Archive for the ‘Soups and stews’ Category

I love seafood any time of year, but there is something about summer that makes me crave really fresh and briny shellfish. We recently took a stunningly gorgeous drive to Hog Island Oysters, about 45 minutes from Monte Rio. The twisted road took us through bucolic roads flanked with pastures, to the sunny coastline, and [...]

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Sultry summer days call for cooling foods. We are getting some toasty ones here in Northern California, so I wanted to publish this recipe for those customers who have requested it. Its a delicious soup, simple and so refreshing with its blend of herbs, good-quality yogurt, and cucumbers. I add white pepper and cayenne in [...]

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This is a delicious summer side dish, improved with the addition of bourbon and bacon (and really, what isn’t?). I serve it with my pinot-pulled pork sandwich at the Big Bottom Market, and a number of people have asked for the recipe, so here it is for the taking.

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We are getting settled into our Monte Rio home and are just starting to feel up to entertaining. I made this for our first dinner party in the new digs and it filled the air with warm smells of saffron and comfort. The rouille on the toast adds a spicy depth, but you could also [...]

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Last winter, I helped do the food prep on the shoot for Paula Wolfert’s new Moroccan cookbook and fell in love with all of the scents and flavors of this cuisine. It was these memories that inspired me to choose a Moroccan mean for our first Wednesday market dinner at the Big Bottom Market. I [...]

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Its harvest time here in Sonoma and wineries all around us have their workers furiously picking the picking grapes in a race to beat rain and mold that could be lurking around the corner, in a weather change. Its an exciting time of year, filled with anticipation (tinged with complete exhaustion.) Kerry is working for [...]

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It was a steamer this weekend, in true July fashion. We had a big moving sale so were out in the heat of it. I whipped up this soup for a quick, refreshing lunch that we could eat on the fly. I used frozen peas because we didn’t have enough fresh peas from the garden, [...]

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We have had days and days of rain here, and grey afternoons make me crave warm soup and a comfy spot with a good book. This is a thick and sustaining soup/stew that has tons of flavor and very few steps (which is my favorite kind of dish). I used posole that I brought back [...]

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