Remember January, 2020, when anything was possible, we made resolutions and travel plans, and blissfully steered toward the road to adventure? We now have new routines, and what was mundane back then seems exciting today, like getting out of the house to visit the grocery store 🙂 My daily routine involves diving into work and…
basil
Chopped Salad with Mango & Basil Dressing
It’s peak mango season in Florida, which means backyard trees are dripping with fruit, and grocery store bins are filled to the rims. There are more than 500 varieties of mangoes, but common supermarket varieties you’ll find include Tommy Adkins (large red, juicy), Keitt, and Honey. And if you’re really lucky (like if you’re in…
Summer Crab Salad
Summer is in full swing — a great time to make a dish that’s not only tasty, but also, easy to transport to beach, pool, or picnic. So when the folks at Edible Sarasota asked me to create a crab recipe for their Summer issue, I decided on a salad, but one that’s a little different…
A Batch of Red Sauce
I’m not Italian, but I adore Italian food, and my obsession started as a kid. My family’s old farmhouse had a big yard with a field that backed up to our Italian neighbors. I was friends with their granddaughter, who lived there with her brother, mother and grandparents, and it was my first exposure to…
Halibut with Warm Chourico & Corn Relish
My friend Glenn recently took a trip to Homer Alaska and nabbed huge fish, including Lingcod and Halibut. Here are just some of the big Halibut those anglers caught (they all look pretty happy, especially Glenn on the far left): Luckily for me, he shared some when he got home, and I graciously accepted. This…
Moringa & Basil Pesto
Moringa is a hearty tree that produces branches with small, dark, pretty leaves. In some areas, it’s even referred to as drumstick tree or horseradish tree because of its long, narrow, triangular seed pods. It originated in Himalaya but it’s also grown readily in the Philippines, Malaysia, India, and Central and South America. It grows…
Heirloom Tomato Galette
As a kid in Massachusetts, my family had a beautiful garden filled with string beans, zucchini, yellow squash, potatoes, carrots and tomatoes, and every summer we got our fill of tomatoes, when they all seemed to ripen at the same time! When a tomato is ripe, sun-warmed and fresh-picked, there’s nothing better. Am I right?!?…
Fresh Tomato Soup
When I was a kid, I was definitely not a fan of tomato soup. My mom usually served it on days when I had been playing in the snow for hours and basically would have eaten anything because I was starving (and frozen). But it was definitely a tough go — the only saving grace…
Mahi Mahi with Strawberry, Mango & Mint Salsa
This time of year, strawberries are in peak season in Florida, and I’ve been busy coming up with recipes incorporating the beautiful berries I recently picked at a U-Pick farm. Getting them off the vine is a real treat – there’s nothing like chomping into a fresh, pristine berry that’s been warmed by the sun….
Quinoa, Date & Tangerine Salad
In our house, we LOVE quinoa (pronounced keen-wa). My husband especially loves to find a batch in the fridge because it offers a healthy, protein-packed snack before he heads to the gym. As for me, I love the fact that it’s so easy to prepare, it’s delicious, and you can pull a salad together quickly…
Grilled Wahoo & Stuffed Portobello
Wahoo. A cool name for an awesome fish! How it got its name, I don’t know, but what I do know is that when fishermen hook one, the first thing they say is “Wahoo!!!” This fish is related to mackerel but it tastes even better. It’s a fierce pelagic predator, and I’ve even heard it…
Summer Corn Chowder
With all the rain we’ve been having in southwest Florida lately, I’ve been making lots of soup and this corn chowder was definitely a crowd pleaser (well, as much as you can call two people a crowd, because our two cats don’t count). The same day I made it, a re-run of The Devil Wears Prada was…