - almost without alteration - from Evan Kleiman’s Pizza Pasta Panini, a cookbook spawned by her LA restaurant, Angeli Caffè.

Herb Fritatta con Pepperonata
Print recipe only here
Serves 4

Pepperonata
In 1-2 T olive oil, sauté over medium heat:
• 3-4 garlic cloves, pressed or finely chopped
• ½ red onion, finely chopped

After a few minutes, add:
• 2 red peppers, cut into long, ½-inch wide strips

Sauté for another few minutes, stirring frequently, until the peppers soften. Add:
• ¼ cup red wine vinegar

Cover and cook for a few minutes. Then add:
• 3 Roma tomatoes, peeled, seeded and coarsely chopped OR ½ cup Muir Glen canned fire-roasted crushed tomatoes

Cook uncovered for another few minutes until the tomatoes become saucy and the mixture thickens a bit. Add:
• 1-2 T sugar
• Kosher salt and fresh pepper to taste

Set the pepperonata aside to cool.

Frittata
In a mixing bowl, whisk together:
• 8 eggs

Add:
• ¼ cup Parmesan
• ¾ cup mixed fresh herbs
• Pinch kosher salt and fresh ground pepper

Preheat 1 T olive oil in a 10-12-inch nonstick skillet over medium heat. Also spray the surface with canola spray.

Lower the heat to medium-low.

Pour the eggs in and using high heat spatula (or wooden spoon) stir eggs gently, scraping up sides and bottom, until the mixture is somewhat set (more solid than liquid).

To cook the top I find it's easiest to place the whole pan under the broiler – just keep a eye on it! Or feel free to attempt flipping (sliding the frittata out onto a plate and flipping that way works well).

When cooked, slide the frittata out onto a plate or cutting board.

Assembling frittata sandwich
Prep baguette or ciabatta, toasting if desired (you can also melt some provolone or mozzarella on the bread).

Drizzle a bit of the pepperonata sauce on the bottom half of the bread. Cut a wedge of frittata for each and place a piece on the bread. Top with a spoonful of pepperonata and serve.

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