Vegetables

Breaking Up With Instacart and Chilled Avocado Soup With Crispy Garlic Oil

Breaking Up With Instacart and Chilled Avocado Soup With Crispy Garlic Oil

Oh Instacart! It’s not you, it’s me.  Well…actually…it’s you. How did we lose that beautiful thing that  we had? We’ve been so close since March. Whatever I’ve needed, you were there. Wine? You’ve always given my glass a generous pour. Ripe tomatoes? You’ve searched for them…

Oldies But Goodies: Tamales

Oldies But Goodies: Tamales

Need a tamale fix for New Year’s Eve?  Why order out? These homemade tamales rock. Too hard? If Sarah and I could make them at home, it can be done.  Here is a holiday (or any day) recipe for tamales. This recipe is from Blue…

Instant Pot Italian Chickpea Stew With Pesto

Instant Pot Italian Chickpea Stew With Pesto

You’ve got to give it to those wild and crazy Gauls of yore. Apparently, party games didn’t get a lot more classy than throwing chickpeas into a crowd and watching people dive to catch them. Hilarious! Right? (On the other hand, maybe that was fun…

Sweet and Savory Corn Fritters

Sweet and Savory Corn Fritters

  I’ve always enjoyed the Louis Armstrong and Ella Fitzgerald take on the Gershwin tune “Let’s Call the Whole Thing Off,” particularly the riff on “you say potato and I say poTATo.”  (Let’s Call The Whole Thing Off) I was reminded of that thin bit…

Popeye and Spinach Soup

Popeye and Spinach Soup

I was reminiscing with some friends the other day about childhood memories and our conversation turned to games, cartoons and children’s shows. You know: Uncle Wiggily and the decidedly unsavory Pipsisewah, Shari Lewis and sweet little Lamb Chop, Engineer Bill and the milk drinking game…

A Green Formica Table and Memories of Mushroom Soup

A Green Formica Table and Memories of Mushroom Soup

“Women are like tea bags. You never know how strong they are until they are in hot water.”                                –Eleanor Roosevelt   When I was growing up, I often spent weekends…

Autumn Leaves, Eva Cassidy, and Beans and Lentils

Autumn Leaves, Eva Cassidy, and Beans and Lentils

The leaves are turning. The mornings are crisp and cold. It’s autumn—bean weather.   Need some music to get you in that autumn state of mind? Put on a warm sweater, grab a steaming cup of Darjeeling tea (stirred with a cinnamon stick, of course)…

Swipe Right for White Beans Au Vin

Swipe Right for White Beans Au Vin

      There have been too many to count. One was sweet and sultry and oh-so-smooth. Another was decidedly rough at the edges–kinda took my breath away. Then there was–<yawn>– the steady and reliable one.  And on and on…and on. (<Blush>) Now– it’s a…

Woo-hoo! Blue Cayenne is FIVE!

Woo-hoo! Blue Cayenne is FIVE!

  Break out the champagne and the party whistles. Cue the birthday music. Blue Cayenne is five! Who knew! I certainly didn’t. When I clicked “post” that first time five years ago, it was with no small amount of trepidation. Would anyone read my posts?…

Black Bean and Corn Salad

Black Bean and Corn Salad

  When I was a young cook, three-bean salad (sold in a glass jar no less!) was a go-to dish in my repertoire. (My cooking goals were pretty modest then.) This black bean and corn salad is a nod to that original bean salad and…