I love homemade pizza overflowing with delicious toppings. It honestly feels like a different food from the crappy stuff sold at fast food chains and greasy restaurants. Homemade pizza can actually be a health food - filled with veggies, made on whole wheat crust, and using just the right amount of cheese. And, in addition to being delicious and … [Read more...]
English Mushy Peas
The English are wild about their mushy peas! They are served as a side dish with pub food like fish and chips, bangers and mash and pot pie. At first, I was turned off by the name, but I changed my tune after actually tasting them. Well, I should say I changed my tune tasting them at Russell's Fish and Chips, in the English Cotswolds town of … [Read more...]
Beet Salad with Goat Cheese
As you may have guessed, beets hold a special place in my heart. They seem to perfectly epitomize the ideal vegetable – versatile, delicious, overflowing with nutrients, and beautiful to boot! Beets are truly a superfood. Beets are best known nutritionally for their high antioxidant levels, many vitamins and minerals, and support of … [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...]
Greek Pasta Salad
There is something about summer that inspires me to make pasta and grain salads. First of all, I love any excuse to use up as many veggies as possible, but I also love that these salads are good warm or cold and can be eaten right away or enjoyed a few days later. They are the epitome of easy, healthy, summer cooking. My standby is a quinoa salad … [Read more...]
Market Season
May is one of my favorite months of the year. The days are warmer and the flowers are blooming, but most of all the farmers markets open for the summer. I love wandering through the stalls, talking to the farmers, and picking up produce that was harvested that morning. There is nothing better for a local food junkie! Europe does an excellent … [Read more...]
Italian Prune Plum Jam
I recently had canning weekend with my sister. We made all sorts of things, but one of the highlights was plum jam made with Italian prune plums. Prune plums are one of my favorite summer treats - I end up eating 4 or 5 of them per day when they're in the height of their season. I find them to have a more distinctive flavor than regular plums … [Read more...]
Hot Sauce!
T and I are very into grilled peppers. One of our favorite restaurants in Boston (Toro) has delicious grilled peperoncini peppers smothered in olive oil and salt. They are amazing! We have had good luck recreating them at home and recently thought we'd try these small sweet red peppers instead of our usual green peperoncinis. Well it turns … [Read more...]
Tongues of Fire Beans
How could I resit these beautiful beans? I found them at the farmer's market and had to give them a try. The farmer selling them told me they are called Tongues of Fire because of their pink shells and described them as a mixture of fresh summer beans (think green beans) and dried winter beans. They are semi-dried, so they need to be cooked, but … [Read more...]
Summer Veggie Quinoa Salad
I am a big believer in quinoa. As someone who focuses on a mainly plant based diet, this complete protein grain is a terrific addition. Plus it tastes great and I like the little squiggly grains. I use quinoa a number of ways, but by far my favorite is in salads. You can use virtually any vegetables you have on hand and create a delicious, … [Read more...]