I struggled to fit yet another arm load of zucchini and squash from my CSA weekly farm share into the vegetable drawer. Something needed to be done about this and fast. I knew that, before I could blink, Saturday’s CSA pickup would roll around again and I’d have no choice but to build a fort made of vegetables and fruit. Continue reading
This endless and bone chilling winter is really getting old. In times like these, comfort food is in order. But the steaming pots of beef stew, pasta, bread and cheese haven’t tasted quite as good since my pants have been cutting off my circulation. I’m certainly not looking to cut these essential food groups out, but sometimes I need another hot, comforting meal that makes me feel like, one day, I can wear shorts again.
My arms were full but they were so cute. Perched on the edge of a table at the farmers market, you couldn’t walk passed without giving at least an endearing glance at the little cartons of donut peaches. They would become dinner.
I love salads with oomph. It’s hard to accomplish without bacon, but it’s possible if you have cheese and grill marks. Both were at my fingertips.
I started with the cheese. The thought of creating it yourself in your own kitchen is extremely exciting. What’s fantastic about homemade ricotta, is that it’s delicious and incredibly simple to make. I’m not joking. I’d never tried it before because I hadn’t taken the 3 minutes to buy cheesecloth (the only specialty item required). That’s actually the hardest step, buying the cheesecloth. So, once that laborious process is over, you can get into comfy clothes, make ricotta and drizzle the leftover (nutritious) whey on your dog’s dinner. (Yes whey.)
It must have been the sound of women’s gymnastics in the background. I wanted to make ratatouille, but didn’t want it in just one form. I wanted two incarnations, two opposing flavor profiles. A competition of nations. So, I made rata-TWO-ie.
10 years after a cliché, yet life-changing experience as a backpacker through Europe, I returned. We went to Paris. But, I didn’t have to stuff a pack into a locker and wear flip-flops in the shower. This time, there were chocolates waiting for me on my pillow, along with the weather report for the next day. I could get used to this.
There’s no time to beat around the bush, so here is the long and short of it. 2 weeks ago, I walked into my local pet store to get cat food and walked out with a puppy. Since that fateful day, our days and nights have consisted of puppy training books, vet visits, thousands of comments uttered such as “good girl”, “No!” and “ouch!”, and more conversations regarding “number 1” and “number 2” than I ever thought humanly possible. People in the neighborhood actually started talking to us despite the fact that we’ve lived within the same block radius for 6 years. I’m also still begging forgiveness from the cats.
Ah, wilderness. Oxygen. I was fortunate enough to escape the city Memorial Day weekend to Montauk.
I woke to the sound of trees rustling – actual trees – and the chatting of birds over the comforting low hum of the ocean. Aside from my feeble attempts to tan (I swear, I can tan) I knew the days would consist of meal plotting by day and evenings with hungry, sandal-clad friends and family…
Sometimes, there is no competing with hamburgers and hot dogs. My mission: feed the masses with large mounds of summertime flavor. I wanted something that would scream, “Look at me, I’m delicious…and you can have seconds without awkwardly asking for someone to throw another dog on the grill.”
halfkiwi 