Fruits and Vegetables Archives | Page 3 of 30

Roasted Mixed Sweet Potatoes with Rosemary

September 22, 2017

It’s finally here! The day that I can say, “It’s fall,” and no one can tell me it’s not fall yet. I get a little snarky about the whole issue.

Fall is a frame of mind for me. It has to be.

We now live in place that stays pretty well hot until nearly the end of October. Fall is my favorite season. If I don’t celebrate fall despite the heat, well, I just might go a little crazy flipping through all those pictures of leaves, apples, pumpkins, sweaters, and boots in my social media feed.

So I make a mental commitment that fall starts on September 1.

That being said, wow, have we been having real deal fall weather this week! I woke to 55 F yesterday and rain! We’ll be back up in the 90s next week so I’ve been enjoying every second of it.

Running mid-morning, reading outside, and…turning on the oven!

Cinnamon Fig Breakfast Rolls with Cream Cheese Frosting

August 24, 2017

I feel like every time I get my hands on some figs, I want to stuff something with them. The fig and lavender cookies I made last year are a good example. There is just something that about that sweet, jammy interior that is so good when it’s warmed up and discovered inside something unexpected.

Well, it’s fresh fig season in California once again, and I was lucky enough to have several leftover from a photo shoot to afford me the opportunity to experiment with them.

Shrimp Stuffed Hatch Chiles

August 22, 2017

I had my very first Hatch chile last week.

Every year I see the social posts, watch all the roastings that take place around the Southwest, and keep my eye out for them with no luck in getting my hands on any.

But this year, a box arrived at my door and I opened it to find a big beautiful bag of these peppers. If you are unfamiliar, the peppers are grown in the valley around Hatch, New Mexico. Only peppers grown there are true Hatch chiles, and as was reported to me, they have an earthy, fresh flavor that sets them apart from other varieties. And they are in season as we speak, just a few weeks every year.

Corn White Bean Arugula Salad

August 15, 2017

For a long time, heirloom tomatoes were my absolute favorite thing about summer. Lately, though they have fallen ever so slightly in their ranking to make it closer to a tie with something else.

Corn.

That probably seems a lot less exciting, but I think it’s because the older I’ve gotten, and the less I’ve had corn from our own garden growing up, the more I appreciate a really good ear.

I can still remember going to friend’s houses in the summer and my hosts joyfully proclaiming that we were having sweet corn for dinner. One bite into those chewy, tough kernels and it was all I could do not to set the ear down and leave it be for the rest of the meal.

That was not sweet corn. If you’ve ever had an ear at its peak ripeness, you know the difference. Good corn is crisp with kernels that literally explode with flavor in your mouth. There is nothing quite like it.

Fortunately, I haven’t had a difficult time finding good corn here. There is a farm nearby that grows corn in the summer and pumpkins in the fall and winter. I usually try to buy from them, but even the ears I pick up at the grocery store from time to time tend to be really great.

Warm Stuffed Apricots with Green Olives, Pecans, and Brie

June 30, 2017

When I was in Italy attending Meeta’s food photography workshop back in May, we were given the opportunity to pick from loads of gorgeous produce to take outside and photograph. And as I just mentioned – Italy. So you know everything was perfectly ripe, heirloom, and stunning. The tomatoes were the most coveted item, beautiful varieties I hadn’t seen before.

When it came time to gather our things and head outside, my Cut Throat Kitchen style grabbing skills failed me, though. The tomatoes were the first to go.

After coming in second place for those, I started to eye the olives on the table. My first thought was – these would look great with those tomatoes – but those beauties weren’t coming back any time soon. I had to get more creative.

Skillet Sweet Corn Salad with White Nectarine

June 22, 2017

Skillet Corn Salad with White Nectarines Recipe | Fake Food Free

There are two things I love about summer – sweet corn and white nectarines.

Normally, I wouldn’t think of putting the two together, but lately I’ve had this thing for mixing fruits into savory foods. I’m a huge fan of the of sweet and savory and combining fruits and veggies feels like a better habit to me than, say, eating too much salted caramel.

So blueberries sometimes find their way into chicken salad and cherries often appear in my bean salads.

Given this new habit I found myself wanting to try nectarines with my corn. My first thought was a corn fruit salsa, but then I decided to skip the chips and eat this as a summer side dish.

Iced Blackberry Latte

June 15, 2017

We got a new kitchen.

If you’ve been following me on social media, it’s been a huge spoiler alert, I know. I’ve been showing the process for the past seven weeks or so.

As of the first week of June, we were back to a fully functional kitchen (YAY!). But as these things go, there are some odds and ends that need to be finished up. So I’m not ready for an official reveal.

Soon.

And I’ll also share some about the process of outsourcing this type of thing. I’ve had a lot of people ask if we did the work ourselves and the answer is a satisfying no.

Roasted Rosemary Carrots and Chickpeas with Walnuts

April 11, 2017

Peas and carrots have never been all that appealing to me. Carrots by themselves, good. Peas by themselves, or maybe in a pasta dish, good. Together? It’s lost on me. I’m simply not a fan.

So what do I do when I’m not a fan of something? I make my own version. Sub green peas with chickpeas and magically I find one of my favorite side dishes.

Anise Blood Orange Panna Cotta

March 15, 2017

I caught a glimpse of them out of the corner of my eye. It seems like yesterday that I was asking the vendor at a local farm market if the blood oranges had arrived yet, only to be told it would be a couple more weeks.

And here we are now with the season ending.

I think it might take moving to California to truly appreciate citrus. Heck, maybe it takes moving to someplace like the Central Valley. (Although, I was equally excited about this season when we lived in the Bay.)

There are so many varieties, so many bright colors. It’s such a welcomed sight and taste during a season that is void of other favorites like berries and cherries.

Those last few lonely bags of blood oranges were staring at me, begging me to make one last thing before their season was over.

Chickpea, Brown Rice, and Kale Salad in a Jar with Pesto

February 26, 2017

I’ve always wanted a messy garden. I know that sounds strange. Most people want a gorgeously organized, symmetrical growing plot with every veggie in its place.

Not me. I’ve always loved the look of gardens that are bursting at the seams with greenery growing in every direction. Like a forest gone wild that produces food.

This might be because I lack the skill to produce one of those perfect gardens. Maybe I’m drawn to messy gardens because they are easier to maintain. But really it’s how they look.

I’m getting there.