In the summer I follow a little formula that allows me to convert fresh-picked veg into easy open faced sandwich meals. The following formula will never go wrong in building a good summer tartine: Good bread + Good spreadable cheese + Cooked firm vegetable topping and/or fresh sliced ripe tomato + Fresh herbs = Delicious tartine.
Easy Meals
Stream Of Consciousness Frittata
It’s not really a recipe. More like a technique everyone should know, and me talking to my food.
Easy Cabbage and Pasta with Creamy Mustard Sauce
The dish came about as so many do. I was searching for inspiration in the fridge and found only cold, leftover cooked pasta and a head of green cabbage. Cabbage and noodles can seem ho-hum, but more than one civilization has applied culinary alchemy to them and made greatness happen. I won’t claim this dish…
Making School Lunch Easier: The Sandwich-Plus Plan
You can freeze sandwiches. Why didn’t I realize this about 3 years ago? I have a school-age daughter, and naturally I want her to have nutritious, healthy lunches. My attempts to send my daughter in with various kinds of frugal, left-over based meals have met with mixed success, and all too often my kid would…
The Taco Formula
The cuisine of Mexico is complex, diverse, by turns subtle and bold. And I am a total gringo with only a cursory, Rick Bayless cookbook-skimming understanding of Mexican cuisine. Which is my way of saying, I make no claim to authenticity here, but in my house, this taco formula works. My kids come back for more, my…
DIY Mason Jar Stir-Fry Sauce
Stir-frying is a great technique when you have a little bit of a few things. Often as the garden is just ramping up, you don’t have quite enough of a single vegetable to get a good, solid feed without wiping out all of that vegetable. And then late August comes, and you have too much…
Pasta with Rainbow Chard and Stilton Cream Sauce
Here’s the concept: pasta + greens + very light cream sauce = deceptively elegant, super easy dinner in a hurry with stuff you have lying around. The exact pasta, greens and cheese can be mixed to suit whatever you have on hand. This version is Orecchiette with Rainbow Chard, Tomatoes and Stilton. Chard (like its…