Perfect Green Beans (with Aioli)

...their strings along my fence but I managed to pick about a pound over a four-day period. Aioli with green beans. My favorite thing to do with these tender things is to make aioli (garlicky mayonnaise) and dip the perfectly cooked beans (by which I mean four minutes in salty, rapidly bowling water) into the aioli. I recently ate three-quarters of a pound of beans in a single sitting. My boys got a few but they don’t rhapsodize about them...... Read more »

Broccoli, Potato, Celery, Cilantro, Scallion Salad w/ Leftover Aioli

I was feeling a wee bit sorry for myself. My husband had gotten the Boeuf Bourguignon (something I make very rarely) leftovers to take to work and here I was back at my desk after a nice long winter break with no lunch, yet! I rummaged around the fridge and found: 1 boiled potato I had (wisely) saved from the Boeuf Bourguignon dinner, celery, scallions, broccoli, very wilty cilantro and a little container of leftover aioli. 7 minutes later I...... Read more »

Aioli (garlicky home-made mayonnaise)

I make aioli starting in the spring when asparagus and snap peas show up. I love dipping blanched vegetables in it and making egg salad with aioli or spreading it thickly on toast and topping with whatever else I have on hand, until the tomatoes arrive and then it's tomatoes and cucumbers . . . and then green beans and artichokes get dipped. I sometimes plenty of basil or chives or parsley and tarragon. I thin it out to make salad dressings, top halves of hard-boiled eggs with it for a fake deviled egg. It's also perfect on a simply cooked piece of fish, chicken or any meat.  ... Read more »

Salad of Fava Beans, Peas, and Crab with Basil and Aioli Dressing

I put this salad together on a whim after I splurged on a beautiful Dungeness crab. I had both fava beans and shelling peas on hand but either or is fabulous too. And you could substitute canned Oregon Albacore for the crab or bay shrimp or omit entirely or add chopped hardboiled egg or no additional protein at all. Adapt to your tastes/what you have on hand. ... Read more »

Celebrating Mothers and Daughters & Homemade Mayo

...To make the classic French garlicky mayonnaise (aioli), mash as many cloves of garlic as you want (you can start with as few as two and go up to about 10 for a very spicy, strong aioli) with some coarse salt with the side of a chef’s knife (or in a mortar) until you have a fairly smooth paste. Add the garlic paste to the egg yolks, lemon juice and salt and proceed as with the mayo above. Typically aioli...... Read more »

Summer Simplicity and Frenzy

Faux deviled eggs (plain boiled eggs topped with aioli), boiled new potatoes and beet and avocado salad. Herbs, hardboiled eggs, salads, fresh fruit, bread, cheese. . . .zucchini and green beans starting to come out of my ears. . . .It’s a good time of year for cooking (or assembling) with what you have. And as much as I love to cook I don’t really want to be at the stove much (other than making jam and baking pies and...... Read more »

Recipes

...White Beans, Roasted Tomatoes, Spicy Sausage Wintersquash, Chickpeas, Lemongrass and Coconut Milk Yellow Peas and Rice with Onion Relish Zuppa Bastarda (Black Bean Soup over bread with pesto)   Hearty Salads   Asparagus, Greens and Bulgur Salad w/ Lemony Vinaigrette Asian Noodle Salad with Toasted Sesame Dressing Barley and Pomegranate Salad Broccoli, Potato, Celery, and Scallion Salad w/ Leftover Aioli Cabbage and Tatsoi Slaw w/ Miso Dressing Carrot and Seed Salad Chickpea, Tomato, Arugula and Feta Salad Couscous whatever-you-have-on-hand Salad...... Read more »

Artichokes

...etc.–are a bit more time-consuming so this spring I’ve mostly been doing it the good old American way. I made them for my in-laws in Colorado 10 days ago and it turned out to be the first artichoke my father-in-law had ever had and he loved it. For last night’s I used a bit of leftover aioli (with chives and thyme) and stretched that with the store-bought stuff and it was perfect. I was much too excited to start eating...... Read more »

Using Prepared Pantry Items in Everyday Meals

...  Broccoli, Potato, Celery & Cilantro Salad w/ Aioli Dressing (aioli) Caldo Verde (Cabbage/Kale & Potato Soup w/ Chorizo) (veggie bouillon, sausage in freezer) Celery & Chickpea Salad (cooked chickpeas) Chard, Leek, White Bean & Cilantro Soup (over garlicky toast w/ an egg on top) (cooked beans, veggie bouillon) Chicken Noodle Soup (chicken stock) Cook-with-what-you-have Fried Rice (cooked rice) Green Curry w/ Broccoli Kale & Potatoes Baked w/ Tomatoes & Bacon (roasted tomatoes, bacon in freezer) Minestrone (cooked beans, roasted...... Read more »

Fritters, Patties, Latkes & Savory Pancakes

...and because it makes a mess and because I think they great just pan-fried in a bit of oil.   If your batter isn’t holding together well when you’re frying the patties, a little more flour and/or an (additional) egg, usually does the trick.   Asparagus Feta Fritters w/ Garlic Aioli Beet & Chickpea Fritters w/ Mint Black Radish Pancakes Broccoli Fritters Broccoli and Bulgur Patties Cabbage Pancakes (Okonomiyaki) Chard Patties Corn and Zucchini Fritters Curried Kohlrabi Fritters Fried Rice...... Read more »

Sauces, Dressings, Vinaigrettes

...  Tahini Yogurt Dressing: for chopped salads, roasted veg, meats, etc.   Vietnamese-Style Dressing w/ Lime Juice and Fish Sauce: on rice noodle salads or green salads w/ tofu, roasted Brussels Sprouts or Cauliflower   Peanut Sauce: for salad rolls, roasted veg, rice, noodles, etc.   Aioli (garlicky homemade mayonnaise): to use as a dip, sandwich spread, in deviled eggs, with fish or meat, in a salad dressing, etc.   Salsa Verde (Italian Parsley Sauce): to dress roasted vegetables, as...... Read more »

How to Make the Most of Green Garlic Season + Pasta w/ Green Garlic Recipe

...use some of the stalk as well.   I use it, liberally, anywhere garlic is called for. It’s delicious in soups and salad dressings and added to dips and particularly homemade mayonnaise–a green garlic aioli, really! Unlike mature garlic, green garlic needs to be refrigerated and used within a week.   Happy Spring!   P.S. I’ve just recorded this video on pantry stocking and my concept of the “living” pantry aka herbs you can easily grow in a pot by...... Read more »

Time Well Spent & Salade Nicoise

...water so don’t throw it out. Add a bit more salt to the water and bring back to a boil and then toss in beans and cook for 4-5 minutes until tender but not mushy. The flavor of cooked green beans is much better (in my mind) when they are fully cooked and no longer “squeaky” but certainly not mushy. Dressing ½ cup of either basic homemade mayo or aioli 1 teaspoon finely chopped fresh thyme 1-2 tablespoons capers, rinsed...... Read more »

Perfect Green Beans (with Aioli)

related image

…their strings along my fence but I managed to pick about a pound over a four-day period. Aioli with green beans. My favorite thing to do with these tender things is to make aioli (garlicky mayonnaise) and dip the perfectly cooked beans (by which I mean four minutes in salty, rapidly bowling water) into the aioli. I recently ate three-quarters of a pound of beans in a single sitting. My boys got a few but they don’t rhapsodize about them…

Broccoli, Potato, Celery, Cilantro, Scallion Salad w/ Leftover Aioli

related image

I was feeling a wee bit sorry for myself. My husband had gotten the Boeuf Bourguignon (something I make very rarely) leftovers to take to work and here I was back at my desk after a nice long winter break with no lunch, yet! I rummaged around the fridge and found: 1 boiled potato I had (wisely) saved from the Boeuf Bourguignon dinner, celery, scallions, broccoli, very wilty cilantro and a little container of leftover aioli. 7 minutes later I…

Celebrating Mothers and Daughters & Homemade Mayo

related image

…To make the classic French garlicky mayonnaise (aioli), mash as many cloves of garlic as you want (you can start with as few as two and go up to about 10 for a very spicy, strong aioli) with some coarse salt with the side of a chef’s knife (or in a mortar) until you have a fairly smooth paste. Add the garlic paste to the egg yolks, lemon juice and salt and proceed as with the mayo above. Typically aioli

Summer Simplicity and Frenzy

related image

Faux deviled eggs (plain boiled eggs topped with aioli), boiled new potatoes and beet and avocado salad. Herbs, hardboiled eggs, salads, fresh fruit, bread, cheese. . . .zucchini and green beans starting to come out of my ears. . . .It’s a good time of year for cooking (or assembling) with what you have. And as much as I love to cook I don’t really want to be at the stove much (other than making jam and baking pies and…

Recipes

related image

…White Beans, Roasted Tomatoes, Spicy Sausage Wintersquash, Chickpeas, Lemongrass and Coconut Milk Yellow Peas and Rice with Onion Relish Zuppa Bastarda (Black Bean Soup over bread with pesto)   Hearty Salads   Asparagus, Greens and Bulgur Salad w/ Lemony Vinaigrette Asian Noodle Salad with Toasted Sesame Dressing Barley and Pomegranate Salad Broccoli, Potato, Celery, and Scallion Salad w/ Leftover Aioli Cabbage and Tatsoi Slaw w/ Miso Dressing Carrot and Seed Salad Chickpea, Tomato, Arugula and Feta Salad Couscous whatever-you-have-on-hand Salad…

Artichokes

related image

…etc.–are a bit more time-consuming so this spring I’ve mostly been doing it the good old American way. I made them for my in-laws in Colorado 10 days ago and it turned out to be the first artichoke my father-in-law had ever had and he loved it. For last night’s I used a bit of leftover aioli (with chives and thyme) and stretched that with the store-bought stuff and it was perfect. I was much too excited to start eating…

Using Prepared Pantry Items in Everyday Meals

related image

…  Broccoli, Potato, Celery & Cilantro Salad w/ Aioli Dressing (aioli) Caldo Verde (Cabbage/Kale & Potato Soup w/ Chorizo) (veggie bouillon, sausage in freezer) Celery & Chickpea Salad (cooked chickpeas) Chard, Leek, White Bean & Cilantro Soup (over garlicky toast w/ an egg on top) (cooked beans, veggie bouillon) Chicken Noodle Soup (chicken stock) Cook-with-what-you-have Fried Rice (cooked rice) Green Curry w/ Broccoli Kale & Potatoes Baked w/ Tomatoes & Bacon (roasted tomatoes, bacon in freezer) Minestrone (cooked beans, roasted…

Fritters, Patties, Latkes & Savory Pancakes

related image

…and because it makes a mess and because I think they great just pan-fried in a bit of oil.   If your batter isn’t holding together well when you’re frying the patties, a little more flour and/or an (additional) egg, usually does the trick.   Asparagus Feta Fritters w/ Garlic Aioli Beet & Chickpea Fritters w/ Mint Black Radish Pancakes Broccoli Fritters Broccoli and Bulgur Patties Cabbage Pancakes (Okonomiyaki) Chard Patties Corn and Zucchini Fritters Curried Kohlrabi Fritters Fried Rice…

Sauces, Dressings, Vinaigrettes

related image

…  Tahini Yogurt Dressing: for chopped salads, roasted veg, meats, etc.   Vietnamese-Style Dressing w/ Lime Juice and Fish Sauce: on rice noodle salads or green salads w/ tofu, roasted Brussels Sprouts or Cauliflower   Peanut Sauce: for salad rolls, roasted veg, rice, noodles, etc.   Aioli (garlicky homemade mayonnaise): to use as a dip, sandwich spread, in deviled eggs, with fish or meat, in a salad dressing, etc.   Salsa Verde (Italian Parsley Sauce): to dress roasted vegetables, as…

How to Make the Most of Green Garlic Season + Pasta w/ Green Garlic Recipe

related image

…use some of the stalk as well.   I use it, liberally, anywhere garlic is called for. It’s delicious in soups and salad dressings and added to dips and particularly homemade mayonnaise–a green garlic aioli, really! Unlike mature garlic, green garlic needs to be refrigerated and used within a week.   Happy Spring!   P.S. I’ve just recorded this video on pantry stocking and my concept of the “living” pantry aka herbs you can easily grow in a pot by…

Time Well Spent & Salade Nicoise

related image

…water so don’t throw it out. Add a bit more salt to the water and bring back to a boil and then toss in beans and cook for 4-5 minutes until tender but not mushy. The flavor of cooked green beans is much better (in my mind) when they are fully cooked and no longer “squeaky” but certainly not mushy. Dressing ½ cup of either basic homemade mayo or aioli 1 teaspoon finely chopped fresh thyme 1-2 tablespoons capers, rinsed…