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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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Heirloom Tomato Salad with Basil Blue Cheese Vinaigrette
Late summer may be the most relaxed cooking time of the year. All it takes to put together a beautiful salad is a basket of heirloom tomatoes, fresh herbs, and a bright dressing, in this case my basil blue cheese vinaigrette. Soon we will be slicing squash and roasting pumpkins, but for now, we still have brilliant tomatoes in yellow, purple, and green, with stripes and ridges that make you miss summer just a bit before it even ends. Perfectly ripe summer tomatoes can be enjoyed with a bit of salt and pepper and a drizzle of olive oil, but they shine just as much with a scattering of herbs…
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Roasted Carrots with Green Garlic Dip
Even if you haven’t cooked with green garlic, chances are you have seen it at the market and maybe even mistaken it for a scallion. Harvested during spring, the young allium is fresher, lighter, and slightly milder than mature garlic with a flavor that tends toward onion. Look for the beginnings of a bulb and flat green leaves (or reach out to me with a snapshot!) to make sure you have the right ingredient for this healthy dip. Serve it with small rainbow carrots for a vegetable and dip pairing that’s fit for the season. As a universal spring dip, this recipe also works well with other raw and…
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The Spring Kitchen: Cooking with Seasonal Vegetables and Fruit
Thanks to an early burst of spring at the market, I have been thinking about the seasonal produce soon to make its way to our tables. The dish that made its way to mine, sesame asparagus with roasted plums, was so vibrant that I was told it looked like roses and stems. With its green spears and crimson pieces of fruit, it likely will return for spring gatherings and holidays. Certainly the flavor of toasty sesame and the tangy sweetness of roasted plums is something I look forward to sharing again. As bits of spring soon will surface everywhere, here are some tips on how to make use of the…
food + love + creativity
