My go to baked bean dish for many years has been my Brilliant Baked Beans made with a variety of canned beans. And I love those beans. But eventually, I started fiddling around with dried beans to recreate memories of New England style baked beans I’d enjoyed when I lived in the area. I like those too. Then I started to find fresh shelly beans and October beans at … [Read more...] about Southern Baked Shelly Beans
Fruit and Vegetables
Blueberry Vanilla Buttermilk Cake
Simple ingredients of the best quality produce the most amazing results. It always holds true. Fresh blueberries straight from the farmers’ market, real vanilla and creamy buttermilk, the best you can find. I mulled over ways to dress up the cake, make it more exotic or unusual, but in the end, I decided there is really no justification for that, because it is wonderful in … [Read more...] about Blueberry Vanilla Buttermilk Cake
Blistered Tomato Sauce
Quick, simple and delicious. What more could you want in a summer meal? The trick here is that blistering the tomatoes gives them a rich, almost slow-roasted taste. I love this with the Italianate taste of oregano, but basil or thyme work wonderfully well too. I generally serve this over pasta, but it makes a great topping for bruschetta or a pizza. Blistered Tomato … [Read more...] about Blistered Tomato Sauce
Squash Blossom Quesadillas with Summer Squash Salsa
I love squash blossoms, as I have said before. So imagine my delight on my recent trip to Tepotzlan in the central mountains of Mexico, to find squash blossoms used in a huge variety of dishes. I had freshly made quesadillas with Oaxaca cheese for breakfast each morning, and stalls in the market offered sautéed squash blossoms as an add-in for tacos. The … [Read more...] about Squash Blossom Quesadillas with Summer Squash Salsa
Panzanella Bake
Panzanella a genius example of creative leftover usage. It’s a classic Tuscan salad of stale bread and over-ripe tomatoes, tossed with basil and moistened with olive oil and vinegar. But the beautiful colors and bright fresh flavors make it elegantly simple, the kind of food you imagine yourself throwing together if you lived in a stone house in the Italian hills. This is … [Read more...] about Panzanella Bake
