The Spring Kitchen Garden

One of the more enjoyable challenges of edible gardening is figuring out how to eat all the produce you grow. I have 48 square feet in my vegetable garden, plus a small herb garden, and the abundance can be overwhelming at times. Given the premium they charge at the store, I really had no idea…

Instant Pork Shoulder

I had a revelation recently – pork shoulder is super versatile, makes superb leftovers, and can be ready in a jiffy in the Instant Pot. Who could ask for more? The beauty of the pork shoulder roast is in how many different ways you can serve it. Cook once, eat all week. You can have…

Butter chicken

Also known as murgh makhani, Indian Butter Chicken might be the world’s best takeout. It’s also strikingly easy to make at home. That lovely picture is my was my beau’s dish. I had mine on cauliflower rice because I’m still going strong on my keto experiment. One nice thing about this dish is it accommodates…

Mushroom pan sauce

This is an easy and tasty sauce that I used to spruce up tri tip sirloin. This is also an easy way to stick to keto at the end of a long workday when your blood sugar is low and you want to eat ALL the things you see on the way home. This dinner…

Burning heart chili

My beau loves chili, but too much tomato can cause heart burn for him. So I developed this “lower acid” version with a more diverse vegetable mix to deliver the flavor without relying entirely on tomato for the base. I think it’s much better than classic chili and he loves it. There’s a lot of…

Butternut beef stew

One of my absolute favorite recipes of all time. I first discovered this in Georgeanne Brennan’s 1998 cookbook Holiday Pumpkins. Her books are a great resource for home gardeners and anyone with an interest in herbs or French food. This recipe caught my eye because it’s such an unusual combination of squash, poblano and pomegranate….

Pipián Verde – pumpkin seed mole

I was lucky enough to eat at Poppy in Seattle for restaurant week, not once, but twice! Poppy is the restaurant of one of my favorite chefs and herb gardeners, Jerry Traunfeld. His food is Ah-mazing! What an incredible inspiration for me to eat there. One of the (many) dishes I enjoyed was his chicken…

Panade and French Onion Soup

I looooooooove French onion soup. So simple, so warming, so delicious. I make it often when I have broth and a fresh bag of onions. And I generally, skip the bread and go with a much more modest dusting of Parmesan instead of melted gruyere, which makes for a low-calorie dinner. It’s very easy to…

Roasted root vegetables

This is one of my favorite fall and winter side dishes. It makes use of the best seasonal produce and can be varied endlessly. My favorite combination is sweet potato, carrot, parsnip, fennel, and potato with onions and garlic. Dice them all up and add 3 bay leaves, 1 tablespoon of herbes de Provence, and…