Nose to Tail Watermelon

I hate waste and I love pickles. So preserving the rind of a juicy summer watermelon makes perfect sense to me. I get jars and jars of delicious pickles, crisp pink watermelon cubes, and of course the satisfaction of using every part of the beast. And believe me, a 15-pound watermelon is a beast. This [...]

Mujadara

Tuesday it was about 95 degrees, and despite the heat, I was hungry. Rather than order takeout or eat raw seasonal vegetables like any sensible person, I ended up cooking the plainest of pantry staples. I don’t know why, exactly, but I was craving mujadara. It’s a mixture of rice, lentils and onion, and not [...]

Ice Cream Party

I’m back on the ice-cream making wagon again. It’s hot, I only want to eat frozen things (and raw vegetables sliced with my new knife), so this makes perfect sense. My only problem is deciding which ice creams and sorbets to make.
I took a short break from my creamy, cold obsession after the monster pictured [...]

Corn and Basil Chowder

This is a variation on a corn, basil, and tomato salad that I made every week in August last year. The tomatoes are not quite worth their $4.50 a pound at the greenmarket, so my sweet corn and basil had to cosy up to some pimentòn de la vera instead. The barest hint of smoke [...]