Most of the time, you can’t go wrong with a simple artichoke that’s steamed and served with a buttery dipping sauce. But for people like my husband, who only likes artichoke with a nice, tangy aioli (he pretty much only eats artichoke for the aioli, using the leaf merely as a vessel to transport the [...]
vegetables
Quite literally, đồ chua means “sour stuff” — or Vietnamese pickles, in this case. It was a staple in my parents’ house while growing up, and eventually became a staple in my own grown-up house. It’s a very Vietnamese thing and reminds me of all the wonderful home cooking from my childhood. I can eat [...]
I have a raised bed in my garden that barely gets any sun in the winter. Whatever’s growing there in the summer usually stays there until spring, when the days are longer and I plant anew. Being a bienniel, that means my chard is the last of the crops to linger after the rest have [...]
When I think of spring, I think of this salad. Fresh, green, earthy, full of life. Luckily for us southern climates, winter tends to feel like spring most days, so I’ve had the ingredients for this salad growing in my garden all season and this recipe makes perfect use of them. As the superstar of [...]
We’ve had an abnormal amount of rain in LA these past couple of months, and with all the rain came the nasturtiums. Fields of nasturtiums — all over my garden, popping up through the mulch, under the stairs, between the cracks, volunteering everywhere. Most people don’t give nasturtiums a second look. They’re sometimes regarded as [...]
Talk about commitment to your cucurbits — a squash that you start in spring and grow through summer and harvest in fall and eat through winter? Welcome to the world of winter squash. These summer annuals (Cucurbita moschata) differ from summer squash in that they are left to mature on the vine, through the end [...]
No, we’re not actually pickling bread and butter of any kind. This classic pickling recipe is so named because back in the olden days when times were tough, the sweet and sour pickles were tucked between two slices of buttered bread to make a hearty sandwich. And you know what? It’s quite delicious! I like [...]
