Fresh Dill and Parsley

No Tomatoes in January or Roasted Beets with Walnuts and Gorgonzola

 

There were no tomatoes in January or February for most of my childhood. Not even in March. The supermarkets were mostly empty and eating in season was not another foodie trend but reality. In case you didn't get a chance to read the "About me" page, I was born in Romania sometime before 1989 when things were not so good.  What was going on at that time? In 1981 the Communist leadership decided to pay off foreign debt which meant that most  goods produced in Romania were exported and the revenues from such exports went to the payment of the foreign debt, leaving very little for domestic consumption. Hence the empty supermarkets. And long waiting lines when finally sugar or butter or skinny little chickens were delivered to one the stores. And people always carried their own bag in case such an event unexpectedly occurred, yet another current trend that was a necessity for us. 

Quick and Easy Bean Stew

 

There are times when I value expediency over wholesomeness.  Busy season is in full swing at work leaving little time for elaborate, time-consuming dished.  I do realize that the words "quick" and "stew" don't belong together but what makes this dish quick is the use of canned pinto beans instead of dried beans which need to be soacked overnight and take much long  to cook than canned beans. Shortcuts are necessary at times and I am not afraid to use them especially when work gets busy.

Zucchini Crudo with Dill, Scallion, and Smoked Salmon

 

Sometimes I don't know how recipe ideas come to me. It starts with one ingredient and the rest  sort of naturally follow. On my way home one Saturday, I was wondering what to cook that night.  A recipe with zucchini and chick peas from the famous blog Chocolate & Zucchini came to mind and I liked the idea of zucchini but not the rest of it.  Zucchini goes well with scallion and dill and I figured smoked salmon would make a nice addition. 

Polenta with veal sauce

 

 

No matter how hard it struggles, the sun can't warm us up, leaving no doubt about fall's arrival.  It is lunchtime on a Friday  and I feel depleted, in desperate need for comfort. Luckily, I work close to Sportello , a chic Italian lunch counter style restaurant in the Fort Point area of Boston. From salad to desert, everything I've eaten there has been outstanding. One time I ate a chocolate tart like no other. Rich intense chocolate topped with a few grains of salt and drizzled with olive oil. It was mind blowing! However, my  reason for going there on this Friday is their polenta. It is the only dish I want.

Bean Dip

You've probably heard that butter makes everything taste better. Well, garlic is the other ingredient that makes everything taste better. Except possibly chocolate cake. No garlic in chocolate cake! That should be the first rule of baking.  However, I'm not writing about chocolate cake. It's not that I don't like cake. If anything, I like cake a bit too much.  Cake will be the focus of a future post, I promise. This post is about a bean dip that got lots of mmm...so yummy reviews from friends and family. Beans and garlic go well together. Bean loves garlic. Garlic loves bean.