Two Tomato Tartare with Green Relish
Tomatoes may be one of the most commonly used fruits in the world. I certainly have no problem listing the multitude of meals that include them… If this were a game, I could go on indefinitely. And, on top of it, there’s ketchup – pretty high on the list of favorite condiments (although I think it’s been surpassed by salsa in recent years). However there’s not a much more elegantly uncommon yet satisfying dish than this beautiful tomato tartare sitting in its private pool of basil pesto. It’s almost too pretty to eat. But seriously, you’ve just got to break down and dig in. It’s like sand art; impermanence and…
Decadent Creamy Fruit Tarts
Back when I (and the rest of the world) went to a lot of parties, I always brought desserts. Some of the most popular were my decadent and creamy fruit tarts. Another throw back to my NYC Italian roots, the custard cream with bright fresh fruit tarts were always a favorite. I don’t think there is an Italian bakery in NYC that doesn’t proudly display their fruit tarts. A favorite of my family’s was Venerios Bakery on East 11th Street. On holidays, the line would be wrapped around the block with patrons and cars packing the tiny street. And for 3 generations, every family member has stood in rain, sleet,…
Flatbread with Babaganoush and ‘Roasted’ Peppers
I know there are people out there making raw pizza and you know, it’s pretty good actually. But – let me tell you a secret: it’s not pizza. That is to say, it’s really not anything like what anyone who’s ever had pizza would identify with pizza. Oh sure, on the surface there might be all the components: crust, cheese, and whatever other acoutrements. But the crust isn’t made from white or wheat flour and the cheese isn’t gooey, oily dairy. So where does that leave us? Let’s be thankful for all the bad stuff that isn’t in it, call it flatbread, and revel in that particular taste sensation! And…
Green Mango Salad with Thai Basil and Chile Mango Dressing
Green papaya salad has always been one of my favorite meals, even before I went to Thailand and ate it in it’s land of origin. But green papaya isn’t always easy to find around here. Luckily, green mango is an excellent substitution and it seems to be all over the place. In fact, sometimes it’s harder to find a readily ripe mango than it is to find a firm, green one at any given grocery store. This mango salad uses both ripe and green mango and what may seem like an odd smattering of yellow squash. The combination is exotic and delicious and something the whole family will love. That…
Very Vegetable Nut Loaf
The best things about this vegetable nut loaf is its sheer simplicity and the fact that it can also be ‘messed with’ to create a bunch of other things. I like that. Form into balls and dehydrate for 3 or 4 hours and you’ve got meatballs that are just looking for some veggie noodles and a simple sauce to make a hearty raw meal. Alternately crumble into salads. Or serve on raw bread for a filling sandwich or in lettuce with a sprinkle of other veggies as a lettuce wrap. There are so many possibilities, the mind reels. It’s a playful little loaf, for sure. You may also substitute one…
Five Spice Papaya Steak With Parsnip Pineapple Rice
Papaya wasn’t always a favorite of mine. Even as a teenager, the few times I tried it, it kind of left me cold. Not that I often saw it around the grocery aisles in Switzerland, where I lived at the time. I guess it took a more evolved adult palate – and a few trips to warmer climates – for me to fully appreciate the delicacy of the papaya. And of course there was Papaya King in New York where papaya, orange and God-knows-what-other mystery additives and flavorings tranformed the fruit into a sugary smoothie tasting nothing whatever like itself! I’m not even sure papaya was in there at all!…
Crazy for Carrot Burgers
Veggie burgers have never been something I gravitated towards. What with all the oats and beans and the other stuff they usually put in them, they taste like anything but veggies and everything like mush. So that’ s been another one of those things I ‘ve been on a constant quest for. Except I kind of gave up at some point. It lost its allure and just didn’t seem all that important. Until I came up with these carrot burgers. Mind you: my only motivation was to make something that would work well with Melissa’s yellow tomato ketchup. And then that reminded me that I thought a carrot something-or-other would…
Boosting Immunity: 7 Steps to Superwoman
Ever since the onset of the COVID19 pandemic, many people have become hyperconscious about their health. It’s hard not to be when everyone’s walking around in masks and maintaining a 6 foot distance from everyone else. The whole world’s starting to look like some sci-fi movie. So what does boosting immunity look like in corona virus times? Not much different than any other time, honestly. Except you get to look like a bandit, if you’re into it, and nobody will bat an eye. Because boosting immunity isn’t just something we should be doing because a pandemic comes knocking on our collective door, but something we’re actively doing all the time.…
Mushroom Sausage with Marinated Peppers
Sometimes a recipe is born of nostalgia. Certainly, this Mushroom Sausage is no exception. This goes all the way back to memories of The Feast of San Gennaro, a week-long festival held in New York’s Little Italy every year. Melissa and I went all the time when we lived there. Now, like every festival or fair, there weren’t exactly many things offered that anyone could consider healthy, but let’s bypass that for the moment… What there was, was a lot of noise, a lot of color and a lot of sausages. At least one vendor on every stretch of the crowded city blocks was selling some kind of sausage, usually…
Tomatillo Salsa with Hatch Chiles
Here in New Mexico, the surest sign that fall is approaching is the arrival of fresh hatch green chiles. All of a sudden it seems that every grocery store parking lot has its own little fenced in area where chiles are being roasted by the pound. The aroma is pungent and, if you get too close, you’re bound to start coughing. But this is the smell of autumn. Not to mention it’s a staple year-round in this neck of the woods; green chile is in everything! So we decided to join the bandwagon and add it -unroasted – into our raw Tomatillo salsa! Tomatillos are traditionally roasted so this tomatillo…
