Every time I lacto-ferment something and it turns out well I breathe a huge sigh of relief. Home picklers out there, you feel me, too? Seriously, a few moldy “sauerkraut” experiments or squishy, pukey cukes all play into the glory that is the perfect peck of pickles when it does happen right. And right it did happen most recently, with a jar of cucumbers that were left to sour over a hot summer week.
Summer’s a good time for a ‘mezze meal.’ With so many vegetables in season, you can easily pull together a colorful assortment of stuff to dip and mix from a plate with pita. This isn’t a very elaborate version of what that could be—try a colorful assortment of lots of salads and sides for a casual dinner party—but it hits the spot, and fills you up in all the right ways, making you feel both healthy and satisfied.
You don’t have to have ripe, juicy tomatoes and basil leaves to enjoy some slices of fresh mozzarella on a plate. The classic combination (known as Caprese salad) is not overrated by any means, but if your crisper drawer is bursting with greens instead of tomatoes since your early-summer CSA began (or if you just want to sneak more greens into your diet, noble you), then you can play up this concept anew.
Here’s an ode to strawberries: Why have I seen you more often than not so tarted up—doused in granular glitter, softened to sweet paste, or masquerading as a flavor to something which you are not? This, my red friend, is ridicule. You’re too good for that; you have nothing to hide.
Hello, ramp season. You know, after the six or eight years that everyone’s gotten excited about the wild spring allium, I have to say I am a little over the phenomenon that is pearly-pink bulbs resting pretty at the ends of long, flowy, green shoots. Of course I’m not. But I may be over their smell. Having carried a bunch of ramps (purchased at Union Square Greenmarket this past beautiful Saturday) for the entirety of an afternoon and evening as I schlepped … Read More
Yes, be a little twee sometimes — go ahead, I dare you. That time you splurged on a dear, felt hat that was so right for a horseback riding weekend in the country that you’ll never go on? With the kid gloves that go up to your elbows? That fancy little fetish for truffled sea salts in the cupboard? The extra emoji in a text to a crush? We can all push the cuteness of our character to the limits sometimes — and … Read More
I really want to call this a vegan, miso-based “Caesar” salad, but know that the powers of food purism would call this foul. No, it doesn’t have Romaine lettuce nor egg yolk, nor anchovies nor parmesan—but it does have a punchy piquancy that I’d equate with that of the classic dressing we know and love. And it was inspired by Caesar (salads, nothing Roman to look at here)—which are nowadays often found with the deeper-green brassica kale in place of lettuce—through … Read More
There are things that are good, and things that are really good. And for a New Year’s Eve party in the city, my friends and I have decided to go all-out really good with food. Dismayed that we didn’t find a house to rent upstate with a fireplace and enough beds for everyone, we threw in the towel searching on Airbnb and turned our attentions to throwing a really good party at home. Which is where this splurge on lump crabmeat … Read More
Sometimes I like to teeter on the edge of super-precious, frou-frou-looking preparations. But there’s always something that pulls me back. They’re all going to laugh at you!—I watched Carrie again recently (on Halloween, to be sure), and that crazy lil warning from Carrie’s mom is surprisingly fitting in many circumstances. Did you spill too much over social media? Put on something weird to wear? Or, did you garnish food unnecessarily and felt frivolous afterward? No, they may not pour a bucket of … Read More
We get all worked up about winter squashes when fall comes around. I get it: they’re shiny and new. But actually, you should be more excited about brassicas in the fall; winter squashes will be here to stay for a while, stored easily all winter long. But fall weather also brings us brassicas—broccoli, cauliflower, cabbages, kale, Brussels sprouts and those spiky romanesco things—and we will not be seeing them for very long after this. It’s our last dance with them … Read More