Spring Kitchen Notes

I love to create dishes and write recipes, and saying that took me years to admit. I fought it for so long, telling myself that I don’t have the experience to make me a qualified cook or recipe creator. But I found I couldn’t tell myself no. The drive to create in the kitchen is an incessant urge that pushes me on to keep on playing and learning, honing and refining. Early on in my process of creating in the kitchen, a dear friend of mine told me this quote:

- My English Professor

This simple visual unlocked something in me–I love to cook. This is me. I love to write recipes, I love to cook. The denial lifted and I felt permission evolve into a passion.

The denial lifted and I felt permission evolve into a passion.

The very first dish I made was a beet green and goat cheese galette. It was a revelation to me that I could come up with something, cook it, and it could be good. It has been 10 years since that galette and I cannot get enough creating in the kitchen.

In that time, I have made some horrible meals. Truly, truly terrible. I made a cake recently that I took a bite of, gagged and promptly tossed the bite and the rest of the cake in the bin. Failure sometimes comes in multiples and those weeks make me feel like a deflated balloon. Then a good idea hits, I stew it and plate it, I take the first bite and the thrill rises again. Eyes closed I savor. I tentatively ask my husband “What you do think?” His steady nod, and side grin as he enjoys his bite is the simple assurance–the icing on the cake–that what I am doing is worth while.

So many of my riffs have gone un-noted or poorly noted. I cannot tell you how many notes documents I have in my phone that say the title of a recipe, and then the note is blank. I want to get better at documenting my creativity in the kitchen, so here it goes.

This salad was so bright and delicious, I am looking forward to repeating it all spring. Simply shake up the dressing and toss together with the salad ingredients. It was lovely served with salmon and Natasha Pickowicz coconut grains.

1 tbs grated lemon grass

1 grated garlic clove

1/2 tsp sesame

1 tsp soy sauce

3 tbs rice vinegar

4 mini cucumbers, cut into matchsticks the size of snap peas

Handful of snap peas, cut in half down the seam

Half an avocado, diced

Sesame seeds

This breakfast was so good, I cannot wait to make it with summer tomatoes and basil. Cherry tomatoes, avocado, homemade feta cheese & croutons, topped with an over easy egg, olive oil, red wine vinegar, basil, dill, s&p.

This dish was incredibly good, and I have been working on honing in the recipe to share with you all soon. Extra crispy potatoes on a bed of lemon-y whipped feta, topped with a mountain of chives.

I have always wanted to make my own simple cake base that is moist, flavorful and suitable to add fruit to or perfect on its own. This cake is it. The only flaw is the cherries made the top of the cake look like a brain, which I was not a fan of. I plan to make it with rhubarb and fingers crossed it turns out pretty enough to share the recipe.

For Easter I made my very first bone in pork roast and it was devine. A several day brine rendered the meat incredibly tender and full of flavor, with the herb crust taking it to the next level.

8 rib roast

Diamond Crystal salt

• Pat your rib roast dry, then salt your rib roast all over, and let sit on a wire rack lined baking sheet for 2 days.

1 red onion, cut into half moons

2 garlic heads, cut in half

5 cloves, minced

1 1/2tsp fennel seed

1 1/2tsp coriander seed

1/2tsp red pepper flakes

6 sprigs fresh rosemary, leaves removed and finely chopped

Maldon Salt

Pepper

Olive oil

• Combine 2-3 Tbs. olive oil, garlic, fennel seed, coriander seed, red pepper flakes, black pepper and rosemary in a bowl then smear it all over your roast. Lightly salt.

• Tuck the onion slices and garlic halves in around your roast.

• Bake at 450 for 15 minutes, then lower the temp and bake at 325 for 1 1/2 to 2 hours until pork measures 140-145 degrees at the thickest point of the roast. Let rest 10-15 minutes before carving.

A simple salad to pair with our pork–roasted golden beets, blood orange, terragon, a drizzle of olive oil and red wine vinegar.

One of our favorite meals to make when herbs are fresh – roasted pork belly, quick pickled carrots and radishes, cucumber, green onion, basil, cilantro and peanuts all on a bed of jasmine rice.

Ricotta, speck, jalapeño and manchego pizza. Next time I make it I am thinking a serrano would bring a bit more punch. We used the crust to soak up all the mussel sauce from the recipe below - So good.

Turns out that mussels and green beans take about the same amount of time to cook, making it easy to create an all-in-one dish. I cooked them both in garlic butter, white wine and lemon, perfect with the pizza crust soaking up the sauce.

Ricotta agnolotti in a tomato and fennel sauce. Fennel was braised in the whey left from ricotta cheese making, then pan fried with loads of garlic and cherry tomatoes. Delicious.

I have been on this big cottage cheese kick, deeply enjoying a more savory breakfast. I love topping the cottage cheese with veg, herbs and meat to elevate the humble dairy shelf staple. Below are my top three combinations.

Bed of cottage cheese topped with cherry tomatoes, radish, chives, dill, micro kale and cabbage from the seed starting trays, olive oil, salt and pepper. Enjoyed it dolloped onto sourdough toast.

Bed of cottage cheese, thinly sliced cucumber, fennel & red onion, cherry tomatoes, olive oil, salt and fennel fronds. Enjoyed with seedy crackers.

Favorite combo by far - bed of cottage cheese, cherry tomatoes, smoked salmon, parsley, shallot, capers, lemons zest, salt, pepper and olive oil. Served with a side of leftover fougasse.

A delicious and simple spread of homemade mozzarella in garlic chive pesto (I am trying to master mozz, and it is proving to be difficult), tomato butter sauce pasta, and a tuna crudo. The tuna crudo was so good–below is the recipe.

4oz. Sushi Grade Tuna Fillet

Juice from One Lemon

Olive Oil

1-2 Tbs. Capers, drained and rinsed

1 Small Garlic Clove, grated

Chives

Maldon Salt

1. Thinly slice your tuna against the grain, and arrange the slices on a platter.

2. Pour the lemon juice and a good drizzle of olive oil all over the tuna.

3. Chop your capers and garlic clove together until well mixed and finely chopped.

4. Sprinkle capers mixture over the tuna, then top with chives.

5. Season with Maldon Salt to taste and enjoy.

This was a spectacular meal. I love Eden Grinshpan simple fennel and castelvetrano salad with fish, and felt it would all go good with some homemade chips. The cod I cooked in butter, garlic, paprika and fresh dill all wrapped in foil and baked. The chips recipe were oven fries from this NYT recipe.