Eating Mostly Locally: Vegetarian Ramen for Lunch

I know that many of people approach eating locally with a mentality of deprivation. They discuss what they will give up while they endeavor to eat locally, usually for a set period of time, whether a week, a month or a day, They talk about having “exceptions” to their vow to eat locally, usually three, […]

Leftover Makeover: Roasted Asparagus Salad

So, what do you do when you have leftover roasted asparagus? Well, you could put it in an omelet the next morning for breakfast or brunch. Or, you could add it to pasta with a creamy mushroom sauce. Or, you could bake it into a casserole, puree it into a soup or mix it into […]

A Seasonal Spring Comfort Food: Ramped-Up Spaghetti and Meatballs

I love me my ramps and green garlic. All year long, I anticipate with gustatory delight the spring season which not only brings morels, asparagus, rhubarb and strawberries, but also pungent-sweet, spicy-hot ramps and green garlic. I use them in cooking just as I would scallions and garlic, but in even more copious amounts than […]

Pucca Noodles

Allright, before I tell you about these noodles I need to explain about Pucca. Pucca is a South Korean cartoon featuring the unbearably cute main character, Pucca, (pictured over there–see her?) who is the daughter of the chef of a noodle restaurant in tiny Sooga Village. The animation is somewhat South Parkesque, with the kind […]

More Pasta, More Local: Penne Verdante

Even though there was a snowstorm last week, spring marches forward, washing Appalachian Ohio in an ever-brightening wave of green dotted with yellow, violet, pink, white and rose as trees, flowers and grasses burst from the slowly warming earth. The gardens, solar greenhouses and farms surrounding Athens are fertile with early spring delights: scallions, sweet […]