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This week is supposed to be well and truly summer weather in much of the U.S., with temperatures like July early in the week. So we’ve got a couple of dinner salads, as well as a couple of meals that can be prepared completely on the grill, to save our kitchen and cooling bills. A couple of the menus can be made either on the stove (rather quickly) or outside on the grill, using a cast-iron skillet.
Our world tour this week includes a Pesto Pasta Salad with Grilled Chicken and an Artichoke Frittata (both Italian, including the cooking technique [...]
It’s officially getting hot where I live. The wild asparagus is just to the point of being ready here, and the domestic asparagus is in full swing in the markets. We’re probably going to be seeing it for a couple of weeks more while it’s still officially “in season”, and then it will be gone for another year. That’s the thing about seasonal eating: you miss it like crazy while it’s not in season (or pay dearly for it), and then after it’s been in season for a few weeks you’re ready to move on. By the time it’s in [...]
The weather is still a bit unpredictable where I am, and probably where some of you are, too. For example, I had to cover plants twice this week due to frost warnings, but some of the the daytime temperatures were fine for sunbathing! So we’ll continue with recipes you can make indoors and out. If it’s nice, feel free to grill the Jamaican Jerk Chicken and Teriyaki Steak; but if it’s not, the stovetop and/or oven will work just fine. The Taco, Composed, and Niçoise Aparagus Salads will work fine on the deck or in the kitchen. And the two Italian dishes are quick [...]
This week, we have a Thai grilling night, with Thai Pork Burgers and Thai Slaw. We’ve also got slow-cooked Italian Chicken and Vegetables and a quick Greek night. We’re doing a couple of very, very spring menus, one a quick salad and the other a quick dish I’d call a stir-fry, except it’s French on just slightly slower, with Lamb, Asparagus and Snow Peas. And we’ll also get spicy with a traditional fish dish from Belize! As always, feel free to move dishes to nights where they make more sense to you. None of these take very long, but the [...]
Last year at this time, the lilacs were out in full bloom and only the late daffodils were still around. This year, their both done, and I have roses already! It’s been a bit warmer than usual here, but still a bit chilly for outside dining because of the wind. So we’re getting beautiful scents blowing through the windows, but the breeze is cool enough to make it comfortable to not worry too much about warming up the kitchen. So the week’s grilling can be done inside or out, depending on the weather where you live.
Subscribers this week get an interesting Mediterranean [...]
This week, it’s been getting warmer, so we’ll be grilling more. But for most of the U.S. we’re supposed to have cooler temperatures later in the week, so you can always do the grilling on a tabletop grill or do it in the broiler oven, or even stovetop. We’re also going to see a main course salad, something we’ll do more of as the weather heats up. And we’re taking advantage of seasonal veggies like spinach, lettuce, asparagus and radishes. We’ll travel the map starting in Graceland, then heading from central and southern France to Italy and China. The bonus [...]
Spring is being tricky this year. As I write this, it’s snowing all over my bright green grass! Lamb is in season, but still a bit pricy, so Sunday for Easter it’s a classic baked ham with a special spring dessert that appears decadent but isn’t! We’re also doing a turn in Italy; spending a little time in springtime France with a fish dish with asparagus in a mustard-tarragon sauce; and even going out of the way to Vietnam for an easy chicken salad before returning to a bit of comfort food. And we’re reusing leftovers 3 different times this [...]
The weather is still a bit dodgy, although the daffodils are out where I live. It seems to go back and forth between being warm enough for shorts to requiring a winter coat (and having to cover plants at night)! It’s also not quite anything season where I live, either, although gardeners that started vegetables in cold frames might now have spinach and radishes, and possibly asparagus. I figure wild asparagus is 2-3 weeks away in the Midwest.
Because of the unstable weather, please feel free to move menus around to nights when they work best. You can do this for any reason, of [...]
This week, spring has finally sprung. Here, we’ve leaped right over it with temperatures over 80 two days in a row! You’ll notice that for the first time in a very long time, there is no soup on the menu. And for the first time in a very long time, one meal can be grilled! The weather is still unpredictable enough that there are still plenty of recipes for the stovetop, oven and slow cooker. We’ll also be using some early spring vegetables, even though for many of us they’re not up yet—at least they’re less-expensive in the stores than they were last month! [...]
As I write this, I’m contemplating opening my windows, because it’s supposed to be in the sixties today [as it turned out it hit 82!]. Winter breathes its last this week, at least in the Northern Hemisphere. But for most of the north, it’s not yet time for early spring vegetables, unless you have a greenhouse. So there aren’t as many soups as we’ve been having, but we’re still having one! This week, we’ll have some Tequila Chicken, along with an omelet made from the leftovers, as well as a twist on classic State Fair Italian Sausage. I do have [...]
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