August is a time of abundance! No other month has more variety or overstuffed bushel baskets, when it comes to produce at the farmers markets. It is the best time of year to enjoy all the bounty of summer through vegetable heavy meals. These stuffed peppers use many of the seasonal vegetables of August, but don't feel limited by my choices. … [Read more...]
Fish Cakes with Chive Yogurt Sauce
As we’ve traveled through Northern Europe and Scandinavia we have seen lots of fish cakes! They come in all shapes and sizes with various sauces and flavorings. Here is my favorite version, which also happens to be ridiculously easy to make at home. Fish Cake Ingredients 2-3 large potatoes 1 pound of fresh cod 1 egg 1 red onion (grated … [Read more...]
Norwegian Cod Soup
Norway is known for its fish and we’ve been lucky enough to sample quite a bit of it while staying in a cabin, north of Bergen. There is a wonderful fish market in Bergen where every possible fish is on display. While at the fish market we had a bowl of local salt cod soup. It was wonderful and I decided to try and recreate it when we … [Read more...]
Black Bean Enchiladas
In honor of Father's Day, I'm sharing one of my Dad's favorite dishes -- enchiladas! My Dad is a great cook and has a number of signature dishes. Enchiladas were one of his specialities when I was growing up and will forever remind me of him when I make them. I love Mexican inspired cooking because of the range of flavors and the many options … [Read more...]
Healthy Eggplant Lasagna
It was unseasonable cold while we were in Switzerland and we even had a few days of snow! It was fun to have snow while in the Swiss Alps - it seemed very fitting. Given the cold weather, I was making warm comfort foods and this eggplant lasagna was one of our favorites! Begin by slicing two small eggplants into rounds, coating with olive oil, … [Read more...]
Broccoli and Fennel Salad
This is one of my favorite recipes. It is light, flexible, and healthy. It is delicious with fresh broccoli from the farmers market, and equally good with winter broccoli from the grocery store. Best of all, it gets better with time and tastes good warm or cold, so it makes excellent leftovers! Broccoli and Fennel Salad Ingredients (serves … [Read more...]
Swiss Fondue
We're perched in the Swiss Alps looking out over breathtaking peaks. In an effort to fully get into the spirit of Switzerland I decided to give fondue a try. Amazingly I've never had fondue before and I've certainly never made it before. It turned out to be quite easy, very tasty, and super rich. I wouldn't suggest having it as a regular part … [Read more...]
Sauteed Eggplant and Quinoa
We're traveling through Southern Spain at the moment and the cuisine is a fascinating mix of traditional Spanish, North African, and Middle Eastern. I've been seeing lots of eggplants appearing on menus and I couldn't be happier. This eggplant dish was really quite simple, very tasty, and made the whole apartment smell good. I started by … [Read more...]
Curried Chickpeas with Feta Cheese
We are loving Portugal. It is filled with nice people, beautiful landscapes, and delicious food. The food is fresh, flavorful, and healthful (just like my Portuguese Fish Stew). We took a break from our Portuguese food adventures the other night to make dinner in our apartment. There are only so many meals I can eat out before I'm ready for … [Read more...]
Sweet Rabbit Stew
As a last hurrah to my time in France I decided to cook rabbit (lapin in French). I'd seen them in all the markets in Paris and it is certainly not something I can easily get in the States. I was a bit daunted about making this since I don't cook meat often, but a friend in Paris shared the idea of cooking rabbit in hard cider and it sounded … [Read more...]