A Recipe: Preserved Lemon & Mint Allioli

Allioli. Allioli. Allioli. I love how the vowels and lulling Ls roll off the tongue – softly and whimsically – almost like a child’s nonsense word. all-ee-oh-lee. It’s a melodic sound. Allioli is a Catalan version of classic aioli, and it differs fundamentally from Provençal aiolis in that it is made without egg yolk – offering just a combination of good quality olive oil, fragrant garlic and unrefined sea salt.

Recipe: Mangoes and Sticky Rice

Mangoes and sticky rice – oh how my heart swoons!  After a heated meal of Thai food – heightened by the bright flavors of kaffir lime, lemongrass and painfully hot chili peppers – nothing soothes the palate quite like a warm bowl of gently sweet and slightly salty mangoes and sticky rice. I like to [...]

Recipe: Spiced Apple Sauce with Red Wine

Spiced Apple Sauce, with its smooth texture and gentle, warm flavors, has made it to our kitchen table frequently in the last few months as we use up overwintered apples in preparation for the coming harvest.   Stewed in red wine and spices, the apples take on a lovely rosy color and a mild sweetness.  Like [...]

Recipe: Spiced Kombucha Vinaigrette

Kombucha vinaigrette, may seem like an unusual take on the classic combination of olive oil and balsamic or red wine vinegar, but, when complemented by the unique flavors of clove and allspice it can become a nourishing, if unique dressing for any salad. I find it pairs particularly well with the sweetness of beets, apples, pears and nuts. Reminiscent of apple cider vinegar in combination with club soda, kombucha offers a unique flavor that is growing in popularity as more and more natural foods enthusiasts learn to cherish the beverage – a sweetened tea that undergoes a unique fermentation process through the use of a mother or symbiotic colony of bacteria and yeast.

A Recipe: Kale & Potato Soup with Chorizo

Caldo verde – a Portuguese soup classically featuring kale, potatoes and chorizo swimming in a nourishing, mineral-rich stock – is a remarkable dish.  Richly flavored and deeply satisfying in a way only traditional peasant foods can manage, caldo verde is simple to prepare and a truly delightful addition to the supper table.  Like all dishes [...]

Recipe: Pesto Egg Salad

Pesto Egg Salad – herbaceous and garlicky – found its way to our kitchen table this weekend after my son and I took the time to boil and dye pasture-raised eggs for Easter.  We customarily receive two dozen eggs from our CSA, but those never seem to last the week and, sure enough, once Sunday [...]

Molasses Custard

Gently flavored by blackstrap molasses – a mineral-rich, natural sweetener – this custard has quickly become a favorite dessert in our home, and one my four-year-old relishes.    Molasses custard is well-suited to winter’s supper tables – it’s soft, sweet and satisfying. Dense in wholesome fats from pastured egg yolks and fresh cream, molasses custard is [...]

Butternut Squash with Cinnamon

Simple food makes for the best food.  The key to preparing simple food well is to purchase the very best ingredients you can find: in that way, their natural flavors are liberated. Some of the simplest preparations allow the beauty of those subtle flavors to stand on their own, albeit  dressed with a little butte.  [...]

Probiotic Apple & Beetroot Relish

Beetroot relish – savory, sweet and spiced with with cloves and star anise – nuzzles its way onto our supper plates every winter.  A near-perfect side to pan-fried pork chops seasoned with sage or to a classic roast beef, beetroot relish provides an intensity of flavor coupled with nourishing micronutrients including vitamins, minerals and antioxidants.  [...]

Maple-glazed Root Vegetables

Maple-glazed root vegetables, slightly sweet, and a charming accompaniment to winter time suppers, satisfy and nourish. In our home we love to combine fresh, crisp and local carrots and parsnips with clarified butter and organic, grade B maple syrup for a nourishing side. Well-suited to lamb and pork, this side dish is easily prepared and [...]