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Tortellini Salad with Asparagus and Sun-Dried Tomatoes
Green, how I want you green. Green wind. Green branches. – Federico García Lorca Spring jolts us with awakenings, fresh flavors, and everything green arriving at the market. For that reason, I choose spinach-filled tortellini and spears of asparagus when making this dish, which can be served room temperature or cold. With both green ingredients in season, consider this the ideal way to start cooking with a fresh crop of vegetables. Set this on the table for dinner or as a side dish and be reminded of the stirrings in the ground and in ourselves. Ingredients ⅓ cup extra-virgin olive oil2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar2 teaspoons red wine vinegar¾ teaspoon honey¼…
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Skillet Cornbread Topped with Tomatoes and Rosemary
Skillet cornbread may be the best kind to serve, as it cooks up with a toasty bottom and tender middle. I love to top mine with garden tomatoes and chopped rosemary to hold onto every last bit of summer. Since corn is available through September, fold some into the batter for added texture and flavor using the recipe below. Recently I recommended this as the ultimate side to my summer Cobb salad, and with Labor Day weekend here, this is a crowd-pleasing addition to the menu. By the start of September, our vegetable gardens have become looser, more natural and sprawling, and our dishes follow suit. The actual amounts of…
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Fall Baked Beans
These baked beans are the perfect plant-based dish for autumn meals, with maple syrup and seasonal flavors that will take you right into cozy sweater weather. They hit all the notes I need in homemade baked beans from nuanced sweetness to the woodsy quality of thyme. In this recipe, tomato puree lends more brightness than commonly used ketchup, and rye whiskey adds the necessary touch of smokiness. When you return home from picking apples, remember to save one for this recipe. A brief cook prepares chopped apples for the baking dish and ensures they cook up tender but not too soft. Before reading through the ingredient list, you can watch…
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Summer Pasta Salad
On summer days, I look forward to checking the tomato vines, watching jalapeño flowers transform into peppers, and grilling as much zucchini as possible. I hold onto the season as I make overflowing salads and enjoy the abundance that only late summer holds. Often I combine what is ready to be picked into my ultimate cold pasta salad, which can be served for dinner as easily as lunch. Sweet corn from the farmers’ market and other gathered vegetables make this dish a true celebration of everything that is summer. In my creative salads cooking classes, we explore recipes and methods using garden fresh ingredients. Each forkful of this summer pasta salad…
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Wheat Berry Salad with Roasted Squash, Spinach and Pear
Finally there is a chill to the air, and we can settle into my favorite part of autumn, the stretch leading up to Thanksgiving. The leaves have been whipping around my yard, and blustery days have me craving heartier salads with ingredients such as those in this wheat berry recipe. Roasted Honeynut squash and pear deliver peak fall flavors while the wheat berries themselves lend the characteristic nutty, slightly chewy texture that give this grain salad the substance we seek as coats and mittens slowly become essential. Freshly made, this vegan dish can be enjoyed warm or room temperature and makes a great Thanksgiving side. Ahead of her time in…
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