I adore the big pots of mesclun that have been moved to the shadier spots in my backyard now summer is in full swing. A few snips and I have the base for a fabulous summer lunch. There’s no real dressing to make, just assembling a couple of ingredients, including a few slices of Serrano… Read More Summer Salad | Pickled Cherries and Serrano Ham
This past weekend, Cherub and I, along with some Slow Food Columbus members and friends descended upon Schacht Farm Market for the last weekend of you-pick strawberries. I left with ten pounds. Ten pounds. I knew there would be jam, cobblers and desserts in store, but I wanted some for lunch. And it wasn’t like… Read More Strawberry Week | Panzanella Salad
It’s early Spring, and there is an abundance of all sorts of young herbs, lettuces, and edible flowers. They are tender, beautiful and delicious. This is clearly the beginning of salad season. Just pick, tear, and drizzle with the best possible olive oil. Tonight I used dill, mint, picked thyme, parsley, baby lettuces and, as… Read More Backyard Foraging | Violet Salad with Goat Cheese in Phyllo
This is a joyous way to start a meal. It’s a beautiful salad, with ribbons of fresh golden beetroot, bold red radishes, freshly picked mint, and wild and aromatic dill. There’s an Eastern European soul in there, but those delicious and time-honored ingredients take on a brighter, more modern tone. It’s very simple and unfussy… Read More A Cheerful Starter | Golden Beetroot and Radish Salad
It’s been so rainy today that everything in sight is a variation of green: the yet-to-be-mowed grass. The budding trees. The trembling stalks supporting the heavy heads of daffodils. My dinner of orecchiette bathed in butter, chartreuse leeks, backyard mint and verdant parsley. Tiny pasta ears cradle pale green edamame, the whole bowl crowned with… Read More Meatless Monday | Orecchiette with Leek and Pea Shoots
The birth of this post comes from a piece of bony fish. I had a lovely piece of sea bass that would have made a gorgeous steak all seared off and pretty, ready for it’s close up. But darn it if I couldn’t pry loose some stubborn pin bones. Many people wouldn’t bother with such… Read More A Classic Revisited | Sea Bass Salad
Late the first night in Rome many years ago, Hades and I wandered. Blinking in the bright lights of the wedding cake, looking for a spot to grab dinner, tired from our long trip, still adjusting to the time change. We came across a tiny nameless spot, umbrellas still up outside, despite the late hour. … Read More Are you awake?* | Cacio e Pepe
Persephone's Kitchen 