This week I decided to highlight a post from 2017 – a tasty (and healthy) recipe made with farm raised mussels, miso, ginger, and zippy lime. It’s easy to prepare and oh-so-delicious with crusty bread. The reason I’m posting it? A few, actually: June 1 marks the start of hurricane season, a time when those…
Appetizers & Snacks
Kale & Broccoli Bruschetta
In Sarasota this week, Sunshine Community Compost is hosting a “Compost-A-Thon,” a special event for folks to try composting. It’s a cool concept – pay a small fee, get a bucket, save your kitchen scraps all week, then bring the bucket to the event, weigh it and transfer to a bin to start the composting…
Papaya with Lime
If you need a tasty dish for a Cinco de Mayo party, look no further than the papaya in your backyard or at the farmers market. Papayas grow well in Florida and a mature tree can yield many, many pounds of fruit, so it’s common for neighbors and co-workers to share them with the “papaya-less” crowd. Just…
Ham & Cheese Puff Pastry
I was just a kid in the ’70s and Easter was a big day because it meant a visit from a magical rabbit who left me and my brother treats, including huge, chocolate-filled eggs that took weeks to eat, sliver by sliver, because they were so big. Our baskets were full of Russell Stover jelly…
Quick-Pickled Veggies
Visiting Florida farmers markets this time of year is so fun. It’s easy to find beautiful carrots with their greens attached, huge celery bursting with crunchiness, bright greens, deep purple eggplant, colorful peppers, big bunches of fresh herbs, and more. I don’t have a bag or basket big enough to carry everything I’d like…
Strawberries & Cinnamon Mascarpone
“It’s time to get off the sugar train!” I exclaimed to my hubby Monday morning. To my surprise, he said he was ready to disembark, too. As I write this, 96 hours have passed since deciding to cut out refined sugar and carbs (for one month, that is, in order to push the reset…
5 Uses for Fresh Lemongrass
Lemongrass is a lovely, citrus scented herb in the grass family – it has a very pleasing lemon scent, and cooking with it offers none of the bitterness of the actual lemon, so it’s versatile in sweet or savory dishes, spicy or mild. But do you find yourself with lots of lemongrass and don’t know…
Crispy Corn Fritters
Cinco de Mayo! It’s the day Mexico commemorates its unexpected victory over French forces in 1862 during the Battle of Puebla (I just learned that). Here in America we join in the celebration by enjoying all those tasty treats that run deep in Mexican heritage and I, for one, will be enjoying cold margaritas, (many)…
Crispy, Crunchy Chickpeas
On Monday morning I pulled out my old juicer with the intention of dedicating two days to a fresh juice fast. I wanted to do something different to start my week, determined to only consume fresh vegetable and fruit juices, and I’ve heard health experts and nutritionists say it’s good to do periodically, so…
Classic Shrimp Salad With a Twist
Having a recipe in your arsenal that you can use in a variety of ways depending on what’s in your kitchen, how many guests unexpectedly show up at your door, or the number of calories you want to consume, comes in handy. This shrimp salad is one of those recipes. . . Shrimp is the…
Nopales Salad & Fried Plantains
I recently visited the Sarasota Swap Meet to do some research for an article I’m writing for Visit Sarasota. There weren’t many vendors, but that’s probably because it was Sunday, off season, and a scorcher of a day. I saw lots of gently-used treasures, but the best stuff was at the Latin produce vendor tent…
Lime, Honey & Rosemary Popcorn
When I was a kid my mom made popcorn in her pressure cooker pan (without the valve, of course) on the stovetop, and that pan always made a perfect batch. Today, I still like to cook it at home — finished with just a simple dusting of salt (or none at all, for that matter)….
