Macerated Strawberries - It's What's for Dessert!

When I get one of my uncharacteristic urges for something sweet and "desserty," I immediately go to fruit. Delicious and satisfying, slightly macerated strawberries are the perfect healthy dessert, whether you eat them plain, topped with a dollop of whipped cream, or spooned over ice cream, plain Greek yogurt, or angel-food cake (Noah's favorite!).

Actually, this really isn't cooking, as the preparation could not be easier.  Just rinse, trim, and quarter 1 pound of fresh strawberries.

Then drizzle just the tiniest bit of maple syrup over the top (about 1 tablespoon), squeeze in a bit of fresh lemon juice (again, about 1 tablespoon) and garnish with fresh mint.  Most macerated fruit recipes call for significantly more sugar, which makes for a much sweeter, softer, and saucier dessert, but I really like this fresh, more naturally sweet whole fruit version, plus I've never been fond of overly sweet desserts.

I love the strawberries just like this, while Noah adores them over angel-food cake or spooned into breakfast smoothies. 

Ingredients/Recipe:

1 lb. fresh strawberries

1 tablespoon pure maple syrup

1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

A few sprigs of fresh mint

Clean, trim, and quarter 1 lb. of fresh strawberries.  Add maple syrup and lemon juice, and toss gently. Garnish with a few sprigs of fresh mint and serve your favorite way.

Harissa-Glazed Carrots

This is one of those dishes that just came together as I was staring at random ingredients in my refrigerator.  I knew I wanted to use the colorful carrots I had just purchased, and the rest just fell into place.  

Start with 6 to 8 medium carrots.  I love heirlooms, mostly because I'm a color freak, but standard orange carrots will do nicely as well.

Peel the carrots, and then boil (or steam) them until they are fork tender.

In the meantime, finely chop 1 medium white onion like so.

And sauté the chopped onion in about 2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil until it becomes soft and slightly caramelized.  Then set the onion aside in a large bowl.

Measure out 1 teaspoon each of cumin, coriander, and kosher salt, 2 tablespoons of good vinegar (I'm using Sherry vinegar), 1/4 cup Harissa (found in most Middle Eastern and gourmet markets) and a big handful of fresh arugula.

Add the Harissa, vinegar, salt and spices to the cooked onion.

Slice up the carrots and gently fold them into the onion mixture, coating the carrots well.

Plate the carrots, scatter the top with arugula and serve at room temperature or cold.

This kicked up carrot salad is delicious and lovely.

Ingredients/Recipe:

6-8 Medium Carrots
1 Medium White Onion, finely chopped
2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon ground cumin

1 teaspoon ground coriander 

1 teaspoon kosher salt

2 tablespoons good vinegar

1/4 cup Harissa

Big handful fresh arugula

Boil or steam carrots until fork tender, and let them rest.  Sauté chopped onion in olive oil until soft and slightly caramelized.  Set cooked onion aside in large bowl, and add in Harissa, salt, spices and vinegar.  Slice carrots into thin 1/4-inch disks and gently fold into the onion mixture.  Plate the carrots and top with fresh arugula.  Serve at room temperature or cold.  

More Peas Please -- Fresh English Peas with Scallion & Mint

The arrival of Spring brings one of my favorite vegetables, fresh English peas.  Although rather elusive these days, the taste and texture of fresh peas so outshines that of canned and even frozen peas that it is totally worth the effort it might take to hunt them down.  And these peas are most delicious when prepared simply and served right away. High in protein and vitamins, these little bright-green gems are both tender and crunchy (is that an oxymoron, Mom?) making them a real pleasure to eat!

I start with 1 cup of shelled fresh English peas, 3 scallions (sliced thin at an angle), 2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil, and several sprigs of fresh mint, sliced into very thin ribbons.

I just rinse off the peas, toss them in a pot of boiling hot water, let them boil for about 90 seconds, and then drain them well.  They will turn bright green and soften just a bit, but they will still retain their sturdy texture if not overcooked.  Mushy peas are the worst, unless you are making pea soup, of course. 

Then I saute the scallions in the olive oil until just tender (about 2-3 minutes), after which I stir in the cooked peas. 

I garnish with the mint ribbons, some Kosher salt, and plenty of fresh ground black pepper.  The result is tender and crunchy deliciousness, and the fresh mint and scallions really compliment the peas!

Ingredients/Recipe:

1 cup of shelled fresh English peas
3 scallions (sliced thin at an angle)
2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil
Several sprigs of fresh mint, sliced into very thin ribbons 
Kosher salt and fresh ground black pepper to taste


Cook peas in boiling hot water for about 90 seconds, remove and drain.  In the meantime, saute the scallions in the olive oil until just tender (about 2-3 minutes), and then stir in the cooked peas.  Next, place cooked peas and scallions into a serving dish, garnish with the mint ribbons, and season with Kosher salt and fresh ground black pepper.  Serve warm. 

 I recommend making this right before you are ready to serve as the cooking time takes just a few minutes.

Mediterranean Pasta (with Feta, Tomatoes, and Parsley)

We often make this incredibly quick and easy Mediterranean Pasta recipe for dinner at the end of a busy day.  Delicious, nutritious, and easy, it is a perfect meal when you want something scrumptious and homemade in a hurry.  All you need is some really good feta cheese, Roma tomatoes, fresh Italian flat leaf parsley, garlic, olive oil, and your favorite pasta.  I used spaghetti this time, but I've made this dish with every shape and size of pasta imaginable.

First, I bring a pot of salted water to a boil and cook my favorite pasta to desired tenderness.  I like it a little past al dente.  In the meantime I ready the toppings.  For 2 servings, I dice 1 ripe Roma tomato, crumble about 4 ounces of feta cheese that I have presoaked, chop up a handful fresh Italian flat leaf parsley, crush a large head of garlic, and measure out about 2 tablespoons of very good extra virgin olive oil.

As soon as the pasta is ready, I heat the olive oil in a small sauté pan, add the crushed garlic, and heat until the garlic is just toasted (about a minute on medium-high heat).

Then I portion out the pasta into serving bowls, drizzle in the olive oil and garlic, and toss.

Next I layer on the toppings, starting with the feta cheese, then the tomatoes, followed by the parsley.

Finally, I top the finished dish with plenty of fresh ground black pepper.  I find it is not necessary to add salt because the feta cheese contains plenty of salt.

Ingredients/Recipe (serves 2)

1 lb. of your favorite pasta (spaghetti, rotini, mostaccioli, etc...)
1 large ripe Roma tomato

4 ounces of feta cheese
1 large handful for Italian flat leaf parsley
1 large clove of garlic

2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil
A few grinds of freshly ground black pepper

Cook pasta to desired tenderness in plenty of salted boiling water.  In the meantime, soak and then crumble the feta cheese (you can substitute packaged crumbled feta cheese instead), dice the tomato, chop the parsley, and crush the garlic.  As soon as the pasta reaches the desired tenderness, drain and divide into serving bowls.  Next, heat the olive oil in a small saute pan, add the crushed garlic, and saute for just a minute until the garlic is toasted (being careful not to let it burn).  Drizzle the oil and garlic evenly over the pasta and toss lightly.  Then top the pasta with the feta cheese, followed by the tomatoes and the parsley, and finish with a few grinds of fresh ground black pepper.

The warm pasta combined with the cool feta and the fresh tomatoes and herbs is just outstanding!  I hope you enjoy it as much as we do!

Cassandra Linguine and the Chaotic Romanesco. . . (explained by Francesco)

I think this my favorite dish of the Winter!  And I have my dear friend Cassandra Linguine -- who is every bit as Bohemian as her name suggests -- to thank for it.  You see, Cassandra loves vegetables like I do, and we often swap recipes.  She also subscribes to one of those services that delivers a basket of farm fresh seasonal organic produce to her door once a week.  This leaves me in a constant state of intrigue as I wait for Cassandra to disclose the contents of her basket each week, with many items making their way into her lunch, and consequently into my lunch by proximity.  

This week's basket included Romanesco, which Cassandra and I both concluded was THE MOST GORGEOUS vegetable on God's green Earth.  It looks like a cross between broccoli and cauliflower, but it's not.  Indeed, as explained by our dear friend and Friday lunch buddy Francesco, not only is Romanesco an Italian heirloom dating back to ancient Rome (hence the name), but it is also an edible fractal with each spiral bud being composed of a series of smaller spiral buds, arranged in a series of more logarithmic spirals, all of which is important in the study of chaos theory.  Whoa!

Thus, this perfect, albeit chaotic mathematical arrangement of vibrant, chartreuse-colored spiral buds, is precisely what makes Romanesco so captivating.  So, after confirming Francesco's vegetable math on Wikipedia (he was, of course, correct!), I set about finding my own Romanescos so that I could disassemble each perfect and beautiful fractal, one spiral branch at a time.  

After removing the branches, I decided to steam my Romanesco.  I considered roasting it, because I love roasted cauliflower, but I wanted to totally preserve the bright chartreuse color, so instead I opted for steaming until fork tender.

In the meantime I gathered 1 large fresh scallion, a sturdy organic Japanese cucumber, an handful of fresh Italian flat leaf parsley, and an few sprigs of fresh mint.  I sliced the onion and cucumber very thin, and gave the herbs a good chop.

After steaming the Romanesco, I let is cool down a bit before tossing in the onion, cucumber and herbs.

Then I prepared my favorite dressing -- 1/4 cup of really good extra virgin olive oil (from Turkey, of course), the juice of half a lemon, 1 clove of pressed or finely grated garlic,1/2 teaspoon of Dijon mustard, 1/4 teaspoon of Kosher salt, and a few good grinds of fresh ground black pepper, all whisked together until smooth.

Ingredients/Recipe:

Salad:
Fresh Romanesco (2 medium heads or 1 large one)
1 large fresh onion (scallion) sliced very thin, including the green part

1 firm, medium-sized cucumber (skin on if organic) sliced in half longways, and then into very thin slices
1 handful for Italian flat leaf parsley, chopped
10-15 fresh mint leaves, chopped

Dressing (all whisked together):
1/4 cup of very good olive oil
Juice of 1/2 a lemon
1 large clove of garlic, pressed or finely grated
1/2 teaspoon of Dijon mustard
1/4 teaspoon Kosher salt
A few grinds of freshly ground black pepper

Steam the Romanesco until fork tender (20-30 minutes), and allow it to cool.  Then combine with the remaining ingredients, toss in the dressing, and serve.  I like it best at room temperature.


The best and most beautiful salad ever!  Delizioso, molto buono! Cassandra and Francesco, thanks for inspiring me to make my favorite salad this winter!