'I don't like pesto,' my friend Vanessa once told me.
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Ginger Pineapple Upside-Down Cake, Coconut-Lemongrass Ice Cream
'Get a pineapple,' Madeline hissed.
Roasted Turnips with Wilted Turnip Greens
As any member knows, being part of a CSA can be a mixed blessing. Nary an asparagus spear, pod pea or apricot have we received yet, and spring is (already!?) almost over. But come Wednesday morning, we could barely close the fridge for the giant orbs that were spring onions, half a dozen stalks of...
Pasta Alla Carbonara
While studying Italian language at UCSC, I fell in love. I loved rolling my Rs, I loved saying chiacchierare (to chat), I loved my adorable professor and her equally awesome name, Maria Antonella Principe De Chicchio (which I also loved to say). I even came to tolerate the subjunctive tense.
Fava Bean Crostini
Well, we must be officially cursed because we just spent another weekend in the Sierras getting snowed on. Jay's sea shanty band, The Barbary Ghosts, played at the Strawberry Music Festival in Yosemite. While for our last Yosemite trip we got fair warning of the chilly weather, the forecast last Thursday insisted that it would...
Rhubarb Crumb Bars
Around this time last year, I related two harrowing tales: a soggy weekend spent camping in Big Sur, and the making of ridiculously complicated brown butter rhubarb bars from the Big Sur Bakery Cookbook. (Though I actually called them rhu-bars, because, like Lara Ferroni, I can't resist a bad pun.)
Poppy Seed and Lemon Curd Mega Scone
Sometimes I feel like a kitchen wizard. Everything I make turns out just right, whether I’ve followed a recipe to the letter, made infinite tweaks, or just created something off the top of my head. At those times, it feels as though I have a culinary fairy godmother watching over my oven and zapping everything...
Herbed Spinach and Goat Cheese Calzone
For many people, things like homemade ice cream, pandowdies, and mascarpone tarts are luxuries. Fortunately (or unfortunately, depending), these items are more the rule than the exception around my kitchen, while staples for other (normal?) people - milk, meat, sparkling water - seem like treats.
Apple Rhubarb Pandowdy
Rhubarb haters: proceed with caution.
Honey Yogurt Ice Cream
Walking home from work through the Mission District of San Francisco, I see many odd sights. One day it was a man casually walking his pot-bellied pig on a leash down the street.
Lentil Walnut Vegan Pâté
This vegan pâté recipe gets body from lentils and toasted walnuts and big flavor from a few unusual suspects: miso, mirin, and umeboshi. Serve it up with cornichons, baguette, cassava crackers, or slices of quick sourdough focaccia. Vegan Pâté that Tastes Like the Real Deal Growing up, my dad would often set out a container...
Pistachio Chocolate Torte
Ah, Passover; the most morbid of Jewish holidays. The name refers to God's slaughtering of non-Jewish first-born sons as a final warning to the Egyptians to free the slaves. The Jews were instructed to paint their doorways with blood from a sacrificial lamb so that God would know to 'passover' their homes and spare their...
Lemon Mascarpone Tart
Tangy, rich custard fills a flaky tart crust in this lemon mascarpone tart topped with macerated berries and mint. Make it gluten-free with this tart crust. There are many types of crushes.
Chocolate Mint Chip Ice Cream
I was a bad kid in high school. I had a nose ring. I had pink and blue hair (at the same time). I wore ripped clothes to school...when I went to school, that is.
Beer Rye Sourdough
There was a time when I didn't like beer. Actually, there were many times. The first that I remember was at a family party at my grandparents' house, when my cousin and I must have pilfered a can from the ice chest and gone for a walk to try it. Though we reveled in Maneschewitz...
Caramelized Apple Bread Pudding
I've been wanting to say or do something regarding the disaster in Japan, but haven't known what. Mostly, I feel quite helpless, with a heart full of sadness for those who have lost their lives, their homes, or loved ones on the other side of the pacific. But an unexpected opportunity to do something has...
Buckwheat Chocolate Chip Cookies
Buckwheat flour adds big flavor to these buckwheat chocolate chip cookies. Looking for a gluten-free vegan version? Try these GF vegan chocolate chip cookies made with almond butter, maple, and oats for tons of flavor! Like most things, 'buckwheat' sounds much better in French, where it's known as 'blé noir.' This translates to 'black grain,'...
Irish Soda Scones
These buttery Irish soda scones are filled with American-style Irish soda bread flavors: brown sugar, caraway, currants, and walnuts. See the recipe notes for a gluten-free option! Top o' the mornin' to ya!
Green Garlic and Chive Potato Cakes
While some little girls spend their time dreaming of ponies, castles and wedding gowns, I spent mine thinking about fancy restaurants, linen tablecloths and sumptuous meals (though admittedly, I did have a thing for Cinderella's baby blue ball gown). I suppose I have my foodie dad to thank for my patrician tastes, at least as...
Gluten-Free Bittersweet Chocolate Brownies
My mom likes to say, 'You're entitled to your own opinion, even if it's wrong.' As a psychologist specializing in subjectivity, she should know.
6-Ingredient Flourless Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies
These flourless peanut butter chocolate chip cookies are so easy to make with just 6 main ingredients! They're rich and decadent, loaded with chocolate, and full of peanut butter flavor. Naturally free of gluten, grains, and dairy and made with natural peanut butter. Many years ago, in order to demonstrate how statistics worked, my 6th...
Celeriac Soup with Truffle Oil
Winter doesn't bring the shining stars of the produce world that spring, summer and fall do. No asparagus. No strawberries. No heirloom tomatoes. Not a whole lot of anything, really. Just a bunch of boring old root vegetables.
(Gluten-Free!) Apple Crisple
Does anyone out there know the difference between a crisp and a crumble?
Warm Chocolate Brownie Cakes with Black Pepper Ice Cream
I once got excited about Valentine's Day. And I do mean 'once', as in, one time in my whole life. Being a late bloomer, the first boyfriend I had was during my junior year of high school (isn't it scary that that is considered being a 'late bloomer' these days?) and I was thrilled when...