Pick cherries, kiwi and honeydew melons and taste the flavors of summer. What are you eating from July’s bounty?
July Seasonal Fruits
Apricots, basil, carrots, gooseberries, strawberries, cherries, dates, figs, grapes, mangoes, melons, peaches, plums, watermelon, loganberries, sage, nectarines, raspberries, rhubarb, cantaloupe, blueberries, kiwi, blackberries, boysenberries, casaba melon, *Crenshaw melon, grapefruit, honeydew melon, limes, lychee, olallieberries, passion fruit, Persian melons
July Seasonal Vegetables
Green beans, beets, summer squash, tomatoes, chile peppers, sweet peppers, okra, corn, cucumbers, spinach, watercress, cauliflower, aubergine, fennel, asparagus, cabbage, celery, lettuce, mangetout, new potatoes, oyster mushrooms, peas, radish, French Beans, chayote squash, eggplant, garlic, jalapeno peppers, lima beans, tomatillo, zucchini
* What the heck is a Crenshaw Melon? My first inclination was to believe that this Melon was from Crenshaw, Los Angeles. However, the Crenshaw melon is the love child of casaba melons and Persian melons. It has a salmon hue inside and is yellowish-green on the outside. The flavor is among the sweetest of the melons.
Read more…Pick seasonal fruits and vegetables from the market and taste the freshness of Summer. What are you eating from June’s harvest?
June Seasonal Vegetables
Artichokes, Arugala, Asian Greens, Asparagus, Avocados, Basil, Beans, Beets, Bok Choy, Chile Peppers, Cucumber, Broccoli, Cabbage, Cactus Pads, Cardoons, Carrots, Cauliflower, Celery, Chard, Collards, Corn, Cress, Dandelion Greens, Chcicory, Endive, Fava (Broad) Beans, Fennel (Anise), Garlic, Green Garlic, Herbs, Horseradish, Kale, Kohirabi, Leeks, Lettuce, Mushrooms, Nettles, Mustard Greens, Okra, Onions, Peas, Purslane, Radicchio, Radish, Rapini, Rhubarb, Scallions, Shallots, Spinach, Summer Squash, Tomatillos, Tomatoes, Zucchini, Watercress
June Seasonal Fruits
Apricots, Avocados, Blueberries, Blackberries, Boysenberries, Cactus Pears, Cantaloupe, Cherries, Dates, Dried Fruit, Figs, Grapes, Gooseberries, Loganberries, Lemons, Loquats, Mangoes, Melons, Nectarines, Oranges, Peaches, Plums, Pluots, Raspberries, Strawberries, Tangerines, Tomatillos, Tomatoes, Watermelon, Whitecurrants
Hi Sunshine, Happy Summer. From my window I can see the heat mirage rising above the pavement. The good people of DC are doing their part by wearing sweaty face masks to the market and the protests. I opened my window and fanned myself from the heat wafting in through the window screen. The rumbling chorus of voices are at medium volume… today ;). I wonder what people are thinking; it’s gotta be something like I cant wait to take this hot, damn mask off. And the question that everyone asks at some point in their day – what am I going to eat today?
90 degree heat is inspiration for endless summer recipes like a classic mezcal margarita, cool shrimp salad… for me, I’m inspired to post a hoisin barbecue sauce recipe with chicken, snap peas, crushed Yukon gold potatoes on a pea shoot graphic. Thank you for the inspiration, Summer.
Ingredients
2 Garlic cloves, minced
1/3 cup Hoisin Sauce
1/3 cup Ketchup
1/4 water
3 Tbsps rice vinegar
1 Tbsp Soy Sauce
Directions
On medium heat, cook 2 minced garlic cloves in a saucepan with olive oil, 1 minute. Stir in all other ingredients. Simmer until thick, stirring, 20 minutes. Add to grilled chicken, ribs, cauliflower, … Enjoy!
I’ll just come out with it — after an 8 year hiatus from my beloved blog I am adding this photo of the worst shrimp taco I’ve ever tasted. And if that’s not bad enough, I cooked this mess. This hodgepodge of veggies with salty shrimp wrapped in a tortilla of disappointment is the most wonderfully vulnerable photo I could have posted to reconnect with my blog. This crustacean blunder signifies my imperfection, hilarity and growth in food and life. And, yes, of course, I ate the entire salt lick taco. After all, I bought that shrimp from Whole Foods with American dollars!
I’ve always loved blogging and at times I have gotten in my own way from coming back to it. I’d make excuses like “well… I have a smorgasbord of delicious pics on Instagram”, I don’t have time because of my food and tech work, also who will care anyway…” The answer to the last question is – me and that’s enough.
I am celebrating food daily and want to start capturing my stories. I experiment fervently with new recipes for my tastebuds and my coif, I explored smoked meat sandwiches in Montreal while speaking broken French, survived and enjoyed teaching high school students about their power in the culinary arts and the list goes on to even include fried chicken with Marcus Samuelson and Micheal B Jordan.
Needless to say, I’m reconnecting with my blog to journal my everlasting culinary obsession and journey of imperfection, hilarity and growth. More to come…
Greetings, Chestnuts! There’s nothing like the taste of pear and persimmon appetizers to celebrate the New Year. Taste the flavors of the season with seasonal fruits, vegetables and appetizers that are perfect for winter.
Food Photography: Leeks by Brandon Maya
January Seasonal Vegetables: Beetroot, Belgian endive, Brussels sprouts, cabbage, carrot, celeriac, cherimoya, chestnuts, Chinese cabbage, collard greens, daikon, kale, leeks, parsnip, pummelo, pumpkin, red cabbage, shallot, swede (rutabaga), sweet dumpling squash, sweet potatoes, turnips, Winter squash
January Seasonal Fruits: Dates, clementines, red grapefruit, white grapefruit, kiwi fruit, oranges, parsnip, passion fruit, pear, persimmons, tangerine, red currants
January Seasonal Meat: Duck, Goose, Sea bass (Grouper), Scallop, Pacific yellowtail, Pacific cod, Monkfish, Halibut, Lobster, Mussels, Stone Crab
January Appetizer Recipes
Season’s Eats Rewind
Hello there, Fancy Pants! I’ve ben thinking about how much you like truffles so I dreamed up a recipe for truffle-kissed croutons. If you have 1 bottle of white truffle oil to last the year, like your wallet told you to, you can use this recipes where a few drops go a long way. Enjoy!
Food Photography by Andi Galpern: Truffle-Croutons and Butter Lettuce
Truffle Croutons
Serves 12
White bread, (wonder bread used in the recipe)
Kosher salt, to taste
White Truffle oil, to taste
Here’s a trick to cutting perfect cubes of bread — add bread to the freezer for 2 hours, this makes it easier to cut. Remove 3 slices from the freezer at a time, stack them and cut off crust, then into small cubes. Repeat until all bread is cubed.
Set a large pan to medium heat. Add 2 Tbsp of olive oil, add cubed bread to cover pan in 1 even layer. Gently cook, adding oil as needed, toss croutons occasionally, until golden brown. Repeat until all bread is golden. Add croutons to a large bowl, lightly toss with salt and dashes of truffle oil, to taste.
Place croutons on top of salads with a light vinaigrette and thank me later, you lucky duck!
Greetings, Chestnuts! There’s nothing like wine-poached pears and spinach and swiss cheese pie to celebrate December. Taste the flavors of the season with seasonal fruits, vegetables and appetizers that are perfect for winter.
Food Photography: Blanching Bok Choy by Brandon Maya
December Seasonal Fruits: clementines, dates, grapefruit, white grapefruit, lemons, canary melons, blood orange, kiwi, navel orange, passion fruit, red currants, sweet orange, tangerines, temple orange, angelos, tangerines, tomatoes
December Seasonal Vegetables: anise, beetroot, Bok Choy, broccoli ,baby broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cabbage, chestnuts, red cabbage, carrots, white cauliflower, cauliflower (Broccoflower) , celery, celeriac, cilantro, dill, beet greens, collard greens, mustard greens, turnip greens, kale, kolrabi, leeks, lemons, butter boston lettuce, endive, escarole, iceberg, romaine, Spring mix, canary melons, Napa cabbage, green onions, swede, temple orange, parsley, parsnips, radicchio , radishes , rapini, spinach, spouts, sweet potatoes, Swiss chard , tomatoes, turnip
December Appetizer Recipes
- Radishes with Salty Seaweed Butter
- Pears Wrapped In Prosciutto
- Psychedelic Tomato and Goat Cheese Salad
- Pinot Grigio-Cooked Shrimp in Endive Leaves
Season’s Eats Rewind
Greeting, Grapefruits! Rice can be (yawn) boring but adding pomegranate creates an edible thrill, perfect for stir fry, or whatever you’re craving. Pomegranate seeds add a sweet and tangy crunch to rice and a beautiful slap of color. Plus it’s crazy easy.
Pomegranate Rice Recipe
Serves 4
4 cups of Steamed Jasmine Rice
1 Pomegranate, seeds
Lightly mix pomegranate seeds with steamed rice and enjoy!
Ginger Tip: Add peeled, fresh ginger cubes to rice water for fragrant rice. Remove ginger for serving.
Hey, Crabcakes! Thank you for joining me at Photo Slam 2012, the American Idol of Photography. It was sold-out and fantastic! Our food photos made history as the 1st food-themed collection in the existence of Photo Slam. One audience quote was “it takes a person who truly loves food to appreciate the beauty of these photos”. For those who couldn’t make it, we saved you a taste of the edible entries. Click on a photo and comment with your vote from 1 (being the lowest) to 10 (being the highest). See you next year!
Special thanks to Muhammad Chughtai, my partner in this food project and a brilliant photographer!
There’s nothing like glazed carrots, buttered artichokes and warm fig tarts to celebrate the fall harvest. Enjoy the flavors of November with fruits and vegetables that are best in Fall!
Image: Cranberry Beans. Photography by Brandon Maya
November Seasonal Fruits: apples, blood orange, cantaloupe, casaba melons, celeriac and celery root, Crenshaw melons, clementines, cranberries, dates, figs, grapefruit, white grapefruit, lemons, kiwi, navel orange, passion fruit, pears, persimmons, red currants, sweet orange, tangerines, temple orange, angelos, tangerines, tomatoes, watermelons
November Seasonal Vegetables: artichokes, beetroot, beet greens, Bok Choy, broccoli , baby broccoli, Brussels sprouts, butter boston lettuce, cabbage, chestnuts, red cabbage, carrots, white cauliflower, cauliflower (Broccoflower) , cilantro, cranberry beans, collard greens, corn, dill, edamame, endive, escarole, frisee, eggplant, iceberg, garlic, green onions, green beans, horseradish, Jerusalem artichoke/ sunchoke, kale, kolrabi, leeks, lemons, mustard greens, romaine, Spring mix lettuce, canary melons, Napa cabbage, swede, temple orange, parsley, parsnips, pumpkin, radicchio , radishes , rapini, rutabaga, spinach, spouts, sweet potatoes, Swiss chard , squash – acron, butternut, hubbard, kabocha, spaghetti, turban – tomatoes, turnip, turnip greens, watrecress
November Appetizer Recipes
