Category Archives: paleo friendly

asparagus salsa verde

Asparagus Salsa Verde

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may 9, 2019

asparagus salsa verde

The less done to fresh asparagus, the better. Brief blanching, quick roasting or a few hops in the saute pan will do. If you’re lucky enough to score some tender, first-of-the-season asparagus, no cooking at all is just fine. Shaved in a salad or finely diced, as in this Asparagus Salsa Verde, asparagus has a pleasantly grassy flavor and gentle crunch that is unlike any other vegetable. It needs a bright wake up from citrus or acid to come to life. This salsa combines fresh asparagus with lime juice and green as far as the eye can see—except for a few bits of red onion for flavor and contrast. Continue reading →

hot and sour scallop soup

Hot and Sour Scallop Soup

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april 24, 2019

hot and sour scallop soup

 

Soup is one of those meals enjoyed year round, with seasonal ingredients and temperatures to suit the weather. In summertime, Cucumber Vichyssoise is green and cooling. Autumn calls for Butternut Squash Soup with Apple Cider and Chipotle Spice and winter brings big steaming bowls of White Bean and Cabbage Soup. Spring soups are less heavy, more on the broth spectrum, with light veggies and bright herby flavors. Such is today’s Hot and Sour Scallop Soup, as incendiary as you like with hot pepper and fresh ginger. Continue reading →

sweet potato pilaf

Sweet Potato Pilaf

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january 10, 2019

sweet potato pilaf

 

This sweet potato pilaf is for everyone who loves the idea of adding sweet potatoes to their diet, but will enjoy them more without all the sweet hoopla of brown sugar and marshmallows. There is a bit of sweet tartness with the addition of pomegranate seeds, but not a smidge of sugar in sight.

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garlic roasted peppers

Garlic Roasted Peppers

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october 18, 2018

garlic roasted peppers

I’m finally getting around to reading Michael Pollan’s The Omnivore’s Dilemma, in which food choice and overabundance are believed to have engendered paralysis in today’s kitchens. With so many options in our crowded market aisles, we sputter at decision time. What to have for dinner? We have good intentions. Colorful vegetables are purchased at grocery stores with the operative plan being to cook them up on the weekend and enjoy them all week. Excitement turns to dismay when we see these same vegetables staring at us reproachfully from the way back of the shelf four days later, unchopped and uncooked. We are time-challenged and over scheduled. Continue reading →

autumn fruit salad

Autumn Fruit Salad

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september 20, 2018

autumn fruit salad

A visit to my local roadside stand tells me the seasons are beginning to change. Sure, there are still tomatoes and cucumbers and squash, but now we see the first autumn apples and crisp Asian pears. Soon there will be fragrant apple cider and pumpkins of every color and stripe. I love combining local produce to bridge the seasons, as with this spring’s Asparagus and Shiitake Stir Fry, marrying the tender spears of spring asparagus with the last of winter’s butternut squash.  Continue reading →

Eggplant Dip with Harissa Aioli

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august 22, 2018

eggplant dip with harissa aioli

Eggplant has been looking and tasting good at the roadside stands this summer. Roasting brings out the slight sweetness of the vegetable and reduces the astringency of eggplant, which has the unfortunate honor of being in the top three of least liked veggies when I tally my client preferences. The others are brussels sprouts and lima beans, but I always figure that someday folks will have their epiphany and decide these are loved and enjoyed after all. One can always hope.

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Thai Melon and Radish Salad

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july 18, 2018

thai melon and radish salad

When it gets so hot outdoors I wilt from the humidity, I turn to cool things. Not cool as in trendy, but delicious things to enjoy which don’t involve cooking. Some days the very thought of standing at a hot grill turns me to melting mush. It helps that I have a bounty of beautiful Thai basil growing in pots on the deck, and that the anise-like flavor is most appreciated when enjoyed in the uncooked state. And that watermelon radishes are always available in warm weather months! The baby melons adorning store shelves and roadside stands have been calling me to craft tart and sweet salads with thin slices of their summer goodness. Continue reading →

Vidalia Onion Vinaigrette

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may 30, 2018

vidalia onion vinaigrette

 

Sweet Vidalia onions are back in season and I’m putting them to good use. Know how they say you can eat them raw? Ever tried that? Me neither, but their mild flavor allows them to take up residence in salads, salsas and sandwiches without imparting a strong oniony aftertaste. You have nothing to fear from this seasonal salad dressing in the way of offending others!

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Asparagus and Shiitake Stir Fry

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april 11, 2018

asparagus shiitake stir fry

 

What better way to welcome spring and say so long to winter than with a recipe featuring elements of both seasons? Hey, there, asparagus, nice to see you again! Butternut squash, it was a good run, and now it’s time to make way for greener crunchies. With my quest to add more veggies to my daily meal plan (see previous post for Socca Pizza), I am finding that if vegetables are roasted ahead, or stir-fried ahead, I”m much more likely to heat and serve alongside my main dish. Continue reading →

Lemon Rosemary Roasted Chicken

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february 15, 2018

lemon rosemary roasted chicken

 

This winter my perennial herbs really took a hit. After a few chilly spells, the thyme has the color and consistency of slimy sea kelp. In milder winters I have been able to harvest oregano for weeks after the first frost. This winter, all I have left is one herb —  a few scraggly spears of rosemary on my plants, and the most viable went toward today’s Lemon Rosemary Roasted Chicken. The house needed a really comforting aroma before guests arrived, and the rosemary contributed to the illusion I had been cooking all day. In reality there is nothing easier than roasting chicken thighs. No pan sear, no fuss, just marinate for a bit in the lemon garlic rosemary magic, roast and there you have it. A simple rustic meal emboldened with the bite of pickled hot peppers, on a creamy base of whatever suits your taste. Continue reading →