Summertime and this Salad is Easy… A Bit of History: During summertime, I am always reminded of one of my dad’s favorite songs; Otis Redding’s Sitting on the Dock of the Bay. My brother and I probably heard that song at least one hundred times every summer. Much to our dismay, my dad would always…
The Fruit of Immortality… A Bit of History: Six thousand years is a long time to wait! According to Chinese mythology, the immortals gathered once every 6000 years to partake of the Feast of Peaches. They consumed peaches from a sacred tree that blossomed only once every 1,000 years and took 3,000 years to ripen….
A Recipe for Fattoush Salad featuring fresh local produce & toasted bread over mixed greens. Fattoush is a type of bread salad native to the Levant region and said to have originated in Northern Lebanon. It typically consists of tomatoes and in season vegetables, fried leftover bread, and fresh herbs and spices. Not only is…
A Recipe for Kamut, Sugar Snap Peas, Asparagus, & Cherry Tomatoes tossed in a Lemon-Miso Mustard Galangal (Ginger) Vinaigrette While I was researching facts for this post, I stumbled across a story about the rediscovery of an ancient grain that is probably the stuff of legend, but still a great tale. Khorasan wheat, or available…
A Recipe for a Greek Salad with Kalamata Olive Dressing. Coming from an Italian-Greek family, I fondly remember childhood trips to Greek town in Chicago. We lived quite a distance from the city, so eating at the Parthenon in Greek town was always a special event. My favorite menu items included Greek chopped salad, avgolemono…
A Recipe for Fennel, Pea, Green Garlic Pesto with a Mason Jar Salad. Maybe it’s because I always enjoyed chemistry in school and most wanted to go to to Hogwarts to have a wand and take Potions class; but I always love interesting combinations. (I also love the word amalgamations meaning the process of uniting)….
A Recipe for Dill, Mint, Pistachio Pesto served over a medley of spring vegetables; raw fennel, roasted cauliflower, baby beets, and asparagus topped with pea shoot tendrils. I love making pesto because it is so versatile. Pesto can be made with any herb, nut, or green leafy thing you can think of. The variations don’t…
–For my mom A Recipe for Pomegranate Molasses Vinaigrette, Roasted Winter Vegetables, Arugula, and Wild Rice Bowl I loved hearing the stories from Greek mythology as a child and continue to enjoy reading them with my daughters. I have many favorites, but whenever winter rolls around and I see pomegranates in the market, I think…
You will go over the rainbow for this healthy, colorful grain bowl, featuring a pea mint sauce. I love colors and always try to make my plate or bowl as colorful as possible. One chef who always inspires me is Giada De Laurentiis. Pea pesto crostini and pea mint crostini are just two of her…
We have a salad every night to accompany our dinner. I love the endless combinations of vegetables and toppings for a salad. I am a huge fan of olive oil and lemon dressings. However, most nights we crave a light salad and the dressing often left me stumped. Over the past year, we have honed…