Grilled Eggplant
Adapted from "Melanzane in Graticola" found in Marcella Hazan's Marcella's Italian Kitchen. This is best with small-to-medium eggplants, up to about 3" in diameter or so. Don't be afraid to be generous with the oil and garlic. The eggplants will ...
Garlic and Ginger Shrimp Stir-Fry with Snow Peas
This recipe is based on one I found in the NY Times Cooking section. It is quick and easy and very tasty.
We typically serve it over brown rice, but the dish is also excellent with jasmine rice or just plain white rice. If you prefer less ...
Two Months in Provence – Recommendations?
My wife used to run a boutique tour company, taking groups of a dozen or so travelers to France and Italy and Turkey. I helped out with her last tour, to Provence in 2013. Provence was magical, and we vowed to return, just the two of us.
Beginn...
First Sweet Corn of the Season
Sweet corn appeared at the farmer's market on Saturday for the first time this year, so I picked up four ears of the yellow variety. I like to roast them in the husks on the grill. There is nothing fancy about this process. Just trim away the long ...
Basil Inspiration
The basil we grow in a pot on our patio has become abundant so I wanted to use some of it before it bolts when the summer heat arrives.
I found some great-looking and perfect-sized zucchini and yellow squashes at the farmer's market, so I decided ...
Grilled Zucchini and Summer Squash with Basil and Parmesan
This recipe is my wife's. It's based on a recipe from Bon Appétit (July, 1999). It makes a tasty side dish and is easy to prepare. Luckily, we can get so-called "summer" squashes almost year-round at the farmers' markets near us. Basil grows well ...
Multigrain Artisan-Style Bread
Making crusty artisan-style bread at home is really very easy and doesn't require much of a time investment. A heavy dutch oven, some kitchen parchment, and a large mixing bowl are the only pieces of equipment you need, other than a hot oven. Flour, ...
Griddled Pork Tenderloin on the Grill
A little frustrated with the early "June gloom" weather we've had for a week or so, I decided to break the mood a little by grilling our dinner the other evening. For this meal, I had two pork tenderloins, roughly 1 lb. each, and a few nice zucchini ...
Pasta Puttanesca
There are several different origin stories about Puttanesca sauce, perhaps all apocryphal. The one most often heard is that it originated with Neapolitan prostitutes at the turn of the 20th century, literally "whore's pasta". One version has it that ...
Hard boiling (and peeling) fresh eggs from the market
We buy eggs from a vendor at the farmer's market in Laguna Beach. Mostly we eat them hard cooked, for breakfast and occasionally on a salad or with some asparagus. They are quite fresh at the time of purchase - at most a couple of days after they ...
