Category Archives: quick & easy

Beyond Canning: Gochugaru Preserved Lemons

24 March 2016 by local kitchen

Well, hellllllllllllloooooooooooooo there! It has been quite a while, hasn’t it? It seems I took an unintentional blog hiatus over the winter: life and work (and more life) and not quite having a lot to say all played their part. But breaks are good things, I think; and I’m feeling refreshed and ready to tackle new cooking projects, and more importantly, talk about them here! And what better reason to come out of bloggy hibernation than to celebrate the launch […]

Categories: citrus, fermenting, fruit, preserving, quick & easy, winter • Tags: canning, citrus, cooking, food, preserving, quick & easy, recipes

Apple Cabbage Pomegranate Slaw

14 December 2015 by local kitchen

This crunchy, sweet-sour, festively purple slaw has been in regular rotation since my new-found obsession with fresh pomegranate started a few weeks ago. And especially during the Crazy Season, it’s hard to beat: quick & easy to throw together (the biggest chunk of time is spent seeding the pomegranate); hits all the right notes of sweetness, acidity, bitterness, salt & crunch; and holds up equally well as accompaniment to a rich, fatty protein like these plum-glazed pork country ribs (you […]

Categories: apples, cabbage, cilantro, fruit, parsley, quick & easy, salad, side dish, vegetarian, winter • Tags: cooking, food, local, quick & easy, salad, vegetarian

Homemade Curry Powder

25 February 2015 by local kitchen

It’s a well known fact that the hardest part of making curry powder at home is digging the various whole spices out of whatever wacky spice storage solution you’ve got working. Especially when said spice storage solution involves a shoulder-deep cabinet with only one shelf, a door that will stay open only if propped on a wooden spoon, and is packed to the gills with pantry staples. But, once you bite the bullet and drag the Maldon salt, matcha, peppermint […]

Categories: condiments, quick & easy, year round • Tags: cooking, food, Indian, local, quick & easy, recipes

Preserved Lemon Hummus

23 October 2014 by local kitchen

Strange but true: I ate some of the best hummus in Brazil. Smack-dab in the middle of the Amazon jungle, to be exact, about 1000 miles from nowhere, otherwise known as Manaus. While I and my intrepid band of World Cup travelers endured a purgatorial stay at the Hotel Brasil (an establishment that made you wonder what heinous crime you committed in a previous life to get yourself stuck there) in advance of the second US match, we spent a […]

Categories: appetizer, chickpeas, grains & legumes, mint, quick & easy, snack, vegetarian, year round • Tags: cooking, food, quick & easy, recipes, vegetarian

Figgy Granola Bars

8 October 2014 by local kitchen

Gettin’ figgy wit it. I know. That was bad. I apologize. Ahem. Let’s move on, shall we? A simple little granola bar with a base of dried figs, oats, and almonds. Inspired by the 5 ingredient granola bars at Minimalist Baker, but of course, I tossed that 5 ingredient thing right out the window, adding coffee (because: morning), pepitas (because: Fall!) and flax seeds (because: health!), not to mention salt (because: who makes granola bars without salt??). The real beauty […]

Categories: breakfast, grains & legumes, nuts, oats, quick & easy, snack, year round • Tags: cooking, food, local, quick & easy, recipes

Green Bean, Corn & Bacon Salad with a Chipotle-Lime Dressing

21 August 2014 by local kitchen

I’m sometimes at a loss when it comes to green beans. I mean, sure: when I’ve got a handful or two, the way I will buy them at the farmer’s market, I’ll toss them into a curry or noodle dish, no problem. But often it seems, when beans are ready, they are READY: the harvest comes fast & furious, and we end up with two bulging gallon Ziplocs in the fridge, courtesy of the CSA (and of me avoiding green […]

Categories: corn, green beans, quick & easy, salad, summer • Tags: cooking, food, local, quick & easy, recipes, salad

Traveler’s Vegetable Curry

9 July 2014 by local kitchen

I’m baaaaack! Did you miss me? I spent three & a half weeks in Brazil, but it seems like months: everything is so green and lush at home, strawberries have come and gone (and maybe cherries too?), when I left school was still in session, but now it’s after the 4th of July and summer is in full swing. First things first: did you see the game yesterday?? My, oh my, oh my. Poor Brazil. I feel somewhat guilty (like […]

Categories: cilantro, main course, quick & easy, vegetarian, year round • Tags: cooking, food, local, quick & easy, recipes, vegetarian

Candied Ramp & Fennel Jam

13 May 2014 by local kitchen

Speaking of sugar: how about some candied ramp & fennel jam? Just a quick one today, as I am drowning in data and have been for days, but I took a half-hour lunch break to whip up this small-batch jam from a lovely bunch of ramps Tai brought home from Holbrook Farm the other day. With leaves finally filling out the trees, ramp season will soon be behind us as the sun gets blocked from the forest floor. I’m squeezing […]

Categories: fennel, jams, leek, quick & easy, spring • Tags: cooking, food, local, preserving, quick & easy, recipes

Candied Fennel Stalks + Fennel Frond Salt

17 January 2014 by local kitchen

I’ve been on a bit of a fennel kick lately: not that I would ever consider the dreaded “D” word, but it’s nice to have something crisp and fresh and sweet yet mildly grassy after the excesses of the holidays. Fennel is pretty amazing in that every part of the plant is edible: bulb, stalks, fronds, seeds and pollen; and while they all have that distinctive licorice-y flavor, each part of the plant tastes subtly different, and the overall flavor is […]

Categories: fennel, preserving, quick & easy, spring, winter • Tags: cooking, food, local, preserving, quick & easy, recipes

Toasted Couscous Salad with Fennel & Kumquats

9 January 2014 by local kitchen

Can we talk about the tyranny of 5-ingredient recipes? I mean, what line of bullshit have we swallowed that makes us think that limiting a recipe to just five ingredients will make our lives better, simpler, or “down right irresistible?” Don’t get me wrong: we all know that the essence of good cooking is restraint. But to arbitrarily limit ourselves to only five ingredients (not counting salt, pepper, water, a splash of olive oil, a dash of lemon, a…..) out of […]

Categories: cabbage, celery, citrus, fennel, grains & legumes, quick & easy, salad, side dish, vegetarian, winter • Tags: cooking, food, local, quick & easy, salad, vegetarian, winter

Rosemary Roasted Cashews

23 November 2013 by local kitchen

Have you heard the news? Nuts will save your life. Literally. A study published in the New England Journal of Medicine has analyzed nut consumption in nearly 175,000 health professionals over a span of 30 years. They found a 20% reduction in death from any cause in people who ate nuts every day. Twenty. percent. Let that sink in for a moment. Twenty percent lower incidence of heart disease. Of diabetes. Of cancer. Respiratory disease. Neurodegenerative disease. Stroke. Even infection. (How […]

Categories: appetizer, gifts, holiday, nuts, quick & easy, rosemary, snack, year round • Tags: cooking, food, local, nibbles, nuts, quick & easy, recipes, vegetarian

Early Summer Napa Slaw

2 July 2013 by local kitchen

Bright sunny days, cool misty nights and plenty of rain = heaven for cabbage and other leafy greens. So I wasn’t surprised when I saw the GIANT head of Napa cabbage in last week’s CSA bag. I was, however, a bit dismayed that my favorite cabbage slaw includes cherry tomatoes, which won’t make their cheery red selves known around these parts for at least a few more weeks. Enter early summer slaw: crunchy pink radishes, spicy spring onions, sweet orange […]

Categories: cabbage, carrot, quick & easy, radish, salad, scallions, side dish, summer, tarragon, vegetarian • Tags: cooking, food, local, quick & easy, recipes, salad, vegetarian

Put ’em Up! Fruit: Classic Blueberry Jam, Pan-Roasted Chicken with Blueberry Reduction, and A Giveaway

11 April 2013 by local kitchen

By now, you’ve heard about Put ’em Up! Fruit, the new book from Sherri Brooks Vinton, right? I mean, Marisa was dishing about it, as was Sean, and Autumn made the glorious sounding lemon, red onion & oregano jam. And with giveaways all over the blogosphere for the next two weeks, surely it won’t be long before you have a copy in your hot little hands. Right? When Storey Publishing emailed to ask if I’d like to participate in a […]

Categories: berries, chicken, jams, main course, preserving, quick & easy, roasting, Use it or Lose it!, wine, beer & liquor, year round • Tags: canning, chicken, cooking, dinner, food, local, preserving, quick & easy, recipes

Mexican Black Bean Pizza

2 April 2013 by local kitchen

I threw together this pizza for a quick lunch the other day. While homemade black bean pizza might not be your idea of “quick & easy” lunch fare, it mostly consisted of tossing together a bunch of already-prepared things: cooked black beans, par-baked and frozen pizza crust, salsa from last summer; and adding a bit of fresh veg and cheese. As it was, it took longer to preheat the oven than to put this pizza together and 20 minutes later […]

Categories: main course, pizza, quick & easy, vegetarian, year round • Tags: cooking, food, local, main course, pizza, quick & easy, recipes, vegetarian

Jacket Potato

27 February 2013 by local kitchen

My friend Christina was in the UK last week and she ended up in Windsor, by the castle. She snapped a pic of a pub we had visited last spring, whiling away a stormy afternoon (and a substantial hangover) with lunch and a pint, while the rest of our crew toured the castle. Just seeing a blurry, nighttime snapshot of the front of the pub brought me back to that afternoon: the warm & cozy (and dry!) wooden booths, the […]

Categories: 100% local, main course, potato, quick & easy, year round • Tags: cooking, food, local, potatoes, quick & easy, recipes