Zucchini & Walnut Dip
One of my dearest friends now lives far away from me, across the country. We stay in touch when we can and pick up our…
Category: Vegetarian
Feta, Avocado & Homemade Mayonnaise Torta
Everyone has some sort of comfort food. Some people love cakes for soothing comfort; others love chicken noodle soup or a hearty chili. For me, it’s…
How to Make Pumpkin Puree
Are you tired of pumpkin from a can? I most certainly am. I know it’s not the worst thing in the world, especially when there…
Butternut Squash Soup
It’s amazing to think that a vegetable such as the butternut squash, so hard on the outside, can actually be broken into and puréed down…
Okra, South Indian Style
This recipe was given to me by a dear college friend, a Malaysian woman smarter than just about anyone I know. I think she was…
Savory Zucchini Fritters
At the end of every summer, it’s easy to take the plethora of zucchini and other types of summer squash for granted. In my experience,…
Peppers & Tomatoes Stuffed with Couscous…and a Drizzle of Lemon Olive Oil
It’s a common Mediterranean and Middle Eastern culinary habit to stuff vegetables with a variety of grains such as rice or couscous as well as…
Summer Mediterranean Salad with Citrus, Dates & Nasturtium Flowers
I’ve taken an unexpected break from blogging, partially by choice and partially not. I’ve been developing and testing recipes for cooking demos I plan to do at…
Swiss Chard with Toasted Cashews
Swiss chard is a spring vegetable that thrives and grows in cool weather, which means you can enjoy it again in the fall. I found…
Asparagus Burgers
Sunday we took a trip out to the Chicago Botanic Gardens, just to capture the budding spring flowers on trees and, of course, the beautiful,…
Black Beans Without the Lard
This is just one of the ways I make them. You can start from this recipe and shake things up with your own favorite additions. Let me know what you do…
Chickpea and Sun-Dried Tomato Salad
Lately I’ve been soaking and cooking my own dry beans- everything from black beans to pinto beans and now chickpeas. I used to do it…
Baked Radicchio
Radicchio (pronounced ra-dee-kee-yo) is a leafy Italian vegetable mostly available in the fall seasons. It’s a bit spicy and if not cooked with sweet ingredients,…
Fettucine with Simple Caper-Bechamel Sauce
This sauce is a delicious classic with subtle, yet flavorful additions that pair beautifully with the thickness of fettuccine style pasta, although any pasta noodle…
Tomato & Roasted Pepper Soup
These cold fall days seem darker, windier, and overall just more like winter than fall. A good soup always makes me feel warm inside and warms up…
Sweet Grape Spread
If you don’t have time to jar all those end of summer fruits, try this recipe instead for a wonderful spread. It’s absolutely delicious on…
Sweet Tomato Preserve
I. Love. Tomatoes. Being Sicilian, you sort of have to or you may never eat. Ok, that’s a bit extreme, I realize. All jokes aside, I really…
5-Minute Frittata
This is the quickest oven-baked frittata to prepare. Normally I would add flour and milk to a dish like this, but on the day it…
Eggplant Salad Recipe: Now I Know Why the Imam Fainted
I’d heard of the famous dish “Imam Biyaldi” before, but never really knew what the hype was all about. Being a Sicilian who also loves Turkish…
Savory Spinach Pie: Turkish Börek
How I learned to serve a quality brunch for two without spending all morning in the kitchen
