December 2009

With dips there is always something new, because if you substitute “thick purée” for “dip,” the options are limitless. A friend takes last night’s vegetable dish, purées it with whatever it takes to get his food processor working — oil, lemon juice, water — adds other flavorings if necessary, and serves it to guests with crackers or crudités. Thinking about this got me started playing with green dips, made from peas (with mint and Parmesan) and fresh edamame (with miso and ginger).

"Simple and quick to prepare. Sugar snap peas are quickly fried with green onion and garlic, and tossed with fresh mint leaves. Wonderful use for spring garden vegetables. Serve hot or at room temperature." 

"Our Test Kitchen staff created this mouth-watering side dish that comes together quickly in the microwave. A sweet and tangy glaze complements the crisp peas and onion in this made-in-moments recipe."

"Whether you start with fresh or frozen sugar snap peas, this recipe bursts with soy sauce and sesame flavor. Serve the snap peas hot as a side dish, or chilled for an Asian-inspired appetizer." 

"Shallots and a little thyme are sprinkled over irresistible sugar snap peas!"  

I called Nekisia Davis, the owner of Early Bird Granola, to see if she would divulge the recipe for the granola I had tasted in the store. I knew Ms. Davis from when she was a manager at Franny’s restaurant, where she used to concoct amaro from roots, stems and leaves. She gave me the proportions, emphasizing that it’s the balance of sweet and salty that makes her granola like health-conscious crack. But how did you come up with the idea to use olive oil? I asked. “I put olive oil in everything,” she said. “I make French toast in olive oil. I put it on toast with jelly.

For want of a better term, the more-vegetable-less-egg frittata, one in which the proportions of eggs and vegetables are reversed, and the veggies take center stage. Instead of six eggs and a cup or two of vegetables, I use two or three eggs with three or four cups of vegetables. Think of it as a big vegetable pancake bound with just enough creamy-cooked eggs to hold the thing together. Which vegetable you use barely matters.

Most people eat arugula greens (also known as rocket), which have a lemon-pepper flavor, in a salad. But this leafy vegetable is also wonderful in a pesto or to dress up a pizza or pasta. Buy it by the bunch, remove the stems, and thoroughly rinse the leaves, which can be quite sandy, in cool water. To make this pasta, cook spaghetti, and while it bubbles, saute red onion, garlic, and lime rind in olive oil, then add the spaghetti to the pan. Toss with lime juice, a dash of cayenne, chopped basil, and a few cups of arugula. The heat of the spaghetti cooks the vegetable.

The quality of a woman’s pies used to matter. Every good baker had a crust she knew by heart because she made pies all the time. Her pies broadcast her skills. Those fruit-filled crusts were made with lard rendered from her own pigs (later the fat was bought from the local butcher), or lard combined with butter (also made on the farm), a method suggested in cookbooks as far back as 1796. In the early 20th century, two brands of solid vegetable shortening hit the market. First came Crisco, then Spry.