July 12th, 2010 | by Jen | published in All, Cheese, Delectable Dairy, DIY Food Projects, Weekend Projects
Ricotta, ricotta, ricotta. So versatile, so simple, so delicious when done well, and so awful when done wrong. For most of my life I hated ricotta, thinking it too rubbery and tasteless. That is, until I tried (quote unquote) REAL ricotta. Not the stuff from the grocery store, but the artisan cheese that is traditionally […]
April 11th, 2010 | by Jen | published in All, Cheese, Veritable Vegetables, Weeknight Recipes
There is only one vendor that sells cardoon at my farmer’s market, and they display the stalks in a gigantic flower vase. Every time I walk past this stand, I think of Tim Burton…
March 15th, 2010 | by Jen | published in All, Cheese, Delectable Dairy, DIY Food Projects, Fantastic Fruits, Honorable Herbs, Lemon, Thyme
There is no cheese that I enjoy more than high quality, handmade ricotta. For years I poo-poo’d it because all I had ever tasted was the shelf stable, strangely homogeneous, fairly tasteless, mass-produced grocery store variety. And then a few years ago…
November 30th, 2009 | by Jen | published in All, Around the World, Cabbage, Cheese, Delectable Dairy, Veritable Vegetables, Weeknight Recipes
One of the best parts of my recent move has been unpacking the multiple boxes of cookbooks that I sealed up and put into storage before leaving for Germany. At the time I thought I was putting my “second tier” books…
November 25th, 2009 | by Jen | published in All, Around the World, Cheese, Dandelion Greens, Veritable Vegetables, Weeknight Recipes
Dandelions’ adaptability makes them one of my favorite cooking greens. They are tasty raw (or perhaps slightly wilted with a warm bacon vinaigrette), lightly sauteed with some hot…
August 19th, 2009 | by Jen | published in All, Around the World, Basil, Cheese, Delectable Dairy, Honorable Herbs, Tomatoes, Veritable Vegetables, Weeknight Recipes
Auflauf, gratin, casserole…? Because I am 1) living in Germany, 2) obsessed with french cookbooks, and 3) decidedly American at heart, I sometimes just don’t know…
November 4th, 2008 | by Jen | published in All, Cheese, DIY Food Projects, Grand Grains, Meats and Sausages, Most Popular, Tomatoes, Veritable Vegetables
Oh. My. God. This is the best pie crust I have ever tasted! So flaky. So moist. And oh the hint of bacon… In preparing for our move to Germany, I have been going through the cupboards…
May 12th, 2008 | by Jen | published in All, Basil, Cheese, Delectable Dairy, Honorable Herbs, Most Popular, Summer Squash & Zucchini, Tomatoes, Veritable Vegetables, Weekend Projects
Last weekend I saw the first tomatoes of the season at the Palo Alto farmer’s market! Greenhouse-raised? perhaps. Unusual variety? not so much. Super delicious after over six months without eating a fresh tomato? absolutely…
May 8th, 2008 | by Jen | published in All, Beets, Cheese, Delectable Dairy, Fantastic Fruits, Orange, Veritable Vegetables, Weeknight Recipes
Ah, beets. My trusty standby — ready to be prepared and enjoyed in the same old ordinary way (roasted, plain), yet always willing to be a player in my latest experimental recipe. It’s hard not to appreciate…
March 27th, 2008 | by Jen | published in Cheese, Delectable Dairy, Fennel, Honorable Herbs, Leek, Most Popular, Potatoes, Thyme, Veritable Vegetables, Weeknight Recipes
It’s official: Spring is in full swing here in Los Altos Hills, California — the days are getting noticeably longer, the pea plants in my garden are exploding with fresh peas, and the winter greens (collards & kale) have bolted to seed…
I daydream a lot about cooking during the week, especially when I’m on the train. Its rhythmic...
Yesterday I inaugurated my new canning equipment -- a huge 12 quart stockpot, a canning funnel, a ma...
I read cookbooks to relax. There is no better way for me to unwind than to read a recipe, imagine t...
I have been craving some serious American food as of late. A week ago I had the overwhelming urge ...
A few weeks ago on the same France trip that introduced me to Feves au Lard Fume, Steven and I met u...
When I try to explain what tempeh is to a person who isn't familiar with it, it never ends up soundi...
I had a quiche epiphany the first time I tasted the quiche from Tartine Bakery in San Francisco. Th...
Besides the expected potatoes and cabbage, green garlic is one item that I have been coming across w...
Hands down, my favorite breakfast is two soft boiled eggs, a touch of butter, a piece or two of good...
The range of culinary emotions I've experienced living here in Germany for the past three months spa...
Long time no see! The recent Modern Beet silence has been due to the fact that I made an internatio...
I can't believe how easy it is to make gravlax. Or let me rephrase that statement -- I can't belie...
I was looking out my apartment window the other day when my gaze came to rest on a tree about fiftee...
Oh. My. God. This is the best pie crust I have ever tasted! So flaky. So moist. And oh the hin...
These past few weeks have been particularly busy and challenging for me. I changed jobs, spent two ...
Wilkommen nach Deutschland! Ok, full-disclosure time: I haven't yet made this myself, but I watche...
A while back, I got the idea in my head that I wanted to make my own sausage. Why? first and forem...
I was walking back from lunch the other day with my coworker Fritz, and he (very) jokingly proclaime...
Perhaps you would have chuckled if you saw me leaping into the air, grabbing at bunches of elderberr...
The annual zucchini proliferation is upon us! Last week alone I was given six large zucchini, which...