Posts Tagged ‘recipe’

On New Year’s Eve I made a decadent tray of ziti. I put the cheesy videos on Instagram stories. Several people messaged me asking for the recipe. I gave them some quick pointers because I don’t have a recipe written down. To elaborate, I want to share my secrets to a delicious ziti here. And I’ll say, it’s more about these tips than it is about following a recipe to the measurement. The Sauce: It’s easy to make a good sauce if you throw a piece of pork or sausage in […]

I’m hungry and I open the fridge but I know it’s empty. I’m too cold and lazy to drag my starved body out the door to Key Food. My eyes scan the shelves and I pull out what I can find. Baby arugula, slightly wilted, edamame unopened, queso fresco (white cheese) – it’s been in there for a while but seems to smell fine. On the side of the fridge door I find black oil-cured olives (my favorite olive). “This will do!” I add all the ingredients into a bowl […]

A friend of mine posted a video on his Instagram story showing sizzling cheese and roasted tomatoes hot out of the oven. It looked decadent – heart-eye emoji sent. He responded and shared the recipe with me. It’s from grilledcheesesocial.com and it’s called Baked Feta Pasta with Cherry Tomatoes, Garlic and Basil. The blogger MacKenzie Smith, annoyingly beautiful and seemingly perfect, is a two-time Food Network Champ, Cookbook Author, Cheese Expert (really??), and Executive Chef in Florida. She writes that this is a quick after-work meal that is delicious. Well, […]

I love Indian food. And until someone in Rockaway opens an Indian Restaurant (hint, hint), I will continue my quest to learn how to cook spicy, savory currys, masala, lentils and dahls. Each region of India is famed for their individual styles. One of my favorite dishes is from northern India – saag paneer. In Hindi, Saag means greens, referring to spinach, collards, fenugreek and other leafy greens. Paneer is a mild, unaged soft cheese which makes it simple to make at home! Be aware, paneer does not melt. I […]

I’m obsessed with Queer Eye. I’ve binged-watched the new season already and I’m bummed I have to wait so long for more. My husband tolerated it, but would remark here and there when he saw me watching the show in bed, tearing up with a glass of wine in hand. “… but Matt, The Fab 5 are changing people’s lives!!” If you’re unfamiliar with the re-make Netflix show: “The style experts on Queer Eye forge relationships with men and women who often have different beliefs from them, leading to moments […]

I was flipping through a magazine and came across a recipe for homemade jumbo soft pretzels. It struck a chord. I remember as a kid going into Manhattan to see the Rockefeller Center Christmas tree with my family. My sisters and I would beg my dad to stop and get us pretzels from the corner cart. It was December and cold outside. The steam rising from the twirling pretzels inside the glass case was all I could focus on. It reminded me of the animated Christmas displays – the ones […]

Fresh spinach adds even more nutrition to this recipe. We are in the thick of winter now and the soup is on. I’ve always enjoyed a steaming bowl of lentils, even before legumes became so trendy. To some these seeds are a new superfood but lentils are crazy old!  I’m talking caveman old. The lentil plant has been around for five million years. Once domesticated, this crop became known as  “the poor man’s food”, because they were cheap to harvest and available worldwide. Today a 16 oz bag is only […]

My plan for this week was to write about a tasty, healthy chickpea salad recipe, but two notable experiences happened last Sunday at St. Francis De Sales (129-16 Rockaway Beach Blvd, Belle Harbor) as my church-hopping journey continues. So here’s both! I almost didn’t make it to Saint Francis last week. I got the time wrong. I had the thought,  “Well, I tried.” but I did end up back in the car 45 minutes later. And I’m glad I did because I was reminded by a flyer in the back […]

Everyone is talking turkey but I’m talking soup. I’ve been cooking a different soup each Sunday – escarole soup, vegetable soup, french onion soup, lentil soup – Italian style and an Indian curry version. This past week I made split pea soup for the first time. I’m not a big pea person but I wanted to give it a try anyway, to experiment. Because storage of dried peas is easy and low-cost, many cultures have pea-based soup recipes. The traditional split pea variety originates in the 19th century. Sailors would […]

A few weeks ago I wrote about the abundance of kale in my garden. Well, the dill I planted is also growing wild now. It’s called dill “weed” for a reason. And the plant bolts in the heat, so it makes sense with the heat wave last week that my herb plant is three feet tall! The lemony, sweet and bitter flavor of dill is most pungent when it begins to flower. Snip the feathered leaves for immediate use. Wait until the flowers mature and snip those off at the […]