Recipes

I’m not a fan of machine-made “baby” carrots, those whittled down beauties that look like itty bitty bunny food. Conical perfection. Taste bud depression. Because they are most often shaved down from large carrots, the less tasteful core can make up a larger portion what is eaten. I eat them. They’re convenient. But … I think a lot of people…

Melissa’s Pixie tangerines hit the market this week! I love to put them in my mother’s old burl bowl, and place the display someplace handy. Tangerines for snacking, or to use in salads, sauces, desserts or entrees. Or how about a tangerine-juice-based cocktail? Delicious. Pixies are a variety of tangerines, diminutive orange orbs that are available late in the season…

In my O.C. neighborhood over the last few days, strawberry stands have started selling their bounty. Berries by the basket, and berries by the box. Ready for hungry mouths. One is a Thacker stand.  A vendor told me that Thacker opened a strawberry farm 15 years ago in Irvine, now has farms in Oxnard, Santa Maria, and Watsonville. I couldn’t…

My swami loves pancakes. But finding the cloud-like hot cakes that he remembers from his childhood has been a bit of an obsession for this gentle man who holds a master’s degree in Asian medicine. He isn’t a swami, per se. I call him that with respect and affection. He’s a board-certified acupuncturist, a fellow that seems to have found…

Cook soup for a dog? Why not! Twelve years ago, our then 14-year-old terrier Blossom posed for this shot. Close to the end of her life she developed a deep cough. The kind of cough that could peel wallpaper off the wall. So I made chicken soup for her on a regular basis (and wrote a story about it for…

I CUT DAYS OF WORK off the prep. My version takes lots of shortcuts. The traditional approach takes three days, so I devised a way to wiggle out of most of the work. And, trust me, it’s delicious. Leave it to the French to elevate a simple bean casserole into a gastronomic masterpiece replete with goose, pork and lamb. No…