My mother is a very good cook. She is also an expert woodworker, makes a killer chocolate biscotti, and she picks up the phone whenever one of her four daughters call, which (if you know anything about family) should earn her sainthood since at least one of us four is always in the midst of a crisis. That's just basic math.
Read moreBUTTERNUT SQUASH SOUP WITH MISO AND COCONUT MILK
I've written about this soup before, but it merits revisiting. Each time I cook it, I find myself on the phone with my mother, or my sister, or a friend, vehemently explaining how good it is, as if they have nothing better to do than drop everything and make soup.
But if they did, and if you do, I promise you'll thank me.
Read moreMUSHROOM & KALE FRITTATA
Last night: New York City. At a bar in Tribeca, I drink two prickly pear margaritas in quick succession; the alcohol heightens my senses. I need food, and I step outside into the night to hail a cab.
Heading uptown: The streets rush past in a blur of neon lights. In mere minutes I speed past dozens of neighborhoods, hundreds of apartments, thousands of people.
Read moreBUTTERNUT SQUASH, SPINACH & CHEDDAR QUICHE
If you're ever having a bad day, here's what to do. Buy two yellow onions. Slice them into thin half-moon shapes. Heat some olive oil on medium-low heat in a heavy-bottomed saucepan. Slide the sliced onions into the pan. The oil will sizzle and hiss in protest. Grab a worn wooden spoon and stand at the stove. Push the onions around the pan occasionally, watching them slowly turn from white to translucent to golden brown to a dark, caramelized brown sugar color.
Read moreRoasted Potato Salad
The weather in July is postcard-worthy on the farm. Everything is lush and full and vibrantly green. The sky is a bright primary blue; fat white clouds drift across it, looking close enough to touch. I take a bike ride in the morning. I cycle past wide fields striped with perfectly geometric lines of tall corn, white painted farmhouses, horse pastures bordered by weathered gray fences that sag in the center.
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