When red peppers are on sale at the grocery store, snatch up four good looking ones (ones that will stand upright) and give this recipe a try. Making stuffed peppers was a first for us; we’ve neither made the dish before nor have eaten it much. Initially, I was looking for a recipe that just [...]

It is Spring and that means it is asparagus season!! My favorite way to prepare asparagus it to simply drizzle it with olive oil and balsamic vinegar and then roast it under the broiler. We have directions for this on our last post on asparagus. It is really a great dish that is easy to [...]

Ramps are only in season March through June, so when we saw some at our local farmers’ market we picked up a bunch. Ramps look like green onions, but are actually wild leeks and pack a lot of garlicky flavor. Coincidentally, bon appetit (April 2009) has a whole article on ramps and several recipes. Originally, we [...]

Salads need not be limited to just lunch or an appetizer, they can be a meal! I threw this salad together one day after work when I was feeling too lazy to make anything. It was simply some of that lettuce that comes in those plastic boxes, an avocado and a can smoked tuna in [...]

I came across this great recipe for carrot soup from the first edition of the Moosewood Cookbook. I skipped the almonds and it still tasted great. The soup has a sweet, but earthy flavor.

Our farmer’s market just closed down for the year. On one of the last weekends Carolyn brought home a great present – a head of Broccoli Romanesco. Broccoli Romanesco is actually closer to cauliflower than broccoli and is a bit more tender. It tastes pretty much the same as cauliflower but looks cooler. Being the [...]

This is a great dish that is perfect for cold weather. Country ham provides a ton of flavor and the lentils help this dish stick to your ribs. Country ham is similar to prosciutto; it is a ham that is salted, then washed and hung to age. It may not be as delicate or nuanced [...]

When the farmer at the farmers’ market recommends something, he is usually right. Last week he recommended Romano beans. I had never tried them before so I thought I would give it a go. They are flatter and wider than green beans, but can be prepared the same way. We have since bought some two [...]

This is a quick and easy recipe for eggplant Parmesan “light.” It’s light because it’s not coated in breadcrumbs and fried, not that there’s anything wrong with that. It’s quick and easy because all you have to do is stack the ingredients and pop it in the oven. We topped ours with a little homemade [...]

I am a big fan of simple recipe that relies on the quality of the ingredients to do all the work. This is because I am a lazy bastard. We picked up some ripe, juicy tomatoes from the farmers’ market and simply diced them and dressed them with salt, vinegar and olive oil. We added [...]

I will be the first to admit that pickling radishes sounds a little weird. Zucchini is one thing, it at least looks like a cucumber. Radishes are a whole different story though; they’re small, weird and funky. I am game to try any dish once though, and luckily I had a small bag of radishes [...]

I am not sure if it is a good thing to see pickling get a big spread in the main stream media. This story in the LA Times does a great job of the basics behind pickling. I am all for bringing pickling to the masses by making it accessible. I get a little nervous [...]

I picked up some Swiss chard at the farmers’ market last week without any real good idea of what to do with it. I guess I’m attracted to colorful, peculiar vegetables that I’ve never tried. Sometimes this is a good thing, other times it leads to disaster. Luckily for the chard, I found a great, [...]

I feel bad that I have been posting so much about our trip to Vermont. I thought I would slip this post in to break things up a bit. Have no fear, only a couple more posts to go on Vermont. That is what I am telling myself. This is a picture of a head of [...]

I had a good haul from the farmers’ market a couple of weeks ago, but I have been pretty lazy about getting the photos online. I should really work on streamlining the process so things don’t sit around. Anyhow, without further ado, I present…Farmers’ Market! Tri-Colored Carrots Garlic Greens Garlic Scapes

This is a random recipe I came up with because: It was raining outside. We had some random veggies to use up. I really want more bacon in my diet. For a random, self-invented recipe this dish came out really good. It is clearly a dish meant for innovation and switcheroos. Say for instance that you don’t have 4 [...]

Carolyn is a big fan of Devon and Blakely, a lunch spot in Washington, DC that serves lots of different soups and salads. One of her favorite side salads is Channa – chickpeas baked with olive oil, curry, cilantro and caramelized onions. So, me being the good person I am, set out to try and recreate [...]

I grew up in Western Massachusetts where spring is synonymous with asparagus. Hadley, MA at one time claimed to be the “Asparagus Capital of the World.” A virus decimated the crop, however,  in the 1970s and a lot of farms switched crops or sold their land. It made a bit of a come back though, [...]

You know something is not right when you look at a $4 bag of painfully stingy greens and think to yourself, “Man this would make a great blog post.” Seriously, that is not a good sign. Luckily for you, faithful Cookography readers, I completely ignored that sign and the painful welts I would later get, [...]

Fava beans are a pain in the ass. Fresh favas are over-priced and not worth the trouble. I only got them because I thought they would make me cool. There, I said it. Wait, aren’t they trendy? How could trendy things be over-rated? Well because after you spend $2.50 for a pound of fresh beans and [...]

Chive blossoms can do more than pretty up your place, they can also pretty up your plate. The flowers on chive plants are edible and we found a bunch of them for sale a few weeks ago at our farmers’ market. I used most of the chives, but kept the ones with blossoms in a [...]

Our farmers’ market is finally back in full swing. Right now it is mostly young greens and root vegetables, but they also have some hot house tomatoes that beat the cardboard versions we were getting from Safeway. Purple Scallions – Deep Purple Bunching (I think)

There is not too much to report on this dish. I just wanted to share because it was really simple yet delicious. I picked up the head of bib lettuce at our farmers’ market. That salad was top with chicken breast which I pan-fried ahead of time. We also added some cherry tomatoes and gorgonzola [...]

Ramps are a trendy seasonal delight. They are a miniature version of a leek and taste like the cross between garlic and an onion. What makes them unique (and therefore trendy) is they can not be cultivated and instead have to be found in the wild. Unlike leeks, the green part is tender and can [...]

I just got these wonderful beets from the local farmer’s market. They were fresh out of the ground and still had the greens attached and a little dirt on them. We roasted them and they were good!

I am not quite sure when beets are in season, but I just picked up two massive ones from the farmer’s market. We roasted both of them in oven, and they came out great. Roasting actually make the beets a lot easier to handle. They are really easy to peel after roasting and they give [...]

This is the recipe that confirmed for me that Brussels sprouts are a tasty treat that have gotten a bad reputation. When I tried braising them they turned out good, roasting makes them great! Not only is this a tasty recipe, but it couldn’t be simpler. Roasted Brussels sprouts are completely different from soggy boiled [...]

It is cold outside, you have 1 pounds of carrots and parsnip, what do you do? Why, you steam them and then toss them in butter, of course! This is one of those basic master recipes that works with just about anything, but works particularly well with root vegetables like carrots and parsnips. I was lucky [...]

I know what you’re thinking, “butternut squash on pizza???” We were skeptical as well, but the pictures accompanying the recipe looked too good to pass up. We are hopeful that our own photos will inspire you to try this recipe, as well! Verdict: the sweetness of the butternut squash and the dryness of the [...]

For a healthy, light lunch during the week, try making a big salad. It only takes 5-10 minutes to prepare the night before…and it’ll save you $5-10 a day because you won’t have to buy your lunch. Also, when we’ve been eating particularly unhealthy for few days, we will make big salads for dinner. Mixed greens, [...]

I am not going to be one of those food bloggers who sings the praises of some less fashionable vegetable just to be seem cool and winning. Truth is, Brussels sprout aren’t as naturally tasty as a lot of the other vegetables out there. Give me a tomato, carrot or green bean over a sprout [...]

Gnocchi can be a scary… but really it is one of the simplest pastas out there. The only complicated part is baking the potatoes needed for traditional gnocchi. However if you use canned pumpkin puree you can make delicious, colorful gnocchi in no time at all. After boiling the gnocchi you can toss them with a [...]

Making Oven Fries is a quick and easy way to cook up tasty root veggies. I have tried this basic recipe with carrots, potatoes and sweet potatoes – with great results every time! The cook times with very based upon the veggie, and the size of the cut, but the basics are the same. The [...]

There are two kinds of pickles in this world: pickles that get most of their flavor from the seasonings and pickles that get there flavoring from fermenting. Most of the pickles out there get their flavor from the seasonings. The pickles are either refrigerated or canned right away in order to prevent bacteria from growing. [...]

Last weekend we couldn’t help but pick-up a carton of these adorable baby squash. They were tiny, about the size of a finger. To cook them, I cut off the stem and then halved them. We heated up a pan over medium heat with olive oil and then cooked them, cut side down, until they [...]

So truth be told, heirloom tomatoes would probably be wasted on a salsa, and not worth the extra cost of a regular plum tomato. Of course this is only true if you don’t live next door to a farmers market where they sell a 3 pound bag of slightly bruise tomatoes for $2. If you [...]

Nothing taste more like summer that fresh tomatoes. We picked up a couple huge, not so pretty, but pretty tasty, heirloom tomatoes at the farmer’s market. These tomatoes are so good that it only takes a little salt and oil to make them shine. I add some balsamic and chives just for a little extra [...]

Being able to walk out the door and around the corner to get to my local market has been a real treat. It is always a bit of an adventure, you are never quite sure what will be peaking. This week the tomatoes were king. One farm was quoting that 10 different types were available. Organic [...]

Last summer Carolyn and I grew a bumper crop of cherry tomatoes off of our balcony. Unfortunately this year we were not able to plant any because our new condo (yea!) does not have any growing space (boo!). Anyhow I was reminded of this great crop of tomatoes while I was combing through my photo [...]

You know summer is just around the corner when the quality of tomatoes picks up. We have been getting and eating lots of tomatoes from the farmers market that is right around the corner from us. We have done some complicated things with them… but if you have good tomatoes, you just can’t beat a [...]

Vegetable soup is perfect for the spring and summer. Even though it is served hot, it is light and fresh. I came across this recipe in a cookbook called Soup: Superb Ways with a Classic Dish. It was one of those generic books at Barnes & Nobles. It is actually really good though. When I [...]

French onion soup is the perfect winter soup. It has a great depth of flavor from the carmelized onion. With the addition of bread and cheese, it is hearty with out being too heavy. The best part is that the recipe is easy and quick.

Sauteed frozen green beans has become our favorite dish. Frozen green beans you might ask, can they be any good? Well the truth is frozen vegetables are often just as flavorful, if not more, than “fresh” vegetables. Frozen vegetables are a quick, cheap and tasty way to get vegetables on your table.

Each time the summer rolls around and BBQing starts I make my favorite side dish, Spicy Green Beans. The dish balances the sweetness of the beans with a smoky, spicy sauce. It is best made with fresh green beans, they are nice and crisp, but frozen green beans can be used too. Frozen might [...]

This is a great recipe for baby zucchini, which starts appearing at the very beginning of summer. It is a great way to highlight the flavor of the zucchini. The recipe is very simple, and not really specific to zucchini. Basically you cook it with butter, salt and olive oil. It is done over a medium [...]

Cream of tomato soup is irresistible when it is good, and pretty disgusting when it is bad. It is the perfect soup to chase away the end of winter blues. It is rich and tomato-y and the cream gives it a great body and silky texture. It is best to [...]