Fresh Mozzarella with Rainbow Chard, Pinenuts and Pickled Swiss Chard Stems

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.

Pasta with Lettuce, Pecorino, Pine Nuts & Lemon

This could either be really offensive or really resourceful-sounding. I’m clearly hoping for the latter scenario. It’s because so many have recently shared with me their frustrations of lettuce overabundance, and salad-eating fatigue, that I deemed this recipe worthy of sharing (and caring) in return. Yes, it’s that point for me, too, thanks to the CSA season: produce is coming in too fast, too soon. Yes, I have reached the maximum capacity of lettuce that can be stuffed in the … Read More

Tabbouleh Salad with Cherry Tomatoes & Pine Nuts

Most people think of tabbouleh as a grain-based salad, with bulgur (a whole wheat product) comprising the bulk of the dish. But actually, it’s more of a parsley-based salad, with lots of fresh tomatoes, lemon juice, chopped onions and other herbs, too. Its name derives from the Arabic word for “seasoning” (taabil), and purists have scolded my lack of sufficient parsley in past attempts. This got me thinking that tabbouleh is something of a chunky pesto, with some filling grains tossed … Read More

Acorn Squash Soup with Roasted Kale Chips and Pine Nuts

posted in: Recipes | 14

It’s not what’s inside the soup that counts. It’s what’s on the surface. Here, we’ve got creamy roasted acorn squash soup. It could be any squash, butternut, pumpkin. It could have a splash of cream or milk or not. I don’t care. I’m sinking these crispy, salty kale “chips” into its sweet custard and lodging a pebble of a pine nut onto a spoon for the ultimate scoop. Call me shallow, but sometimes beauty just isn’t that deep.

Completely Elitist Orecchiette & Arugula Casserole

This isn’t really a political blog, but in light of recent circumstances (ahem — GObama! — ahem), I thought I’d make a little exception. Because if there’s one thing I learned from the long road to the Presidential election, it’s that food is political. Period. You cannot like arugula, for instance (which ironically was only a peasant food in Italian cuisine until recent waves of popularity), without being “elite” (and possibly, a terrorist). Let’s look beyond that. This casserole combines … Read More