Pairing tropical fruit, wine and cheese

A lot of chefs hate food bloggers. They lambaste us for being amateurish, opinionated or worse, ignorant. I’ve read a lot of food blogs while working my own and many are all of those things, home cooks whose apron strings have become unhinged, angry diners with a forum to rant. But others are inspired and informed, thoughtful and even well researched. The best blogs I’ve found are written by passionate people, who come at life with a fork, a knife and an insatiable appetite for transforming new experiences into stories.

Continue reading

Comments (8)

White Grapefruit & Epazote Sorbet

Last month, while I was researching a story on the Best Ice Cream in Los Angeles for Serious Eats I had the pleasure of hanging out at Tara Kolla’s Silver Lake Farms for the afternoon. It was there, with the bees buzzing around four different varieties of mint and picture-perfect roses that I first tried epazote, plucked fresh from a tall mint-like plant. I rolled the spiky green leaves between my fingers to extract some of the Mexican herb’s perfume, which was quite pungent, almost petrol-like, and spicy. I took a bite and was intrigued by its zesty, fennel and coriander-like flavor. I couldn’t get it out of my head. All I kept thinking was, this would be good with citrus.
Continue reading

Comments (11)

Homemade Cannelloni

Last Sunday my dear friend Brooke and I sat on the curb underneath an old avocado tree a few blocks from the Hollywood Farmers’ Market and flipped through the Chez Panisse Café cookbook before heading into the dizzying array of farm fresh fruits and vegetables. It seemed apropos, really, looking at recipes from Alice Waters, the woman who inspired a generation to get back to cooking in season, who praised farmers’ efforts by putting their names on her menus more than 30 years ago.
Continue reading

Comments (5)

Heirloom Tomato Tart

Tomato season has officially begun and I’m a woman obsessed. All of the delicious, funky-looking heirloom varieties scattered across the tables at the Hollywood Farmers’ Market last Sunday tempted me like Tribbles. They were so fresh. They smelled so good intoxicating. And then I tried one, the juice dripping from my chin and between my fingers. Before I knew it, my bag was overflowing with Cherokee Purples, Golden Jubilees, Brandywines, Marvel Stripes and Black Crimsons from Tutii Frutti Farms, all bumping up against each other in the hot August sun.
Continue reading

Comments (15)