Grains 
Emmer Farro Salad All Dressed Up In Fresh Herbs
Herbs in the garden set the scene for culinary magic. In this case emmer farro is part of the wizardry.
When I planted an herb garden just outside the back door a dozen years ago I had no idea how much it would simplify and influence our cooking, the ability to have what [...]
Irish Soda Bread, So Good So Quick
To you Irish out there, thank you for the rich culture you and yours have brought to the world, like Irish Soda Bread for example.
I might have a trickle of Irish blood in my veins, but I doubt it. Even so, on a trip through Ireland, years ago, I felt a kinship with the place [...]
Shop Your Pantry & Freezer
Last week while my car was being repaired, I was forced to think about my all-too-often impulse to “run to the grocery store” to pick up something for dinner. Run meaning, of course, drive. I’m sorry to say that it took me not having my car to look at the food I already had and [...]
Great Granola, No Gluten
During our 28-day detox diet, just finished, no wheat was allowed, along with dairy, sugar in any form – yes, that includes chocolate – alcohol, soy, caffeine. Our plates were full of fruits and veggies, rice, some meat, nuts and legumes. A limited repertoire, but a healthy way to eat for a short while. It [...]
Perfect Protein Quinoa
Growing up on a ranch in eastern Washington, quinoa never entered the culinary picture, nor couscous, rarely rice, not much pasta either. But potatoes aplenty. My father and grandfather grew them which I guess explains it. Food cultures vary from family to family, regionally, and internationally, and time makes a difference too, food fads come [...]
Season’s Eatings: A Wild Piece of Cake
Who can resist a cake, of any kind? But, Farro? That’s a stretch. I got to thinking about cakes and, surprisingly, I didn’t start with the chocolate one, but with crab cakes, then sweet potato cakes, salmon cakes, and eventually I did get to my favorite dessert.
On the way through this cakes’ daydream [...]
A Crush on Sourdough
Change is something we may think we want but often find difficult to adjust to. When I first heard about the 100-mile-diet, it sounded like a radical idea even for someone like me who has been a staunch supporter of the farmers market for many years. I’ve had more than one lively conversation around the [...]
A Baby with a Big Heart
It turns out that baby artichokes aren’t really babies but fully-grown small varieties instead. I hope I’m not the last person to make this realization. I still love them but I’m a real sucker for baby vegetables. They seem so perfect in their smallness. For many years now I’ve had a fantasy of planting a [...]
Tabbouleh & Salmon, Summertime on a Plate
Tabbouleh from the middle east meets salmon from the PNW and summer romance begins, together they make sweet and local dinner music. Good beat, you can dance to it and it tastes delicious. Cook on.
This is the moment for herbs. In warm, dry conditions, they flourish. Actually, it’s false to characterize herbs as having a [...]
A Spring Greens Risotto Fling
From the Farmers Market or the garden, spring’s first greens play a lead role in Risotto Primavera. Making it can be high drama.
Showmanship is part of its culinary potential, and risotto-making has a way of bringing on culinary pizazz – introverts beware. Go ahead, try to hold yourself back. Like trying to hold still when [...]
