Recipes that let the alliums be the star of the show. The allium family of vegetables is at the heart of all cooking. Across cultures and geography, alliums are the not so secret, secret of all chefs. I was once asked to tell someone which dishes had onions and garlic in them and I realized, it…
Month: October 2020
Artichoke
An ancient vegetable demystified. The artichokes we eat are the unopened flower buds of the artichoke thistle plant. Each plant will make several artichokes during the spring, and there is a second harvest in the late fall. This vegetable from the Mediterranean region was domesticated from the cardoon, selecting the plants to produce more and…
Lettuce
How to Make a Salad When I went to college, my new roommate would grab a salad from the salad bar and come back to the table with a second bowl; they were both plastic. She would then put the second bowl on top of the salad and shake the mixture to disperse the dressing…
Celery and Celeriac
Celery tends to only show up around Thanksgiving, where it is the star ingredient in turkey stuffing. As a child, my mom made a traditional meal, and I suppose I knew celery was in the dressing, but I didn’t realize it provides a crucial flavor to the dish, and without it, it wouldn’t taste the…
Carrots
This gateway vegetable is so sweet, it makes the perfect snack. Even though carrots are available year-round, there are different varieties grown at different times of the year for better yield and to work with the growing conditions. Bringing them Home If you have a full bunch, remove the tops. If the greens are fresh, use them…
How much work for a bowl of soup?
This past week I cooked something that made me question my mission of cooking at home. I love to cook. I can make a complete healthy and tasty dinner in less time than it takes to get in the car and go through the drive-through. It does help that I have many years of experience,…
7 Tips to Make Your Sourdough Easier
If you are struggling with your bread, I have help. I made my first sourdough starter in 2008. I knew all of the best bakeries in the Bay Area where I could buy the best bread, but I wanted to make it myself. This came in handy. Soon I would live where I couldn’t easily…