Category: The Way We Eat
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Letting the market guide the menu
Of course, I mean the farmers’ market, not the financial or stock markets. One of the joys of living in Southern California is the year-round farmers’ markets. It is possible to fairly routinely prepare meals from what is market-fresh, in season and locally grown. There are farmers’ markets in most of the towns and cities…
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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 “ears” of the husks and the silk…
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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 to make one of my wife’s favorite side dishes: Grilled…
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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 squashes. One of the tenderloins was destined…
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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 the dish was cheap and quick to prepare between clients. Another is that the aroma was…
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Quick and easy dinner on a cool Spring evening
The days have been a little cool this week, with the cloudy mornings and sunny afternoons that are typical this time of the year. So I wasn’t in the mood to grill yesterday, and I wanted to make something new (to us), but fairly quick and easy. I scouted around a bit and came up…
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Vegetarian Dinner on Monday
We try to eat a vegetarian meal for dinner once or twice a week. We do this because we think it’s a healthful thing to do, and because, frankly, vegetarian meals are often cheap. We sometimes eat the sort-of “standard” vegetarian dishes such as beans and rice, or spinach ravioli with a simple tomato sauce.…
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Baking Bread – Part 1
There are some excellent breads available at the local farmers markets near us. We particularly enjoy the multigrain loaf from The Rustic Loaf, which we can get at the Laguna Beach Farmers Market. About nine or ten months ago, I started to wonder whether I could bake equally good bread at home, and do so…
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Marcella Hazan’s Chicken Cacciatore
My mom made Chicken Cacciatore when I was a kid, and I remember liking it a lot. To be fair, there were very few foods that I didn’t like, a trait I took with me into adulthood. Sadly, I don’t have her recipe. So, when I got the urge to make this dish a few…
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“Making do” dinner tonight
Another “make do” dinner tonight. Frittata with red onions, garlic, mushrooms, tomatoes, and a little parmigiano-reggiano. I let it partially set on the stovetop and then browned it up just a bit under the broiler. Garnished with fresh basil; served with our usual salad and some bread. The pan is one of my oldest, made…
Thinking Man's Kitchen 