Northwest Pear Pistachio Salad Dressing & Spicy Roasted Pears The season for garden-fresh tomatoes is behind us, opening a door for other ways to make salads shine. Inspiration came with autumn’s offering of Northwest pears and a recipe for Pear Vinaigrette from my friend Braiden Rex-Johnson’s book Inside the Pike Place Market, Sasquatch Books, […]
Nutty for Nuts
March 4, 2014 by 1 Comment
Almond Orange-Ginger Dressing How often do you crave a food that is is good for you? Lucky me – I love nuts. I inherited this passion from my father. A little bowl of Spanish red-skinned peanuts appeared every evening at cocktail hour along with a martini, Manhattan or summertime gin and tonic. […]
No-Recipe Summer Eating
August 16, 2013 by 3 Comments
Strawberry Salad with Crumbled Gorgonzola and Pistachios A surfeit of strawberries and a beautifully hot, summer day led to a craving for a classic – strawberry salad. Warm summer evenings call for no-oven, no-stove and no-recipe dishes that you can assemble while a lean entrée is sizzling on the grill. A salad […]
What is An Anti-Inflammatory Diet?
July 27, 2013 by 8 Comments
Mixed Grain, Mango and Black Bean Salad with Cumin-Chili Dressing I was recently asked, “What is an anti-inflammatory diet?” A simple answer: A diet built around whole foods with lots of produce, whole forms of grains, healthful fats and a couple of servings of fish each week (or equivalent omega-3 fatty acids). An anti-inflammatory […]
Culinary Ennui? Try Freekeh
June 27, 2013 by 1 Comment
Freekeh, Fava, Fennel and Eggplant Salad Moving forward with a healthy diet sometimes pushes us to reach back in time. Freekeh, a rediscovered form of wheat used in ancient Egypt, Syria and Lebanon, recently caught my eye and palate. If you like food romance, the following story of this ancient grain, described on Freekehlicious.com, may […]
Cabbage – In the Raw
June 10, 2013 by Leave a Comment
Dress Up Cabbage for Summer Meals: Coleslaw 3 Ways Humble cabbage, often passed over in favor of glamorous sister vegetables such as kale, rapini, broccoli and cauliflower, turns into Cinderella come coleslaw season. At its simplest, shredded cabbage and onion tossed with lime juice and a few seasonings, make a cool and crisp taco or […]
The Cow is Queen
April 21, 2013 by 4 Comments
Farro and Spring Asparagus Salad with Fava Beans, Arugula, Basil and Oil-Cured Tomato Dressing from Chef Lisa Dupar I’m not a farm girl. Of course I seek the best quality agriculture products for my never-ending kitchen exploits, but the closest I get to a farm is a trip to the Farmer’s […]
Everything Green for Saint Patrick’s Day – and Your Health
March 17, 2013 by 2 Comments
Green for Spring: Salad with Creamy Tarragon Dressing Instead of wearing green for Saint Patrick’s Day, I suggest eating green. While cooked cabbage may be a tradition for some, I favor something fresher. Bright and crisp, curly or straight, greens are a promise of spring and a good bet for boosting your health. My recipe […]
A New World of Vinegar and Oil
August 28, 2012 by Leave a Comment
Dressing Up Summer Salads – Cumin, Chili and Oregano Dressing Remember when raspberry vinegar dressing was a gourmet treat? It was usually paired with fresh raspberries, toasted almonds and warm goat cheese. While that sounds passé today, it may have sparked a creative approach to salads that continues to grow. Recent gifts of black currant […]
Beets – A Taste Transformation
August 2, 2012 by 1 Comment
Roasted Golden Beet Salad with Walnuts and Sherry-Walnut Dressing What food do you adore now but despised as a child? For me it was beets. The beets of my childhood were canned red ones steeped in pickle juice or fresh beets prepared in a pressure cooker, which brings them to the same unpalatable state. Years […]
