Category: vegetarian / vegan
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Creamy Fennel, Garlic, Onion & Potato Soup & Spinning My Wheels & Free Diapers
When was spinning a craze? I remember my older brother converting to the religion of spin class somewhere in the late 90s…but like many things from that time period, I missed them. My first child was born in 1999. Roughly translated, this means my husband and I ARE STILL WATCHING THE WEST WING. Missed it… Read more
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Summer Squash Ribbon Salad with Lemon-Dill Vinaigrette (Raw) & My Vegan Dog
Perhaps you’re familiar with Newfoundlands as a breed. Maybe you read Peter Pan (in the original book, Nana is a Newfie, not a Saint). My dog, Atticus, is, for lack of a better ford, a beast. He is giant, hairy, drools, has huge teeth, paws that can take out a grown man’s eye (though he’d… Read more
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Italian Plum Tart (Crostata alla Confettura di Prugne) & Finding Treasures
This is a classic southern Italian dessert, though my favorite time to eat this is in the morning. I especially like the crisp pastry and the tart plum when we’re down to the last few slices and the very last one is a bit stale, and thus crunchy and I can peck at the crumbs… Read more
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Addis (Red Lentils with Tomatoes) & Old Haunts
I’ve loved some restaurants in my life. Some remain, some have since closed, turned over into other eateries or morphed into cell phone stores. I look back on these places the way one might look back on an old flame. Oh, tiny little place no one knew about in the then-dodgy part of London with… Read more
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Zucchini Ribbons with Velvet Onions & The Mystery of the Green Bag
Upon our return from Italy last night we realized a few things: we are tired, which is silly considering we relaxed very hard while there…I’m thinking this had something to do with 19 hour travel day with five kids, two long-haul flights, time changes, system breakdown of in-flight entertainment, the airline somehow having us down… Read more
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Oven Omelet with Garlic Scapes & baby Spinach & Art
In the food-as-modern-scultpure category, garlic scapes win first place. Green in shades from lightest to moss, twisted as witches fingers, lovely enough to use as a centerpiece and yet too delicious to waste on topiary. I love the bite. Are they the love child of garlic and onion? Perhaps. But they make for a flavorful… Read more
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Beet Salad with Lime Vinaigrette (Raw) & School’s Out for Summer
Nothing says Summer Fun for kids like a raw beet salad, right? Wrong. But this does not mean I won’t make it again. It was a great for items in my CSA delivery and because it’s barely heated through, the beet retains bite Read more
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Triple Greens with Crispy Coconut & Saying No
I say no a lot. No you may not have ice cream, no you may not paint the dog, no you may not watch tv in afternoon. Saying no helps my kids learn how to be creative. No tv = magic wands made of paper towel rolls and chasing games around the house and soccer… Read more
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Oven S’mores & A Hairy Beast
Inevitably, the subject of pets comes up at various points – college, for example, or pre-school parent chit chat or little league chit chat or pediatrician appointments. “Any pets?” “Yes, a dog.” “Oh, we want one but my husband’s allergic/my kids won’t take care of it/we don’t have the space/I like cats.” “We have a… Read more
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Asian Broccoli Slaw & An Anatomy Lesson
My mom took Julia, age 7, and her friend Sally for the afternoon. They played make-believe, ate tuna salad and celery and Oreos and run around Grammie’s townhouse and did slippery-slides on the wood floors. That night, Sally’s mom called me to say she was sorry. “For what?” Sally’s mom is a pediatrician. “I think… Read more
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Curried Sweet Sunflower Seeds & Throwing Caution to the Wind
This summer we’re going back to my dad’s house in Italy. It is there where we lose track of the days, eat lots of local cheese, let the kids swim late and look up at the stars without ushering them into bed on time, where gelato is a daily treat, and picking vegetables from the… Read more
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Communal Bowl of Japanese Noodles & Cures for Boredom
I’ve said it before but I’ll say it again: mess is fine by me. I like a tidy house but I also know that one of the keys to relaxed fun is letting go. In light of that, I set up a couple of activities for the kids. We had a bit of a heat… Read more
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Chocolate Pudding Cake & A Free Cup of Coffee
I go through phases of buying coffee. Most of the time, I’m too frugal to treat myself to a 3$ misto and it’s more convenient just to set the pot up the night before at home. This year, during TYOTS, eating became a real chore for me. So did making anything, including coffee. Sometimes I… Read more
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Quick Radish Pickles & Recovery
By now you might know that something very bad happened to one of my kids this year. He’s 9 and has been recovering in a variety of ways; therapy, talking, and, since March, cooking and baking. Sunday nights he flips through cookbooks and decides what he’d like to make. Monday we find the ingredients and… Read more
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Miso Collard Greens & Making Out
Before I had ever kissed anyone, I figured liplock would be similar to the long, sunset-hued sessions on The Love Boat. I’d be there, in my off-the-shoulder dress and we’d gaze at each other before leaning leaning leaning and then joining mouths until Isaac or Doc interrupted us for the conga line on the lido… Read more