This is so easy I almost hesitate to share it. Nonetheless, I recently taught it to my pal Elizabeth who quickly incorporated it into her culinary repertoire to universal raves. If you don't already have a lasagna recipe to which you're attached, this is a good candidate I think. At least, everyone around here is crazy about it , even though it doesn't have meat in it....come to think about it, they may not know it's meatless, so for goodness sake don't tell 'em! I use whole-wheat lasagna noodles because I really like their almost nutty taste, but if your family is whole-wheat averse, regular lasagna noodles are just fine. Do not use those "no-boil" noodles however, which for some reason strike me as rather sinister because, though you don't pre-boil these noodles, they work perfectly anyway.
Read moreThe Best Lemon Bars
I'm really not sure why, but as the sweltering heat of the last few days commenced, all I could think about was lemons. I kept finding myself thinking that a little lemon zest would improve, well, just about everything. Consequently, it felt as though my trusty microplane grater didn't leave my hand all week.
While I was grating merrily away into mostly savory dishes, I started thinking about lemon bars. Upon reflection, I realized that it had been ages since I'd made them and I got all sentimental remembering that they were a great favorite of mine long ago. I realized with some horror that I couldn't quite remember whose recipe I was in the habit of using in the lemon bar-centric days of yore. I did recall trying a great many different ones. This in turn resulted in several happy hours delving into my embarrassingly vast library of cookbooks comparing and contrasting recipes and trying to figure out which one I used to regard as the best.
Read morePasta with garlic scapes, shrimp, and fresh peas
A trip to the farmer's market inspired a new take on an old favorite this week. I was able to find these beautiful garlic scapes as well as oodles of beautiful "English" peas...at least that's what I call them.
But what to make with this delicious booty? I was reminded of my one and only attempt at entering a food competition. Many year's ago I somehow or other was inspired to submit a recipe to the California sun-dried tomato growers. Needless to say, I lost and was so annoyed that I ceased making the stellar recipe that I'd invented for the competition. As I surveyed my peas and scapes, I was reminded of it as it featured peas and tons of garlic.
Read moreBlack and Blue Salad
Last night while I was trolling the refrigerator for dinner ingredients, I admit to laughing out loud when it came to me. The perfect thing would surely be a black and blue salad.
It's been a wild few days, chock-a-block with activity and emotion surrounding Felix's stellar high school graduation on Friday. We've been surrounded by family and friends and lots of fun which by last night left a fridge full of inspirational ingredients and a tired Jeff and Clare, home alone and looking for something quick and delicious for dinner. Black and blue salad was the perfect thing, and the name was just a little humourous jab administered by the universe.
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