Summer is the time for cold salads – potato and pasta salads being obvious front runners. And no wonder. They are easy to make ahead, packed with flavor and perfect beside a meal off the grill, cold sandwiches, fried chicken, or just a lovely buffet of several cold salads. I am always looking for interesting new ideas for cold summer salads, inspired often … [Read more...] about Rice, Pea and Feta Salad
peas
Green Spring Vegetable Soup
Spring is busting out all over, and so too are the first hints at the green vegetables of the season – asparagus and green peas, balanced with leeks and fennel and fresh herbs. This delicious soup makes the most of all the lovely shades of green that are so evocative of spring, and best of all wastes nothing. It’s perfect for the early days of the farmers market or a spring CSA … [Read more...] about Green Spring Vegetable Soup
Mom’s Dilled Potato Salad
Every once in a while, I get stuck. I feel like I’ve run out of recipe ideas, so I look everywhere for inspiration. I was recently stuck like this, right before summer, and I whined about it to my mom. She simply said “make that potato salad, it’s so good in summer” as if I know exactly what she meant. I didn’t, so she had to explain it to me, and pull out her recipe card box. … [Read more...] about Mom’s Dilled Potato Salad
Chilled Pea Soup with Tendrils and Pods
I was a latecomer to the joy of peas. And I think that may be because, like many people, my first introduction to peas was the canned variety. Mushy, salty, gray-green and generally unappetizing. And so time consuming to pick out of a casserole or pot pie, segregating them on one side of the plate, trying to keep them from rolling back into the good stuff. Frozen peas came … [Read more...] about Chilled Pea Soup with Tendrils and Pods
Peas with Pancetta, Mint and Crème Fraiche
I am still waiting for the bounty of spring vegetables to arrive. It’s almost here, but has not fully taken over, and it’s a few more weeks to the opening of the Farmer’s Market. So in the meantime, my need for something green leads me back to my favorite way of preparing that old standby, frozen peas. Fresh mint, crispy, salty pancetta and creamy crème fraiche make … [Read more...] about Peas with Pancetta, Mint and Crème Fraiche
