The Love of Leeks….and dairy free Mashed Potatoes

The Love of Leeks….and dairy free Mashed Potatoes

  This is part one of a Love Story of Leeks.   I sometimes refer to my Helpers, my crew, the band of ingredients that are my secret weapons.  Friends I can turn to when something isn’t right—if a sauce is bland, or too bright, 

Winter Kale Salad with Feta

Winter Kale Salad with Feta

  We rolled home after days of holiday gorging.  Rolled—- it felt literal. After unloading the car the first thing I did was to search the refrigerator for something green…and not the fuzzy varieties that might be lurking in the back.  Vibrant green was what 

Wild Rice Pilaf or Stuffing

Wild Rice Pilaf or Stuffing

  . Again I bring you an idea that is not new but is always worth revisiting.  This is a great fall dish and could be an alternative side at the Thanksgiving table—sweet and savory, hearty and warming, I think you’ll enjoy it.   Wild 

Kimchi

Kimchi

  Just thinking about my bubbling buddies in the next room makes the salivary glands in the back of my jaw squirt. . I realized this month, when trying unsuccessfully to figure out menus for events next summer, that I had become tired of food. 

Roasted Potatoes and Zucchini with Cinnamon

Roasted Potatoes and Zucchini with Cinnamon

  The title says it all, you don’t really need a recipe…but here I am writing anyway. This is about simplicity: quiet food that doesn’t take much thought or many ingredients but has a hint of unusual.  When I’m at home I often find myself 

Roasted Beet & Corn Salad w/ Cider Syrup Vinaigrette

Roasted Beet & Corn Salad w/ Cider Syrup Vinaigrette

  . I give you more diversions with photos from the latest trip to Lincoln, NE. The Burkholder Project is an inspiring artist studio center and gallery started by Ann Burkholder—over 50 artists are involved with this building.  Wow!  More amazing art!  More amazing warehouses 

Fennel Maple Salad

Fennel Maple Salad

    Cards.  There is an inexplicable calm that comes over me when I see, hold and play with a deck of cards.  Any roadside stop that involves trinkets and whatnot…if there is a pile of decks on the shelf at the very least I 

Cucumber Blueberry Salad with Fresh Sage and Mint

Cucumber Blueberry Salad with Fresh Sage and Mint

  Interesting combination  ¿que no?   This salad came from our fifth Edible Alien Theatre  (performance-art dinner fundraisers we call E.A.T.) production Shadow & Light. The evening’s show was entirely in shadow, the diners surrounded by seven scrims and we used overhead projectors to provide 

Roasted Yam Chili Salad

Roasted Yam Chili Salad

  The simmering sun of summer is in full sweltering swing.  Unless, of course, you are my friend Jase who is cooking the winter stint at the South Pole, then sunlight is only a faded memory and you would be trying like hell to figure 

Lettuce Wraps with Thai Chicken

Lettuce Wraps with Thai Chicken

  Lettuce wraps have given me such relief in the summer months—I can eat cold meals, gluten free. Lettuce is a vehicle, an edible cupping tool that gets the filling from the plate into my mouth, without bread.  I have also tried other fillings like 

Strawberry Salsa and Spinach Salad

Strawberry Salsa and Spinach Salad

  “What do you eat when your mother is dying?” That was a question my sister asked me, partly in jest because I am always looking for things to write about and partly because we were wondering what foods will help our bodies that are 

Polenta Napoleon with Fig Compote and Feta

Polenta Napoleon with Fig Compote and Feta

    Today there has been very little physical activity as I begin the process of recovering from the marathon flurry of scrambling to prepare for our Edible Alien Theatre show “In Profundus”.  It is incredible what can happen when there are deadlines, especially when 

Gluten Free Samosas with Pea, Potato and Green Mango

Gluten Free Samosas with Pea, Potato and Green Mango

    Too many times I have suggested to a client an interesting idea, and as it is leaving my mouth my brain is shouting, “Stop, you crazy woman! You don’t know how to do that!!” For example: My Mouth “‘Oh yes, we could serve 

Squash Porridge

Squash Porridge

    I’m so hungry! What can I make to eat? What’s in the Fridge? How many times do we ask this of ourselves each week…not having the brain power left to plan ahead, but desperately needing a quick meal because we forgot to eat breakfast? 

Pinto Fuul

Pinto Fuul

  If there is a highway that links Gluttony and Hunger, and if on that highway there is a small cafe that occupies the space halfway between Gluttony and Hunger, then on their handwritten menu would be Fuul. As we journey out of the holiday 

Sweet Potato Rutabaga Latkes

Sweet Potato Rutabaga Latkes

Pancakes aren’t just for potatoes anymore.   I love potatoes, don’t get me wrong…but there is something endearing about the Underdog.  The humble rutabaga, or ‘Swede’ as the Brits call it, it has become a forgotten vegetable in our culture, looking huge and weird in the 

Roasted Vegetables…and Fruit

Roasted Vegetables…and Fruit

      That’s right, fruit. Here is one of my Rules of Thumb: If there is a technique that works for one thing, it might work on other things.  If you can roast wedges of potato you can probably roast beets, yams, celery, carrots,