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Spicy Asian Cucumber Salad
Have you been outside lately? I am sitting indoors at the computer with the AC blowing full blast. Just looking out the window makes me glisten. How do I remedy this thermal warfare? Cucumbers. Cucumbers are magical. They have the power to cool you in the deepest of heat. But in this salad, paradoxically, they are also the source of deep heat as they are drenched in piquant oils and chiles. The vinegar + red pepper flakes provide a surprisingly potent punch of fire + tang to the cucumber ribbons, making this Spicy Asian Cucumber Salad one of our favorites. About cucumbers: The recipe calls for either 1 large cucumber…
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Mexican Street Corn (aka Elotes)
Oh, Mexican Street Corn, where have you been all my life? You know those formulaic (and perhaps pretentious) blogs resembling something out of a J Peterman catalogue? Sure you do. The blogs where someone in Etherland tells us about the first time he/she sampled (type of food) while traveling in (exotic land) wearing a (bikini, kaftan, sheepskin thong, whatever) as he/she cruised down the (faraway river). (Guilty!) This is not one of those blogs. I did not buy street corn skewered by a stick from a vendor on my last visit to Mexico. I did, however, bury my teeth in a roasted cob of corn, so crunchy + sweet, and I…
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Garlicky + Peppery Baby Bok Choy
This is an uber-clean, heart-healthy dish that will make your body sing! Infusing the olive oil with garlic and red pepper flakes provides a robust, pure flavor bath for your bok choy. Top this delicious green with intensified toasted sesame seeds and yowza! There is a wholelotta love going on! Bok choy is a spoon-shaped varietal of cabbage. But unlike a traditional head of cabbage, bok choy is more of a cluster. Its crisp and sweet flavor make it an easy complement to most any spice, as it absorbs the flavors of the seasoning around it. In this recipe, assertive garlic and red pepper flakes on the wilted, gentle leaves…
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Curly Kale + Tandoori Chickpea Salad (and a lecture on massaging the Queen)
Do you enjoy a really good massage? If you answered yes, you know how revitalizing a massage can be. Relaxing yet invigorating; a bit painful at times but always worth all the tissue manipulation. Right? Now apply these same principles to your kale. No, I am not kidding. You are going to give your kale a massage. Massaging your kale will break down her cellulose or woodiness. Kale is the Queen of Greens, after all. She deserves it! You know why? She is the OG of superfood cred. For the price of a 2 minute massage, she has a lot to offer in return: 5 grams of fiber per…
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Chopped* Greek Salad
You may have heard me pontificate about what makes a real Greek salad–the Horiatiki salad, like my mom used to make, straight from the bounty of our garden. Ripe tomatoes, crisp cucumbers, and pungent onions topped with a swirl of olive oil and a sprinkling of salt and pepper. Pure and utter goodness. So when I refer to a real Greek salad, that is my point of reference. I am not saying other ingredient combinations are wrong, I am just saying they are not right. (I can be a real know-it-all pain-in-the-fanny kinda gal sometimes.) But enough quibble. Don’t mind me. Just roll your eyes and read on. This Chopped…
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Crispy Rosemary Parmesan Potato Stacks
I am salivating as I type this recipe. These are So.D@mn.Good! cheese + carbs + herbs + buttery crispness = a stack of ooey gooey potato awesomeness! And here is a BIG secret: they are sooooo simple yet soooo impressive. Your friends will think you are fancy even if in reality you are quite basic. Trust me—I speak from experience. AND…these potatoes will give you a good excuse to pull out your buy a mandoline. Yaaaay! This is the kind of recipe I ADORE—the kind where you do you and make it fabulously you. You can pretty much add any herb(s) and cheese(s) and this stack of yum will take…
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9½ Layer Salad
For best results, make this a day ahead for the flavors to meld together. When I reached “adult” status at our family gatherings (meaning I was old enough to contribute a dish), this salad is what I chose to bring. And I have been bringing it to every Easter, Thanksgiving, and Christmas ever since. It makes a lot, so it is perfect or a big gathering. But that is also why it is such a treat–I could never make a salad of this size for the two of us. It truly is one of those tried-and-true go to recipes that will work for any occasion. Low country boil? Check. Clambake?…
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Agave-Balsamic Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Pancetta + Toasted Macadamias
Searching for the answers to life’s questions sometimes keep me up at night. I toss and turn. I pace. I drink tea to quell my active brain. As of late I have been toiling over this pressing question: Should the “B” in Brussels Sprouts be capitalized? In my pursuit of knowledge I consulted the font of all things wise and trivial—The Google. Robinsonlibrary.com took me to the history of sprouts, which are believed “to have been cultivated in ancient Rome, and perhaps as early as the 1200’s in Belgium. The modern Brussels sprouts we know today was first cultivated in large quantities in Belgium as early as 1587.” That…
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Cranberry Jubilee
Anyone who knows The Man knows that he has his fingers in everything—olive jars, cake batter, infused honey pots…. He loves to sample everything I am doing. And for this I am grateful. I thrive on critique in my pursuit of perfection. HOWEVER, there are times when certain things are off limits: Don’t touch the pots de creme until I photograph them. Don’t cut that block of cheese yet. Don’t use that thyme until I decide how much I need. It’s like keeping a kid out of the candy store. And for good reason—I have work to do! Sometimes he’s compliant. Sometimes not. But this past week he got a…
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Garlic-Browned Butter Potato Mash
Do you recall in history classes learning about the angry weapon-wielding mobs in France, storming the Bastille and shouting, “We have no bread!”? As a carb-enthusiast, that is how I feel about low-carb diets. I shake my pitchfork in the air and scream obscenities. Yeah, I get it. I’ve read anti-carb articles and blogs ad nauseum. Many of my friends subscribe to that philosophy, and with great success. But low-carb diets are the bane of my existence. They deprive me of my comfort foods—bread, pasta, rice and potatoes. If you enjoy that way of life, good. No judgment. You do you. I, on the other hand, will do me. So…
