There's a lot more to this leafy green than meets the eye. For instance, what do kale, brussels sprouts, cauliflower, broccoli, collard greens, kohlrabi, and cabbage all have in common? (Besides a tendency to smell a little funky when overcooked?)Go on, guess. I'll wait right here.If you said … [Read more...]
Archives for January 2011
Midweek Dash: Mushrooms with Garlic and Wilted Spinach
My friend Jen suggested this combination to me, and personally I think it's inspired. Not only is it a mash-up of my favorite steakhouse sides, but it's quick and easy to boot. No need to relegate it to the role of side dish, though; according to Jen, if you toss it with some pasta and a little … [Read more...]
Roasted Butternut Squash with Cumin
Time to enjoy this prickly squash’s sweet side! The idea for this recipe came from Nick Foster, the amazing chef who cooked my father-in-law’s birthday dinner while we were on vacation in England's Lake District a few years back. What a treat! His food was fantastic and—more importantly—he … [Read more...]
Beware the Butternut Squash: Treacherous, Delicious
I'm beginning to conclude that perhaps the delectable butternut squash does not want to be eaten.First, these squashes seem to come with their own built-in self-defense systems:If you grab said squashes by their stems, tiny talons will deploy, leaving itty-bitty squash-stem-sticker splinters in your … [Read more...]
Smoking Grass: It’s Not What You Think
File this in the "what the hay?" category: using smoldering hay to smoke food. (Indoors, no less.) Apparently, hay-smoked food is all the rage amongst au courant chefs—who, according to today's article by Jim Shahin in the Washington Post, have used hay to smoke everything from potatoes to quail … [Read more...]
Veggie Entrée: Easy Slow-Cooker Chili
I confess: I was originally going to blog the vegetarian chili recipe from the January 2011 issue of Real Simple just as it was, linking to it instead of writing my own version. Because when I made it, I was duly impressed. I couldn't think of a single thing I'd want to change.Then I read the … [Read more...]
Sassy Black-Eyed Pea and Poblano Pepper Dip
When I first made this black-eyed pea dip for my friend's New Year's get-together, even with a generous garnish of fresh chopped cilantro, it lacked what you might call "curb appeal." People liked it once they tried it, but the ho-hum beige color wasn't quite enough to lure some folks in for that … [Read more...]
Black-Eyed Peas and Homonyms
In the interest of securing good luck for 2011, I made a kicky black-eyed pea dip for my friend's Rose Bowl gathering. The dip went over well, and I'll be posting the recipe tomorrow (once I've had the chance to tweak it). Since I like to learn about what I'm eating these days, though, I did a … [Read more...]
2011 Declared the Year of the Vegetable
It's official: vegetables are the food rock stars of 2011. So announced George Ball (okay, in so many words) in an opinion piece in the Wall Street Journal Monday, where he discussed the role of vegetables in helping curb childhood obesity. Of course, as chairman of the W. Atlee Burpee Company and … [Read more...]