Spring has sprung! It’s grilling time. Asparagus will soon be ubiquitous in stores. And that works out well, because one of my very favorite things to grill is asparagus. It’s the perfect side dish to grilled meats, fish, or tofu and, if you’re grilling already, will add almost no time to your dinner prep. I…
Stuffed Collard Leaves with Savory Pork Filling
It turns out that a name is not just a name when you’re writing a blog. My poetry group used to tell me that about poem titles too (“Kristin, you can’t just call them all ‘Untitled!’”), but I think the reasoning was different. With a food blog, you need a descriptive title so that someone…
Basque Piperade (Red Pepper and Tomato Stew) with Eggs
Arne and I traveled to Portland for Thanksgiving this year. While the family festivities were near the coast, of course we had to fly into Portland – previously covered on this blog as my favorite food city. And while we were there, naturally we had to try a couple of new restaurants. We had breakfast…
French Breakfast Radish Sandwich with Butter and Salt
For most of my life, I did not like radishes. I found them too harsh, almost acrid. I don’t know if my change of heart comes from grown-up taste buds or from access to better radishes, but I do know that it’s this simple recipe that changed my mind. A couple of years ago, I…
The Essence of Summer: Steamed Corn Custard
Driving home the other day I saw a lovely sight: a dusty red truck parked in an empty lot next to a gas station. The truck was swathed with a yellow cloth banner reading “Fresh Moriarty Sweet Corn.” I missed the turn for the lot, and confess that I made some rather foolish driving maneuvers…
Linguine with Eggplant Parmesan Sauce
For the food-obsessed, this is one of the most exciting times of year. After winter whittled our produce options down to hairy carrots, pale cabbages, and shriveled garlic, spring teased us with promise — but mostly provided an exhaustingly constant supply of greens and the here-and-gone quicksilver magic of fresh berries. But now we’re at…
Quick and Easy Refrigerator Pickles
After much dawdling trying to find the original, I have finally purchased a new power cord for my old digital camera. Though it’s ten years old and has fewer megapixels, this chunky old Sony has a beautiful Carl Zeiss lens and a lot more manual control than my newer, more portable Casio Exilim. I was…
Grilled Romaine Cobb Salad
I’ve been trying to recall where I first ate grilled romaine. I remember the salad itself, and my surprise and delight at the preparation. It was a Caesar salad, bright with lemon and smoky from the grill, a little shriveled and blackened on the ends. I think it was at the brilliant – and sadly…
Roasted Asparagus
For years, I always cooked asparagus the same way – steamed in a covered saute pan with a little water. It is delicious that way, very simple and pure tasting. But then I tried roasting it, and I haven’t looked back. It’s utterly simple and frees up space on the stovetop (which is always at…
First Market Basket of the Season!
I love my farmers’ market. The Nob Hill Growers’ Market is walking distance from my house (though I almost never walk there – bad me!) and timed for the lazy: Since it’s at 3:00 on Thursday afternoons, instead of O-dark-thirty on weekends, I can actually be one of the first ones there and get the…