Eating Bitter, Part Two: The Bitter Melon and Me

A poetic name for a lovely dish: Phoenix and Jade with Blossoms. The very first time I tasted a bitter melon was at the home of the couple who were my very first personal chef clients. He was from Bangledesh, and she was from Pakistan, and they both loved bitter melon. One evening, they had […]

Green Gold

The ramps are up, and my tastebuds are happy! Spring is definitely here! On Saturday, at the farmer’s market, I came upon a nice young couple selling little bundles of freshly cut ramp greens as well as pesto made from ramps. Of course, I had to buy some, even though I knew I would be […]

Puttanesca: Fast Food for Fast Women

The finished dish of Puttanesca; it is best if you toss the pasta with the sauce in the pan, but I didn’t remember that last night. Puttanesca is a classic Neapolitan pasta sauce based on olives, tomatoes, capers and anchovies. The name comes from the Italian, “puttana,” which means, “whore,” and there are several different […]

Split Pea Soup: It’s Ugly

There is no way around it: split pea soup is frightfully unattractive. However, it tastes divine, and is a frugal dish that anyone can make. But it sure does taste good. It seems I am making a lot of soups recently. I think it started with Zak and I having the flu. This fomented the […]

Chinese Fast Food

There are some days when I get involved in writing, working or gardening, and I forget that I have to cook dinner until the sun is going down, my stomach is growling and Zak is about to perish from lack of caloric intake. In these times, I am glad that we have a Chinese deli […]

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