herb garden pesto

Nobody in the family has a green thumb, so I was shocked on a recent visit home when my mother’s formerly dinky Chia herb garden had overtaken an entire corner of backyard, all wild and green and begging to be simmered into soups and snipped into salads.  The thyme, rosemary, and oregano are plentiful, but it’s the [...]

mango salsa

They’re back.

They began falling early and in abundance.  Trees that lay dormant in past years are hanging low with the weight of fruit shining violet and green and all shades of orange like long forgotten Christmas lights.  While walking the dog in my parents’ neighborhood I spied an elderly couple tying extra support beams to their year-old [...]

fried chicken

Generally, I’m not a fan of chicken (gasp!). The chicken widely available in American supermarkets is at best a bland slate for any number of sauces and flavors. Even for the chicken dishes I sort of like, my enjoyment is in spite of, not because of, the bird at the center. Fried chicken usually falls [...]

a tale of two pizzas

Miami should be the easiest place in the country to avoid gaining the 5 pounds the average American puts on during the prolonged holiday season. As frost descends on northern fields and produce markets fill with tubers, South Florida’s growing season begins (more on this soon).
But television ads and weather reports blow high definition snow [...]

calm before the storm

I write this beneath a window being pounded by squalls of wind and rain from Tropical Storm Fay.  In these bunkered down conditions it’s hard to imagine that I spent the weekend in a swim suit bouncing from pool to grill.  I also faced another one of my culinary fears: whole fish.

Tucked between the freshwater [...]

double the sweetness

Both of us undertook a baking project this weekend and left our kitchen with a lingering aroma of butter and sugar that lulled us into the week.
Joanna. On Thursday my baking business received its latest customer! She requested a fruity cake for a Sunday brunch. I capitalized on the recent plethora of plump blueberries [...]

green pea risotto

This is such an elegant one-dish meal that looks and tastes like a lot of work went into it. Risotto isn’t as intimidating as it seems; and once you’ve mastered the recipe, it’s hard not to dream up a thousand variations for the relatively blank slate of buttery rice and cheese. I feel [...]

tomatillo-phobia

I suppose that in certain areas of the country what I’m about to say is laughable, but here goes: tomatillos have always intimated me. The kiwi-green orbs look as nonthreatening as tomatoes, but their papery husks and sticky skins—combined with their mysterious absence in recipes other than sauces—gave the impression that only a Mexican mother [...]

return to paradise

Today we were back in beautiful Stiltsville, swimming and sunning on a luxuriously lazy summer Sunday. A monster storm passed overhead in the morning, but left in its wake calm turquoise waters and large schools of tropical fish who had gathered for shelter in the shallow shade of the house.

For Joanna and me, a day [...]

sunday at the farmer’s market

Today we trekked down south to the Homestead Farmer’s Market. With tightly packed kiosks, makeshift taco shops, and a soundtrack of produce names and prices being called out in Spanish, the excitement was palpable. Amidst the sweltering heat and amongst a crowd of weekend shoppers, we eagerly strolled the aisles, marveling at the freshness and [...]