How are you all doing during this extraordinary time? Hoping you are all well. Not much has changed for me – the farmer’s markets were already my social life and although they won’t let me handle the produce not much has changed. I’ve been filming a lot of videos for the cookbook, frantically using the…
Flower Salad
Pure theater that will stop everyone in their tracks. Use organically grown flowers and leaves. Gently rinse only if necessary. Serve on top of lettuce, lightly sprinkled with olive oil and your mildest vinegar; Champagne vinegar preferred. The flowers here are nasturtium flowers and leaves, chervil flowers, chive flowers, pansies and violas, dame’s rocket, and…
Salade (Almost) Nicoise
No tuna here, so I’ve used my French Potato Salad and my French Mustard Vinaigrette. Oui, oui. The large heirloom tomatoes are done. They’re still around but don’t have that sun-ripened brightness that makes them queen of the garden throughout the hot days of summer. Cherry tomatoes hold their taste longer, probably because they are…
French Potato Salad
This is from Ina Garten’s first book, Barefoot in Paris. I only make potato salad once a year, usually in the dead of summer to add some weight to green leafy salads. This is the one I make. The secret is to add the champagne vinegar and olive oil when the potatoes are still hot….
Melon Salad with Lime and Aleppo Red Pepper
Wow. This was a surprise. Lewis and I were taste testing these melons after I made the photograph below. Very, very sweet, especially the bright orange Ambrosia melon. I’ve only made fruit salad a few times, back when I realized the kids would eat more fruit if it was cut into snacking-size pieces. I’m more…
Kendra’s Cucumber Salad
Kendra and Eduardo are visiting for a few days before they head back to grad school and Kendra made us a cucumber salad for our lunch. I ate it with a smile, despite my disdain of raw onions soaked in vinegar. Kendra loves sour things and worked in a Korean restaurant when she and her…
Spring Vegetable Salad with Dijon-Honey-Paprika Dressing and Coconut Bacon
Sonia and I are on a journey to find a suitable replacement for bacon in our baconless life. The desire becomes heightened as warm weather settles in for the summer, because the heirloom tomatoes in the garden, with barely a bloom to be had yet, beckon for BLT’s when nothing else will do. Found a…
Tangerine, Frisee, and Microgreen Salad with Rosemary Croutons, Olives, and Almonds
Had some croutons, a tangerine, and some red beet micro-greens. There’s some frisee below and slivered almonds sprinkled on top. The touch of rosemary with an orange vinaigrette rounded out the flavors, reigning in some of the citrus bite. Citrus can really brighten a winter cloudy afternoon. Especially when you had your heart set on…
Miang Kham: Thai Green Mouthfuls with Ginger Garlic Sauce
Miang Kham, a traditional Thai snack food, translates as ‘little mouthfuls’. This is by far my student’s favorite in my Small Bites from Around the World cooking class, even though it’s the simplest recipe to make. All that’s required is a little gathering of ingredients, a little toasting of dried coconut, some chopping of shallot…
Satsuma Orange and Pomegranate Salad
Here’s a bright New Years’ Day Salad to freshen the morning after an evening of staying up past our bedtimes to welcome 2016. No waxing poetic or wondering how long I’ll last until breaking down from any resolutions made during a confident and optimistic mood somewhere towards the end of December. Let’s not tax ourselves…