When a friend (or farmers’ market) gives you freshly picked fava beans, smile, say thank you, and get shelling!
Category: Vegetables and Salads
Potatoes are like flavor sponges. Being a fairly blank palette, what you put into them makes a big difference.
My Polish half is calling me. It seems I cannot go very long without pickling something. Today: Mushrooms!
It took me awhile to understand and bond with Brussels sprouts. We started off on the wrong foot. It didn’t make a good first impression. It wasn’t until I went on a roasting vegetable binge that I began to appreciate – and now love – Brussels.
Bitter. An overrated emotion, but an underused taste. I’m not jaded, but I have been embracing the bitter lately. Take radicchio for example.
“Make sure you get the handwritten ones – they’re the best,” said my Uncle while I was looking through the hundreds of recipes my Grandmother created and saved over decades. Her recipe for Cardamom Glazed Carrots caught my eye for a couple of reasons.
These slightly sweet, slightly tart pickled red onions can be eaten right out of the jar. Or, in a hundred other ways.
Have you ever grilled a garden salad? Not the loose-leaf type, but wedges of lettuce heads with glorious nooks and crannies where you can bury your vegetables, fruits, nuts and cheese treasures. (Don’t have a grill? You can also pan fry them over high heat.)
Pickled cucumbers don’t have to be your plain old dills. Far from it. Make these and you’ll never have (or want!) to buy another jar again.
Three meals, one dish. You choose. A warm side dish for dinner. A room temperature side dish for a picnic lunch. Or, my favorite, a hot savory breakfast entrée with an added poached, soft boiled or fried egg. Surprisingly light. Not surprisingly delicious!
Greg Nelson Cooks 