Summer’s high heat days are the time for cold salads that are filling and satisfying, but easy to prepare and to eat. I haven’t reinvented any wheels with this recipe, just taken the classic combination of tomatoes, basil and mozzarella to create a refreshing, simple summer meal. Because when the ingredients are at the peak of freshness, simple is best. I return to this flavor … [Read more...] about Orzo Caprese Pasta Salad with Roasted Garlic Vinaigrette
Vegetables
Fennel Vichyssoise
Throughout these strange months of limited activity, I, like many people, have turned to the kitchen for comfort and distraction. I haven’t been cooking quite as much as I thought I would, and its been a bit of a rollercoaster of success and failure. For myself, I’ve made hamburgers, hot dogs and rich pastas, I’ve been known to have chips and dip for dinner, I’ve made … [Read more...] about Fennel Vichyssoise
Summer Squash Muffins
Sunny yellow summer squash is so abundant here in the summer. If you know anyone who grows it, you’ve probably found a bag of excess stealthily left on your doorstep in the deep of night – when it grows, it really grows. The farmers market is also awash in all varieties of summer squash, and sometimes I find it so cheerful I just can’t say no. But I frequently have one or two … [Read more...] about Summer Squash Muffins
Roasted Fennel Soup with Fennel Parmesan Toast
I love the magic of soup. With such a few ingredients you can create richly flavored and complex bowls of delight. And those bowls can be elegant and sophisticated or hearty and homey. I make this soup while I’m doing other things in the kitchen – cut the vegetables and roast them while putting the dishes away, simmer them in the broth while making a grocery list, blitz it all … [Read more...] about Roasted Fennel Soup with Fennel Parmesan Toast
Smoky Spicy Black-Eyed Pea Stew
As the New Year starts, we turn again to our black-eyed peas for luck. I usually go for something traditionally Southern, but every once in a while, I like to ring the changes and spice things up. This hearty stew has all the cold-weather comfort of old-fashioned Southern black-eyed peas with a fantastic hit of smoke and spice. I’ll admit, I am mostly a … [Read more...] about Smoky Spicy Black-Eyed Pea Stew
