Home cooks love the idea of simple food, but as soon as we’re in the kitchen things aren’t so simple. It’s actually hard to cook simply because we always want to fiddle or add things or just not stand around looking at “simple,” because after all simple doesn’t require much, that’s why they call it […]
Fava In A Moroccan Way
May 1, 2018 by 6 Comments
For fava devotees we are about to see those inviting fava bean pods appearing at our farmers markets. A delightful way to prepare the fresh fava beans is a way found in Morocco. In Morocco, this purée is served as a meze and called rafissa al-fūl or rafissa “de fèves fraîches” and can be served […]
A Provençal Stuffed Cabbage for A Cold Day
March 5, 2018 by Leave a Comment
Sou fassum, the Provençal name, is known in French as chou farci à la Niçoise. It is a specialty of the region around Grasse. Traditionally, the stuffed cabbage leaves are placed in a net made of thick threads called a fassumier that is then lowered into a good chicken broth to be cooked. Although cabbage […]
Vegetable Heaven From Italy Is Called Gianfottere
October 4, 2017 by 1 Comment
One of the grand dishes of southern Italy is a baked vegetable medley called gianfottere. There is a summer version and a winter version. It can be eaten from the vessel it’s cooked in hot, warm, or at room temperature. This recipe is a preparation for the summer version of verdure al forno, mixed oven-baked […]
Potato Gratin with Swiss Chard is for Wintertime
February 6, 2017 by Leave a Comment
Potato gratin is one of those preparations that speaks to people. When a gratin comes out of the oven it is one of the most inviting foods. It’s also a dish perfect for winter. Swiss chard developed from the beet and was first mentioned in a book about plants published in Basel, Switzerland in 1596. […]
Tomato and Cheese Make Perfect Summer Salads
August 10, 2016 by Leave a Comment
A rule of thumb—better yet—a summer desire, is to keep ones cooking simple as no one wants to spend a lot of time in a hot kitchen. Grilling is the solution, but so is simple summer vegetable salads. In fact, you could make an entire meal of nothing but a variety of salads. In Arab […]
Why Not Grill Asparagus?
July 27, 2016 by Leave a Comment
If you have a grill blazing away any of these summer weekends it seems a waste not to grill everything. There are some foods you may not have thought of as suitable for the grill. One of those foods is certainly asparagus. Espárragos a la parilla, asparagus on the grill, is a grilled asparagus that […]
3 Lusty Beans and Greens Recipes for Winter
February 16, 2016 by Leave a Comment
In traditional Mediterranean cooking, dried beans are typical winter foods that are often combined with winter greens and root vegetables such as Swiss chard, spinach, squash, potatoes, sweet potatoes and others. There is a delight in these kinds of dishes not only because they’re delicious, but they are satisfying and healthy too. These three are […]
Beautiful Broccoli Salads for Your Summer Grill Party
August 11, 2015 by Leave a Comment
Summer is a time for grilling and one dilemma the cook faces is what side dishes are to be served. Because grilling usually requires our attention it’s nice to have already prepared side dishes. One of my favorite choices are vegetable salads that can be prepared ahead of time and served at room temperature. Broccoli […]
Chile Blast Off Spaghetti
September 29, 2014 by Leave a Comment
Every once in a while I’m eating alone and I’m not testing recipes and I consider going out for a pizza or something similar. Then I am suddenly overcome with the desire to eat something very specific–a craving– that I simply must satisfy that very moment for dinner. This happened the other night mostly because […]
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